REPLACING WOOD TRANSOM WITH ALUMINUM - Pontoon Restoration

[@Petesworkshop2225]

Soon as I hear way overkill I started listening..😂😂 Good job on that

[@tomspontoons]

HAHA! honestly, 1/8" square tube would be plenty strong....but why not make it last forever and then some?! Thanks for watching!

[@martinklausmeier-brown75]

Great vid Tom! Seems like many newer boats also use transom tanks. Have you ever done a retrofit on one of those?

[@tomspontoons]

Thanks!! It is a common fuel tank placement for a number of reasons, but it’s a time bomb fail point for allowing water into your fuel…so I’m quite against them unless it’s the only option possible for a particular layout. They’re hard to retro-fit because they’re typically molded or welded to fit an exact transom model. It would usually require an entire swap out of the transom to one with a fuel cell…in the $1,000 to $1,800 range for the parts alone from what I’ve seen!

[@Derik-j9h]

Do you know how factory transoms are built? Are they framed inside with supports running through it?

[@tomspontoons]

From what I've seen they're typically framed in the middle with rectangular tubing, then a sheet is welded on the back, and sometimes the front too.

[@toewstelevision]

Excellent video. keep up the good videos. I would use your code. But they don't ship to Canada. but I found a dealer in Canada for the vinyl flooring. I really appreciate it.

[@tomspontoons]

There is a Canadian distributor of the same Deckmate products that I install (Canada Pontoon). Unfortunately we don't have a discount code with them currently for our Canadian viewers to use. We will keep making videos though that'll hopefully help folks around the world with their projects!

[@garygriffey5451]

I have a 95 suntracker with a 90hp mercury on it. Will this 2×4×¼ work with my motor?

[@tomspontoons]

1/4” thick walled aluminum channel should be way stronger than any plywood that was or could be installed. Gusset it with more supports if need be. Worst case reach out to Tracker to see if they have input!

[@garygriffey5451]

@@tomspontoons channel? Not tubing?

[@tomspontoons]

@@garygriffey5451sorry, yes tube, not Channel!!!

[@joeherndon5815]

Another great video made it look easy!! I'm curious though appears you were wearing a a Carhartt blue vest that was of nylon fabric was it? And if so how do you keep the sparks from burning holes all over it?

[@tomspontoons]

Thanks for watching. I’ve got a good amount of burn time in over the last few years on aluminum…but still nothing is easy! I’m pretty sure my sweatshirt got a couple singes, but getting it super clean reduces the splatter quite a bit which saved my vest!

[@jasonworkman4660]

Awesome as usual. Just curious have you ever restored a older Suntracker?

[@tomspontoons]

Yep, we've worked on several Suntrackers. None with an aluminum deck yet, that's on my list of boats to do a seriously thorough restoration video on!

[@J.W.W.]

Sad story: Neighbors have a Sun Tracker with the aluminum deck. She didn’t follow my advice and instead had an inexperienced guy rebuild her pontoon deck. What did he do? He laid down marine plywood over the aluminum before installing the vinyl 😩 Now her boat is sitting low in the water with the added weight of 5 sheets of marine ply it didn’t need.

[@tomspontoons]

@@J.W.W.UGH. Sadly in my line of work there are a LOT of folks who want to do this type of work as a side hustle where they have no formal training and don’t have anything to lose if they mess up. I know being full time and experienced is the main reason I stay busy enough to make a living. I hate hearing the horror stories of hiring someone for a restoration project….and it’s way too often!

[@J.W.W.]

C4TT 👍

[@tomspontoons]

Thanks for watching!