For a year now Ron (Neat Times), Steve (Fasteddy) and I have been sharing ideas about converting a pontoon boat into a houseboat. Ron has actually done his and did a fine job of it, too!
http://motorbicycling.com/showthread.php?t=39198
I came into a possession of 20 foot long one my brother bought, not realizing that the motor needed work and the decking was in need of replacement. He has so little time here at the lake that he agreed to trade me for my fishing boat and motor. I've spent a lot of time staring at it, discussing possibilities with Steve while he has been here and also doing some research on the internet, especially regarding giving it a sail rig.
The plan is for it to have three alternate power sources. It already has a 40 hsp Mercury in need of a carburetor tune up. I'm hoping that running some Star-Tron through the fuel system will clear that up. I think it will. It started last summer, but only ran on choke, so I think the enzymes in the gas additive may well do the trick.
It will also get a sail rig, the mast of which will be affixed to a two foot extension at the bow. Sideboards will be made from aluminum plate. Eight feet of the 16 foot deck will be open to allow for the boom while sailing. Behind it will be an eight foot by eight foot cabin.
Mounted next to the 40 Merc will be a 173cc Harbor Freight Predator air cooled four stroke mated to the lower unit of a 10 hsp long shaft Evinrude outboard. Starting the Predator will be through a rear panel access at the rear of the cabin as it is pull start. Throttle will be forward at the front end of the cabin.
There will be two sets of controls. On the inside of the front wall of the cabin will be the steering wheel, throttle, electric start and gear shift for the Mercury engine. On the other (deck) side of that wall will be another steering wheel, throttle, kill switch and gear shift connected to the Predator. Since the engines will be tied together via a connecting rod linkage, both engines will turn regardless of which steering wheel is employed. That way I can steer from inside in foul weather or under speed and from outside when fishing and trolling with the Predator engine.
It may sound nutty, but it will work. I want for it to be very economical to operate, which the 40 horse two stroke is not. A 40 horse motor is no good for trolling either. So that's where the Predator comes in. I don't know yet how loud it will be. Sound carries on the water, so I may set up the exhaust so there is a diverter, like a two way valve so that when starting it up it can exhaust to the air normally for an air cooled engine, but once under power I may divert the exhaust flow to underwater with a copper exhaust pipe. (You can't start the engine with the exhaust under water or it can suck water up into the engine. Don't want that!) It may lose a bit of power that way, but should quiet it down a lot. Experience and tinkering will tell.
As for the cabin it will be pretty bare bones, with a couple of cots that can fold out for naps or an extended trip, a fold out table, sink for cleaning fish and counter for cooking on a propane camp stove. In one corner will be a wonderful small wood stove Dan gave me for this project. It had belonged to his grandmother and will be the best thing about the cabin. In rainy, blustery weather it will be a comfort to light a small fire to dry out and take off the chill.
So that's the plan. We've been calling each other the "boat buoys" in our dialogue about having fun on the water and never growing up, just old. I think of it as celebrating the Huck Finn in all of us. So welcome to my glorified raft. This thread won't get many posts until next spring, I imagine, when the new deck goes on and then the cabin gets built. Over the winter I expect to get the Predator/Evinrude together so that when Steve arrives for summer camp we can get the sail rig together and put it in the lake... woohoo!
SB
http://motorbicycling.com/showthread.php?t=39198
I came into a possession of 20 foot long one my brother bought, not realizing that the motor needed work and the decking was in need of replacement. He has so little time here at the lake that he agreed to trade me for my fishing boat and motor. I've spent a lot of time staring at it, discussing possibilities with Steve while he has been here and also doing some research on the internet, especially regarding giving it a sail rig.
The plan is for it to have three alternate power sources. It already has a 40 hsp Mercury in need of a carburetor tune up. I'm hoping that running some Star-Tron through the fuel system will clear that up. I think it will. It started last summer, but only ran on choke, so I think the enzymes in the gas additive may well do the trick.
It will also get a sail rig, the mast of which will be affixed to a two foot extension at the bow. Sideboards will be made from aluminum plate. Eight feet of the 16 foot deck will be open to allow for the boom while sailing. Behind it will be an eight foot by eight foot cabin.
Mounted next to the 40 Merc will be a 173cc Harbor Freight Predator air cooled four stroke mated to the lower unit of a 10 hsp long shaft Evinrude outboard. Starting the Predator will be through a rear panel access at the rear of the cabin as it is pull start. Throttle will be forward at the front end of the cabin.
There will be two sets of controls. On the inside of the front wall of the cabin will be the steering wheel, throttle, electric start and gear shift for the Mercury engine. On the other (deck) side of that wall will be another steering wheel, throttle, kill switch and gear shift connected to the Predator. Since the engines will be tied together via a connecting rod linkage, both engines will turn regardless of which steering wheel is employed. That way I can steer from inside in foul weather or under speed and from outside when fishing and trolling with the Predator engine.
It may sound nutty, but it will work. I want for it to be very economical to operate, which the 40 horse two stroke is not. A 40 horse motor is no good for trolling either. So that's where the Predator comes in. I don't know yet how loud it will be. Sound carries on the water, so I may set up the exhaust so there is a diverter, like a two way valve so that when starting it up it can exhaust to the air normally for an air cooled engine, but once under power I may divert the exhaust flow to underwater with a copper exhaust pipe. (You can't start the engine with the exhaust under water or it can suck water up into the engine. Don't want that!) It may lose a bit of power that way, but should quiet it down a lot. Experience and tinkering will tell.
As for the cabin it will be pretty bare bones, with a couple of cots that can fold out for naps or an extended trip, a fold out table, sink for cleaning fish and counter for cooking on a propane camp stove. In one corner will be a wonderful small wood stove Dan gave me for this project. It had belonged to his grandmother and will be the best thing about the cabin. In rainy, blustery weather it will be a comfort to light a small fire to dry out and take off the chill.
So that's the plan. We've been calling each other the "boat buoys" in our dialogue about having fun on the water and never growing up, just old. I think of it as celebrating the Huck Finn in all of us. So welcome to my glorified raft. This thread won't get many posts until next spring, I imagine, when the new deck goes on and then the cabin gets built. Over the winter I expect to get the Predator/Evinrude together so that when Steve arrives for summer camp we can get the sail rig together and put it in the lake... woohoo!
SB
