Pontoon Railing Fixed - Tree Damage!

This railing is from a 1999 Premier pontoon boat. It had a tree fall on it bending the top railing aggressively, and causing the aluminum paneling to come loose. Luckily the seats were not damaged and this is something that can be fixed. There's no way to get a replacement section of railing for a 20+ year old boat (let alone a 5 year old boat!) so we've got to do our best to make this one look good again.
Music By Patrick Patrikios
Our boat wiring connector kits are now available here:
tomstoons.com/...
Pontoon Stuff Discounts
5% Off Discount Code at Checkout: TOMS5OFF
Link: www.PontoonStuff.com/tomstoons
YesWelder Discounts
10% Discount Code at Checkout: TOMSTOONS
Link: yeswelder.com/...
BRUNT Workwear Discounts
$10 Discount Code at Checkout: TOMSTOONS10
Link: www.bruntworkwear.com/tomstoons10
Atwood Rope & Docklines
10% Discount Code at Checkout: TOMSTOONS
Link: www.atwoodrope.com/tomstoons
Say Thanks by Contributing Financially to Tom’s Toons Channel
Link: www.buymeacoffee.com/tomstoons
Search Keywords: Pontoon Parts, Pontoon Door, Welding, TIG Weld, Aluminum Welding, Pontoon Leak, Leaky Pontoon, Leaking Pontoon, Leak in Pontoon, Pontoon Boat Leak, Leaky Boat, Leaking Boat, Boat Leak, Fixing Leak, Leak Repair, Boat Repair, Pontoon Repair, Pontoon Restoration, Tom's Toons, Pontoon Stuff, Deckmate, Boat Welding, Aluminum Boat, Pontoon Fix, DIY Pontoon, Pontoon Project, DIY Pontoon Project, DIY Boat, Pontoon Railing, Pontoon Railings, Toms Toons, Pontoon Restorations, Aluminum Welding.

[@faronmastin2091]

Good job looks great for what it did look like. That's why I kept all the old railing I cut off my last pontoon that I made a houseboat out of.

[@tomspontoons]

Thanks! Definitely saved them a fortune over other alternatives. Especially considering you can’t order that railing anymore from the manufacturer

[@billwallenstein3387]

Nice work

[@tomspontoons]

Thank you! And thanks for watching!

[@parrishbrady8440]

What does a repair like that cost?

[@tomspontoons]

I believe the final bill on this was around $300 after time and materials.

[@davidcobb4527]

Nicely done Tom! I recently purchased a 19’ toon with similar damage. The side panel was much worse but with a hammer and anvil, it turned out not bad. And the railing, well that I gave to a friend and apparently he had to do some cutting and fabricating, much like your job. Cheers Tom 👍🏼

[@tomspontoons]

These old railings aren’t “replaceable” from the manufacturers, so this is the only and best option!!

[@OwenDevany]

what kind of welding rod do u need for that?

[@tomspontoons]

I use aluminum TIG filler rod, always 5356

[@OwenDevany]

@@tomspontoons will prevent from cracking because am having a problem with a costumer. welds crack i guess is because there alot of movement on the boat.

[@tomspontoons]

@@OwenDevanyare you welding railing or on the pontoons themselves? 5356 is better for structural welding and will hold up better to shock and vibration.

[@garycotz563]

What settings on your Everlast did you use? Also, do you use the same settings for the .100" aluminum pontoon where you put the lifters on?

[@tomspontoons]

My welders are actually both Titanium brand. I literally have one setting on that welder and it’s for amperage I believe. I like to set it well over what I need and run the foot pedal softer. Pretty similar setting heat wise for the lifting strakes if not the same as the metal thicknesses were nearly the same. A butt joint will tend to need less heat to get into and has a tendency to blow out easier than the inside corner of the lifting strakes which had a lot more material to absorb the heat.

[@wish2fish]

tom, I'm curious how you learned to weld. did you cover that in a video?

[@tomspontoons]

I've always wanted to learn to weld (aluminum primarily), and when we started this business it became clear that I NEEDED to learn how to weld for all the projects we take on. I picked the brain of every welder that's done work for me and watched KZbin videos for about 6 months studying everything I could, bought a MIG setup with a spool gun, and then picked up a TIG setup about 6 months later. Been at it for a year and a half now. The two things that are 100% true about welding aluminum (I still have never even welded steel) is that the material needs to be as clean as possible and there's no shortcut to learning....it's all about "burn time". I probably went through $100 of aluminum coupons and materials learning the different welds. I'm building my second river boat from scratch right now, and that has been incredible for time spent on the torch. My confidence has been growing with every project I've tackled!

[@davidcobb4527]

@@tomspontoons I watched a video the other day where a fella, a welder by trade had repaired some big splits and tears on two separate pontoons. Plus had to drain them as a result. One ‘toon took an hour and a half to drain, read small hole. The other was 1/2 hr. But he was saying you must clean the area with a wire brush, I guess to remove the anodizing, and secondly the area HAS to be moisture free. Where he proceeded to heat the area with a torch to dry and I guess evaporate any and all moisture. He then proceeded to tack the hole closed. Pretty cool to watch! Love the vids Tom, cheers….

[@tomspontoons]

@@davidcobb4527 That sounds like the steps for pretty much all of my leak repairs. You've got to get the surface layer off of the toons (they're not usually anodized) to get the crud off and to get to bare aluminum. Folks don't realize that aluminum is somewhat porous so all sorts of crud and contaminants can get into it beyond just the surface. I usually start with a sanding wheel, then move to a wire brush. That way when I hit it with the torch it's as clean as possible. And yes, moisture can cause problems too, so always have to heat the heck out of the hole to evaporate the moisture on it...and always pull the drain plug or air bungs! That pressure builds and the air has to go somewhere....usually ends up coming right through where you're welding and screws everything up!

[@awakenedtotruth8419]

Greetings Tom and viewers! How do you rate the difficulty level of that repair on a scale of 1 - 10?

[@tomspontoons]

All in all it was about a 6. The paneling was the hardest part, getting it to re-insert into the rail. The cutting, rebending, and fit-up of the straight rail wasn't too much of a hassle. And the welding went pretty smooth as railings are pretty clean aluminum once you get the anodized finish off.