ct0218
Well-Known Member
We finally had enough decent weather to make a 3 day trip on Fontana. Everything worked out great, even the mods! Unfortunately, we're back to cold weather for the next 4-5 days. I posted a few photos in my gallery.
First overnight trip on the pontoon
- Thread starter ct0218
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RReaume
Well-Known Member
Looked really calm and a beautiful area. Love the camper enclosure.
kaydano
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That's awesome! My goal is to spend an overnight on the boat sometime. Not sure how that will work without an enclosure...
Bamaman
Well-Known Member
We're going to cruise from Chattanooga 200 miles downriver to home.
Spending the night for my wife is a night at the Guntersville Hampton Inn. They and the Windham have their own boat docks.
Spending the night for my wife is a night at the Guntersville Hampton Inn. They and the Windham have their own boat docks.
ct0218
Well-Known Member
The enclosure does make it nice. I wouldn't want to set it up for just one night, but for 2 or more it is great. We had storms hit us 2 of 3 days, no problems. I use an inverter for the interior LED lighting (residential ceiling fixtures to make it bright enough), and it also powers a couple small portable fans. Propane stove, grill, comfortable bed, etc., all the comforts of home! My wife likes the motel/hotel scene too, but there is nothing even close to that at Fontana. It is a little remote, no banjo dueling though.
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Great pics. Looks like a fun trip! Do the big windows all roll up on that enclosure? I could definitely enjoy the protection during storms but I'd want to open that thing up a lot of the time. I'm thinking about just rigging up a tarp or some sort of shade shelter that was recently posted on here to make it so I can keep sleeping on the boat during storms as well as being able to sleep in past sunrise out in the desert. Bugs aren't really a problem for us where we go so a full enclosure isn't so important, but I would really like to have something over the top of me for other things.
ct0218
Well-Known Member
We don't have a bug problem either, but storms are definitely a concern. The windows are screened, then inside of that is an eisenglass widow panel that can roll up, then inside that is a privacy shade that can be rolled up. The two inner panels are velcroed. The enclosure panels themselves do not roll up, so you would have to unzip and unsnap them and remove them. I plan on making an alteration to the front and rear panels so I can roll them up. It was an expensive option, but well worth it in my opinion. This is how we will use our pontoon most of the time.
Pittsburgh
Commodore
Have to give you a ton of credit
Went to your gallery
Pics are beautiful
I can say right now however
My wife would never consider sleeping on the Pontoon
Now A Luxury Cruise Ship or Yacht
Not a problem
Congratulations !
Went to your gallery
Pics are beautiful
I can say right now however
My wife would never consider sleeping on the Pontoon
Now A Luxury Cruise Ship or Yacht
Not a problem
Congratulations !
SEMPERFI8387
Moderator
Awesome setup !!!
WoodenPontoon
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Nice Pics! It looks like it was a lot of fun.
Do you have any detailed pics of the enclosure's windows? I want to build an enclosure for my boat, and an interested in the configuration of the windows. how much room does the enclosure use while stored? Do you store it on the boat or just take it with you when you plan to use it?
An enclosure should be 3rd on my list of "major" canvas work that I am hoping to get done.
Do you have any detailed pics of the enclosure's windows? I want to build an enclosure for my boat, and an interested in the configuration of the windows. how much room does the enclosure use while stored? Do you store it on the boat or just take it with you when you plan to use it?
An enclosure should be 3rd on my list of "major" canvas work that I am hoping to get done.
ct0218
Well-Known Member
Dan,
My boat is covered right now, but when I take it out again and set it up for a few days I will take some better photos of the window detail and post them in my gallery. I'll PM you and let you know when I have them posted.
Pittsburg,
My wife and I have camped in our travel trailers, motor homes, fifth wheel, and even tent camped and backpacked all over the place. Some of our fondest memories are the weekends and vacations we spent on a previous cuddy cabin in the Gulf of Mexico. We even took our boat to the Dry Tortugas and the Marquesas from Key West for a 5 day 160 mile round trip. Even a calm day there was much less comfortable than this pontoon was. Too bad your wife isn't into it, it is a lot of fun. After 27 years in the Army I consider staying on the pontoon more like a vacation than a camping trip.
