New used mini pontoon and questions

[AndyPlaysDrums]

After spending a good part of last Friday researching small boats online, I started to think that a mini pontoon boat would be the best choice for me, in that I needed something I could put in the back of my small pickup, and only wanted something that I could fish our small ponds with for now. Being on a nothing budget, it was really only wishful research anyway. Well, on Saturday morning I went out to run some errands and by some mysterious fate I find an 8' mini pontoon on a neighbors front lawn with a sign that says "FREE BOAT"! While in complete shock at my find, I load it up and bring it home!

The boat is in ok shape. The hull is has no cracks or holes in it anywhere around water level. There is some major cracking around the transom area on the inside, as I assume they had a small motor on the back. The trolling motor mount on the front is mint, which is all I'm planning on using anyway. I'm planning on patching and fiberglassing this up for water tightness as much as anything. I'm also planning on putting a thin (probably 3/8") plywood floor covered with carpet in to disperse the weight better as well.

My big question involves the two pieces of the shell itself. I would like to reseal the seam, as about 40% of the seam seems to be undone. Can/how can this be seperated, or should I even do it, and how do I go back about resealing the shell?

Any experience/advice is greatly appreciated. If anybody has any good links to projects for these type of boats, that would be appreciated as well. Thanks! I can't wait to get it on the water!

[nashontheriver]

i really can't answer your question, but the free boat is awesome no matter what!

[zerofivenismo]

I would keep the seam on as-is.  I too have a mini pontoon - Bass Raider 10, and wanted to know how I would go about fixing cracks if the occassion ever arises.  So I googled how to fix plastic-type boats and found a  guy's how-to on re-sealing cracks on his kayak.  The link is http://oregonkayaking.net/how_to/boat_repair.html.  I'm not 100% how it would work as a seal to replace/repair your seam, but on a nothing-budget, it's not a bad idea.  Good luck. 

[riverfisher]

Great find!!

[AndyPlaysDrums]

Thanks for the input! This post sat untouched for a long time, so I hadn't checked back here in a while. I'm hoping to start in on getting her ready for the season soon. I did get a chance to get it in the water back in the fall, and she floated great with two guys and a battery in it! We had an  Endura 55 on it just to get it around and it went very well. Since the test went well, I'm not really worried about it taking on water in the seam, as it didn't drop as far into the water as I thought it would with our weight in it, but I am still going to seal it up good with some sort of silicone or something once I figure what will adhere well.

Either way, it was a free boat! I'm going to get it on the water and fish the crap out of it as long at it'll let me!

[fivesixone]

I haven't posted in like a year, but I've got a Pond Prowler as well... I sealed off the bottom with 3m 5200 quick dry, and it didn't attack the plastic or anything, it's actually held up quite well. I've got some major cracks on the floor of the boat that I've been wanting to seal, but can't seem to find a good way since they're all in the corners and what-not. So, I've been storing it upside-down now so it doesn't fill with rain water, that worked well until it got infested with ants... >

So now I've got two problems, but oh well, I can still get off shore!

If you're gonna use the 5200, test it on a small area first just in case, because it's not recommended for plastic style boats.