Pontoon & Deck Boat

www.pdbmagazine.com PDB Pontoon & Deck Boat July 2016 54 Stayin' In 'Toon B O A T I N G T I P S A N D O B S E R V A T I O N S PDB's s I mentioned before, even though I am an evan- gelist for buying simple and practical, I do suc- cumb to the excitement of improving my 'toon's ride and increasing the performance just like any other TGH (toon gear head). And in this case I decided to add a Pontoon Wholesalers Poly Third Tube Kit and see what happens. First I have to say that Mike Miller and his son Troy put together a great package. When I first saw the unit at the Pontoon and Deck Boat Days a couple years ago, I was inter- ested. It took me two years to get serious about it, but now I have one and I can say that so far it has met my expectations. And if I had my way, it would be a third toon AND a new 115 horsepower Mercury engine mounted on the back of my 20-foot Bentley, but my boat partner (spouse) said I had to wait a bit for that power upgrade. Anyway, the kit was delivered in four big cardboard boxes holding the pontoon segments and two long aluminum J- channels. It arrived when the weather started to get cold and I opted for waiting until we could install the kit outside. A friend offered his building, but my goal was to put the third 'toon on in a manner that an average do-it-yourselfer would. In my mind that was outside in my driveway on the trailer. If this kit is designed to improve that older boat I already own or upgrade an entry-level boat for very little expense, I don't want to rent a shop, lift or hire a mechanic. I need to be able to install it with what I have. I also like to stumble through things on my own, and even though the in- stall is pretty straightforward, it is well worth going to the Pon- toon Wholesalers website (www.pontoonwholesalers.com) and looking at the instructions about the installation first. The installation only takes a few basic tools and a little manual labor to complete. Guess I shouldn't have been sur- prised when Mike said it would only take about four hours for the job. I had my doubts, but in reality it can be installed in a remarkably short amount of time. We planned on a weekend so we would have time to make mistakes and capture the fun and excitement on video, which we did. So let me go over the basics. The full install write-up is on the PDB website or those with a digital subscription can just click on the link on this page. The aluminum J-channel tracks are installed with 3/8- by 1-inch stainless bolts and nylon insert lock nuts in the C-chan- nel cross beams on the boat. We started by marking the cross channel center line from the motor pod to the front deck edge as a reference. Pontoon Wholesalers had already cut the J-channels based on preliminary measurement from our boat, so all we needed to do was get the J-channels lined up the right distance apart from the center line to slide the tube sections in place. We used locking pliers (vise grips) to hold the J-channels in place on the bottom of the 'toon, which sounds easy enough. That is, until I was actually under the boat trying to hold up my end of the 15 feet of J-channel aluminum with one arm and manipulating adjustable locking pliers with my free hand. Apparently the kettlebell squats I am doing occasionally are not building the muscle fast enough. And after it was all done, I was wondering why my son wasn't doing the difficult end instead of me. The next step was nothing more than manual labor (and safety equipment). I plugged in my drill, donned my safety glasses, noise protection and gloves and started to drill. Take your time doing the measurements. Remember the old line, "Measure twice, drill once." After the J-channels were installed we reinstalled the tube sections. Once the sections were in place we clamped the front retaining plate at the location we wanted and pushed the third toon forward as much as possible. At the rear of the 'toon we installed a piece of aluminum angle with a couple of extra 3/8- by 1-inch stainless bolts and lock nuts to keep the 'toon from sliding backwards. That's it, done, installed, and ready to go. Next is test- ing. Stay "tooned" for the test results of adding a Pontoon Wholesalers Poly Third Tube Kit to my boat. Sky Smith, PDB Staff Writer A with Sky Smith Sky Smith, PDB Staff Writer PDB Staff Writer PDB Installing A Third Pontoon To view the full version of this column visit www.pdbmagazine.com or for digital subscribers, click here. To view the install highlights click here:

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