My boat is covered right now, but when I take it out again and set it up for a few days I will take some better photos of the window detail and post them in my gallery. I'll PM you and let you know when I have them posted.
Pittsburg,
My wife and I have camped in our travel trailers, motor homes, fifth wheel, and even tent camped and backpacked all over the place. Some of our fondest memories are the weekends and vacations we spent on a previous cuddy cabin in the Gulf of Mexico. We even took our boat to the Dry Tortugas and the Marquesas from Key West for a 5 day 160 mile round trip. Even a calm day there was much less comfortable than this pontoon was. Too bad your wife isn't into it, it is a lot of fun. After 27 years in the Army I consider staying on the pontoon more like a vacation than a camping trip.
Link
Moderator
Very Impressive build and setup ct0218. I have spoken to many who have cruised the Erie Canal here in NY and have always thought I would like to do that but then I would think I would really couldn't do it in a pontoon boat. You have certainly set it up a pontoon so that one could travel and sleep on the pontoon. Bet a lot of people want a tour of the boat after seeing that!
ct0218
Well-Known Member
Thanks Link, I did a lot of planning and research before I even ordered the Bennington, then a lot of work after it came in.
A few things you can't see: The generator/110 wiring. I bought a 2000W generator with a Kawasaki motor at Costco and it is transported to and from the lake in the center tube in-floor storage. Once at the lake it sits on the bow, port side. I installed a 4" screw-out deck plate in the front fence panel next to the door. Behind that are two pigtails that plug into the generator. The wiring is then run under the deck to a junction box/outlet in the helm. I have my onboard charger and two deep cycle batteries installed there, as well as an inverter. The wiring then runs to a junction box under the port stern seat and is fed to a triple tap outlet power cord that is 8 ft long. This way I have 120V outlets at the bow, helm, and stern with up to 17 amps of power.
I have 2 7" diameter 60W 800 lumen LED ceiling fixtures that I came across at Home Depot for a great price. I made a simple bracket that clips over the bimini frame, wired with light weight lamp cord since they draw only something like 11 watts each, velcroed to the frame and down to the helm and into the inverter. Plenty bright, unbreakable, 2 minutes to install/remove, and very little power draw. I also have 2 portable fans for warmer weather that plug into the inverter that draw 1.2 amps, so they can run a long time before the battery start drawing down. The generator is extremely quiet running too, and it's rpm/output is governed by draw.
The tankless water heater supplies hot water to the sink and shower, and we use biodegradable soap in both. It runs off the same propane tank as does the grill and stove. Potable water is carried in recycled gallon milk jugs. The pump is an RV 4.5 GPM variable speed constant pressure pump mounted in the stern seat base next to the battery. The pickup drops down to the transom well, and the feed connects to the sink and water heater using standard washing machine hoses with quick connect/disconnect fittings. The hoses are color coded red and blue so it is easy to keep the right water going to the right connection.
Like I said, it was a lot of planning and a lot of work, but once it is done it is not labor intensive to set up and take down, but it does make my pontoon useful for my purpose. I have some photos in my gallery showing the basic construction of the bed bases. Those are the biggest pain since they have to be put together and taken down daily, but even those aren't that big a deal, and they store flat in the in-floor storage area. Again, not for everyone, but it works for me!
A few things you can't see: The generator/110 wiring. I bought a 2000W generator with a Kawasaki motor at Costco and it is transported to and from the lake in the center tube in-floor storage. Once at the lake it sits on the bow, port side. I installed a 4" screw-out deck plate in the front fence panel next to the door. Behind that are two pigtails that plug into the generator. The wiring is then run under the deck to a junction box/outlet in the helm. I have my onboard charger and two deep cycle batteries installed there, as well as an inverter. The wiring then runs to a junction box under the port stern seat and is fed to a triple tap outlet power cord that is 8 ft long. This way I have 120V outlets at the bow, helm, and stern with up to 17 amps of power.
I have 2 7" diameter 60W 800 lumen LED ceiling fixtures that I came across at Home Depot for a great price. I made a simple bracket that clips over the bimini frame, wired with light weight lamp cord since they draw only something like 11 watts each, velcroed to the frame and down to the helm and into the inverter. Plenty bright, unbreakable, 2 minutes to install/remove, and very little power draw. I also have 2 portable fans for warmer weather that plug into the inverter that draw 1.2 amps, so they can run a long time before the battery start drawing down. The generator is extremely quiet running too, and it's rpm/output is governed by draw.
