Specs on building an aluminum pontoon houseboat.

by Larry
(Tennessee River, Alabama)

Just wanted to put out some specs and details about building and aluminum pontoon houseboat. Just a few notes on my pics posted yesterday. I am using .090 5052 aluminum with a few bends for strength. My aluminum welding is improving.

One thing I found out when pressurizing a more or less rectangular object, the first time it will scare you to death. You will need a gauge that reads very low. I am pressure checking at 2 psi. At that pressure, each section looks like a pregnant guppy.

The picture shows the detail of the pontoon shape. The bottom is 18" and at an estimated 7500 pounds, should draft 8 or 9 inches. Above the sealed bottom will be areas of storage for water, fuel, sewer, etc. The floor will be above the water high enough so as to avoid being washed over with waves.

I have been having back problems, but I hope to be able to put the floor down in a couple of weeks. One problem that I have is that now is prime fishing time here.

Larry

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Reply - Answer
Well Larry, sorry to hear about your back troubles, and I totally understand the dilemma of "prime fishing time" and building a houseboat.

Glad that you added the aluminum thickness, gauge, aluminum grade and the 2 psi pressure testing information, it will help many others who are in the preliminary stages of looking at houseboat plans.


Lastly, hopefully some of our readers will share and post comments about their past or present houseboat building experiences. Feel free to use the "Click here to post comments." link found at the bottom of this page.


Thanks again for sharing, IAN from all-about-houseboats

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