All
Although not a pontoon boat, but "Sturm Island" floats on pontoons so its somewhat related.
I think you all know we are avid waterfowl hunters and run a deep water pontoon blind in Saginaw bay of Michigan. We've been using this blind for about 15+ years. This past fall / winter we ran into a problem where one of our pontoons took on water. When we tried to pump it out, we found we weren't making progress and the water in the toon had expanded and blew the weld seam wide open and the one toon went underwater and was setting on the bottom of the canal while tied up to the seawall.
We devised a plan to attach 55 gallon plastic drums the 2" square stock steel frame with rachet straps and hoped to "float it" across the canal and extract it on a empty lot (owned by family) by use of trucks and whatever means necessary to get it to dry land. The bank was probably a 10 foot incline at 45* plus angle and into sand. We used all sorts of boards and such as ramps to cut down the toons digging into the bank.
After 2, 3" 30,000k pound straps plus multiple heavy duty chains that broke during the extraction process, the 24' floating island finally gave way and was secured to dry land. We then cut the toons off and loaded it on a car trailer and took her to the scrap yard.
It was sad to see her go as she was built and designed by my late father who passed away 5 years ago. He lived and breathed everything about duck and goose hunting. He studied them, hunted them, was a avid wooden championship duck decoy carver / collector.
As this chapter closes of our duck hunting style, another one is born. We have bought a 24' 1986 starcraft pontoon boat that we will transform into a mobile duck hunting boat. Instead of leaving the "Island" out in the bay all season in one place, we will now be mobile and can venture farther offshore in calm weather and closer to shore during the nasty times.
Just thought i'd share with everybody... Pics are in my gallery
Todd
Although not a pontoon boat, but "Sturm Island" floats on pontoons so its somewhat related.
I think you all know we are avid waterfowl hunters and run a deep water pontoon blind in Saginaw bay of Michigan. We've been using this blind for about 15+ years. This past fall / winter we ran into a problem where one of our pontoons took on water. When we tried to pump it out, we found we weren't making progress and the water in the toon had expanded and blew the weld seam wide open and the one toon went underwater and was setting on the bottom of the canal while tied up to the seawall.
We devised a plan to attach 55 gallon plastic drums the 2" square stock steel frame with rachet straps and hoped to "float it" across the canal and extract it on a empty lot (owned by family) by use of trucks and whatever means necessary to get it to dry land. The bank was probably a 10 foot incline at 45* plus angle and into sand. We used all sorts of boards and such as ramps to cut down the toons digging into the bank.
After 2, 3" 30,000k pound straps plus multiple heavy duty chains that broke during the extraction process, the 24' floating island finally gave way and was secured to dry land. We then cut the toons off and loaded it on a car trailer and took her to the scrap yard.
It was sad to see her go as she was built and designed by my late father who passed away 5 years ago. He lived and breathed everything about duck and goose hunting. He studied them, hunted them, was a avid wooden championship duck decoy carver / collector.
As this chapter closes of our duck hunting style, another one is born. We have bought a 24' 1986 starcraft pontoon boat that we will transform into a mobile duck hunting boat. Instead of leaving the "Island" out in the bay all season in one place, we will now be mobile and can venture farther offshore in calm weather and closer to shore during the nasty times.
Just thought i'd share with everybody... Pics are in my gallery
Todd