The tankless water heater supplies hot water to the sink and shower, and we use biodegradable soap in both. It runs off the same propane tank as does the grill and stove. Potable water is carried in recycled gallon milk jugs. The pump is an RV 4.5 GPM variable speed constant pressure pump mounted in the stern seat base next to the battery. The pickup drops down to the transom well, and the feed connects to the sink and water heater using standard washing machine hoses with quick connect/disconnect fittings. The hoses are color coded red and blue so it is easy to keep the right water going to the right connection.
Like I said, it was a lot of planning and a lot of work, but once it is done it is not labor intensive to set up and take down, but it does make my pontoon useful for my purpose. I have some photos in my gallery showing the basic construction of the bed bases. Those are the biggest pain since they have to be put together and taken down daily, but even those aren't that big a deal, and they store flat in the in-floor storage area. Again, not for everyone, but it works for me!
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Link
Moderator
Now MORE impressed! Wondering though, did you consider a little houseboat, such as the "Little Hobo" [they are trailerable]. If you did what made you choose the pontoon over the small houseboat
ct0218
Well-Known Member
In a very short time I can remove all of my mods and it looks and performs like a standard pontoon boat. The table/sink is mounted on 3 Sequoia removable table legs. The flat stainless bases are all that is left when the table/sink is removed from the aft extended deck. The generator, water heater, bed bases, and camping enclosure bag are all removed from the in-floor storage. The trolling motor is on a removable base so it comes off. Everything else stays, adds little weight, and still leaves plenty of storage. The shower is a Stearns vinyl 30" square enclosure the hangs from a pole on the starboard aft deck. It takes just a couple minutes to set up and take down, and is quite small stored. We won't really use that except early and late in the season, when the lake is a little too cool. What is left is pretty much a standard pontoon boat.
I just remembered one more mod to the boat. This model does not offer or come with the privacy room or whatever they call it. I needed a way for people to change clothes, shower, etc., so I installed male snap studs on the bimini frame just behind the helm, and also added them to the forward end of the seat bases directly below. I found a wall panel for a 10'x10' Coleman canopy in lightweight nylon, and it was 7' tall. I ordered two marine zippers that were 7' and a roll of 1" nylon webbing like used for boat covers, etc. I cut the panel and installed the zippers to make a door 36" wide the width of the opening between the seats. I used the webbing to reinforce the nylon along the top and bottom edge of the panel where the female snaps were installed. A total of 12 snaps, three each side, at the top and also at the bottom. We can roll up the door and tie it off when not needed. The top of the panel was cut to match the curve of the bimini frame, so the panel is nice and tight all the time.
This way I get a camping pontoon and a cruising pontoon that can pull the grandkids around on a float without a lot of work.
I just remembered one more mod to the boat. This model does not offer or come with the privacy room or whatever they call it. I needed a way for people to change clothes, shower, etc., so I installed male snap studs on the bimini frame just behind the helm, and also added them to the forward end of the seat bases directly below. I found a wall panel for a 10'x10' Coleman canopy in lightweight nylon, and it was 7' tall. I ordered two marine zippers that were 7' and a roll of 1" nylon webbing like used for boat covers, etc. I cut the panel and installed the zippers to make a door 36" wide the width of the opening between the seats. I used the webbing to reinforce the nylon along the top and bottom edge of the panel where the female snaps were installed. A total of 12 snaps, three each side, at the top and also at the bottom. We can roll up the door and tie it off when not needed. The top of the panel was cut to match the curve of the bimini frame, so the panel is nice and tight all the time.
This way I get a camping pontoon and a cruising pontoon that can pull the grandkids around on a float without a lot of work.
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SEMPERFI8387
Moderator
You're ingenious !! Let's see some more up close pics of the mods !!
ct0218
Well-Known Member
I'll take some next time I'm out. Three inches of rain yesterday, 35* this AM, 49* for a high...it may be a while.
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SEMPERFI8387
Moderator
Yeah I know what you mean ... I guess it's Jeep modding day for me ..... 
kaydano
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You should get a forum award for this or something. Amazing!
