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Lining the struts between the pontoons

Maynard G. Krebs said:
$159.00 + 7.25 tax = 170.53 Figure another 15-20 bucks for stainless screws, I don't know the exact amount because the cashier didn't know they were stainless and I was suddenly mute and unable to correct her. B)

I added an amp after this was done which required running a new power lead from the stern-mounted battery to the helm and it was a piece of cake. I tucked the new wire into the factory loom which on my boat runs along the inside of the starboard rub rail so the underskin wasn't a big issue, just a little extra reaching in the motor pod area. Some of the control cables cross over the skin at one point but access would only be a few screws and two bolts to drop a single panel... 10 minutes tops.

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Maynard,

It looks like you put the metal between the deck and the pontoon support, and have the screw on the support also going through the metal? Is this correct?
 
I did the underskin last year, it was .063" used 3 sheets and had them bent to cover the toon brackets. I used stainless steel rivets as that's what Bennington uses.

I also had a wave shield made for the starboard side in the rear, as the 20SLi came with one on the port side only.

There are pics of it in our gallery, and i aint smart enough to post them here :unsure: Now if one of you smarter folks want to post them, feel free to do so :) Ya know, help a dummy out!

As Carl said, every toon should have underskinning, it made a huge difference, no more surge from wakes hitting the crossmembers, and makes for a much quieter ride.

I got the materials from a local company that builds truck boxes and bodies, the also used their brake to bend the angles for me. I can't say what it cost really, a close friend of mine worked there at the time and i got them at his cost....
 
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Padre said:
Maynard,

It looks like you put the metal between the deck and the pontoon support, and have the screw on the support also going through the metal? Is this correct?
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Correct. Since each panel contacts three brackets on each side, I found it easiest to remove the bolts and tap some flat-blade screwdrivers (from the outside) between the 45 degree angle part of the bracket and the cross beams. That created enough gap to slide each panel in, then I supported the center of the panel with the expanding poles used for the playpen cover. The screws were installed first and then the bolts. As it turned out, the width of the panels covered most but not all of the bolt holes so I just used a hand reamer to remove any material covering the holes. It's not necessary to do it this way, it just seemed like the easiest way for me. The material was sourced through a local steel supply yard.
 
Maynard G. Krebs said:
Personally, I think .080'' is overkill and adds unnecessary weight. I did some research before skinning the Coon Toon and found .032" was a common choice so that's what I used. It's feels pretty flexable when you're working with it (which actually helped when trying to wiggle it into position) buy once it was all screwed down it's fine.

For a 20' hull I purchased three 48" x 120" sheets. Cutting two of them in half and starting four feet from the bow, I used four sections at 48" x 60" with the 60" going width-wise and the 48" span being perfect for the length since the crossbeams are 24" on center front to back. The fourth section used at the stern was cut in half again and custom fitted around the motor pod. The third full sheet was used for the bow section because it had to be cut wider than 60" at the bow because of the shape of the pontoons. You might be able to see in the picture that I loosened the bolts that hold the pontoons to the crossbeams and wedged the skin between the two for some additional bracing.

The amount of water that hits the skin is impressive, much more than I expected, but there's no indication that the material used is too thin.

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Maynard,

Just found a local dealer that will sell me the .032 4x10 sheets at $90 a sheet, AND shear them to size. I have a two toon 22 SFFX. Will the sizes you quote here be the same as I need? thanks.
 
I'm hesitant to say yes or no, it's difficult to give an answer without looking at your boat. I can tell you I had enough leftover material to make a couple 2' x 2' sunshields for each tire (single axle) and I have a 4' x 4' piece sitting around. You'll have to verify the 60" width is correct and the cross channels are 24" on center. I wouldn't have the yard cut all the sheets because the nose piece has to be custom cut. Mine is 62" wide at the rear and flares to 72" wide at the front rub rail. It's not difficult to cut .032 by hand, but I recommend this type of snip: http://www.amazon.com/TEKTON-3655-8-Inch-Straight-Pattern/dp/B000NPPAVG/ref=sr_1_5?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1365802378&sr=1-5&keywords=tin+snips rather than regular tin snips: http://www.amazon.com/TEKTON-3646-Straight-Aviation-Snips/dp/B000NPUK0C/ref=sr_1_1?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1365802454&sr=1-1&keywords=tin+snips because they give a straighter cut and don't bend the panel as much. My hand got tired after a couple of sheets but I found it was easy to rest the bottom half of the shears on the floor and just apply pressure to the top handle. I smoothed out any imperfections in the panels from the hand shears with a dead blow hammer (http://www.harborfreight.com/3-lb-neon-orange-dead-blow-hammer-69002.html) and dressed the edge with a flat file. I can take a picture of the front section if my explanation isn't clear.
 
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I've cut sheet steel (our tornado shelter is lined with sheet steel) using a circular saw and a masonry wheel ($4). Throws sparks like the 4th of July, but it cuts clean. I recall it being slow going, but the steel I used was really thick (thicker than a quarter - 25 cents), and no way you could cut that with snips. At least not me. It should go through the thicknesses you guys are talking like butter. Just another option.

Oh, and don't wear running shoes if you do this. Hot balls of steel go right through mesh. (Okay Derrick, I lobbed that one up special just for you - Have at it!)
 
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Maynard G. Krebs said:
I'm hesitant to say yes or no, it's difficult to give an answer without looking at your boat. I can tell you I had enough leftover material to make a couple 2' x 2' sunshields for each tire (single axle) and I have a 4' x 4' piece sitting around. You'll have to verify the 60" width is correct and the cross channels are 24" on center. I wouldn't have the yard cut all the sheets because the nose piece has to be custom cut. Mine is 62" wide at the rear and flares to 72" wide at the front rub rail. It's not difficult to cut .032 by hand, but I recommend this type of snip: http://www.amazon.co...rds=tin snips�� rather than regular tin snips: http://www.amazon.co...words=tin snips because they give a straighter cut and don't bend the panel as much. My hand got tired after a couple of sheets but I found it was easy to rest the bottom half of the shears on the floor and just apply pressure to the top handle. I smoothed out any imperfections in the panels from the hand shears with a dead blow hammer (http://www.harborfre...mmer-69002.html) and dressed the edge with a flat file. I can take a picture of the front section if my explanation isn't clear.
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Could I impose on you and have you take a pic of that nose piece for me please?
 
It's difficult to put up a single pic that shows detail so I'll add a few.

Here's a before shot. Note that piece of flat aluminum at the top of the picture attached to the underside of the channel. It's supposed to tie the first two channels together so the bow isn't distorted by the trailer winch.



It was in the way of the panels so I removed it. To tie the two channels back together I added some coupling nuts to the threads of the bow hook (which were sticking through the bow channel a couple of inches) and added two lengths of all-thread rod, running them back through the second channel and securing them with washers and lock nuts. Winching on the bow hook still spreads the load across the same two channels, everything is just higher up. This shot is looking between the deck and the underskin with the bow channel and coupling nuts on the right.









Don't be surprised if your front rub rail isn't straight. I got the panel as tight as I could in the center...



but had a gap on either end. Also, I should have made the panel a bit wider at the nose and I can't remember why I didn't. I might have had a problem getting the two nose bolts loose or something, but I think it would look better if the whole edge of the panel was on top of that long bracket.



Here's the transition from the 60" panels to the 62" nose panel. Why 62? I dunno, it just seemed right at the time.



 
Maynard,

On your skinning, you used 3 sheets, 4x10 and had 2 of them cut to 60", or basically, in half. How many of these 60" sections did you use to cover the bottom of your boat? If you used 4, then you only needed 16' of full width coverage?

I have a 22' boat, but that is the pontoon measurement, right? Crap, I went up today and measured the width to just beyond each sides bolt, but forgot to measure the length. Crud. 1.3 hours away too.

Well, from looking at the brochures and floor plans of the 22SFFX, it seems the deckin is going to be close to at least 20' long. Does anyone out there know how long the center motor support is? Can anyone measure it, PLEASE? Or TB, do you have any schematics of the toons/decking for the 22SSFX?

Well, the distance to just beyond the bolt measures 65". So, if I order 4 sheets of 4x10 and have them cut to 65", that is 16' of coverage front to rear on the decking part. I will then have four, 55" x 48" sheets left over. Not wide enough to fit the span, but usable enough to piece in the stern sections. Am I figuring this right? Do you think I will need more than 16? Is the motor mount section 4' long? Sigh. I need a schematic. I'll ask TB.
 
What is the LOA of your boat? If it's under 24' (or some other number divisible by 4) you'll be fine. If its longer you have to get an extra sheet and have a bunch of waste. Also, you'll have to consider your cross member layout as you'll be married to that and have waste because of it. It's sorta like hanging drywall.
 
My LOA is about 22'. So should I go 3 or 4 sheets?
 
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Four 48" x 60" sections covered from the rear rub rail to the nose piece transition. The nose piece was cut from the third full sheet and was a bit shorter than the rest at 46.5" The 1.5" difference from the other sections is caused by a shorter span between the front rail to the first channel. The yard I dealt with could have ordered 96" sheets if I had wanted them, so you might be able to reduce your scrap with those. If you're going to have some extra material available I would do the edge breaks like hapehour did which add stiffness to the panels. I wanted to do that but in my case it would have required more panels and finding someone with a metal brake big enough.
 
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After reading the topics regarding ,wave shields ,under skinning and such .

I just went to the dealer to add it to my order .

He told me I do not need it .

He said I'll be happy to take your money and get more profit but, I still don't need it .

The lake my marina is on, is inland and the size is 2352 acres .

What is everyone's thoughts ? I can still add it .

It is listed as a " wave tamer " on the Bennington site ,is that the same ?

Thanks in advance.
 
"Need" is different for everyone, but I boat on a much smaller 800 acre lake, fairly deep. It gets stirred up enough on weekends with wake boats and such that it's just a more comfortable ride. "Needed", no. Nice to have, yes.
 
And most people don't think about resale going up.
 
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