seeking advice and suggestions on this first time endeavor !!!!!!!!!!!
Hey pv,
Your best chance at getting advice and suggestions would be if we had more information about what you were doing and what kind of advice you actually want.
Also, keep in mind that this is primarily a support forum for CLC products so most of the folks here, while quite familar with stitch and glue kayaks, canoes, rowing and sail boats and even the occasional power boat, may not have much experience with a small pontoon boat.
That said, since CLC's product line includes tools and materials, as well as boat plans and kits, there's lots of folks here that could help out with the how-to's of boatbuilding. Just give us a bit more info and try and tie it to something that people on this site are likely to have run into.
Have fun,
Laszlo
My main concern is with the use of Epoxy and Fiberglass which I have no experence. I need a experienced estament for these materials. Boat will be built with 3/4" & 1/2" marine plywood, 4 - 10' runners the length & 5 - 6' stringers across.
Demensions: 10' L x 6' W x 1 1/2' H total.
Pontoons: 10' L x 2' W x 1 1/2' H.
Spread between pontoons: 8' L x 2' W x 3" H.
At least you have an idea of what you want to build pv, that's a good place to start.
Looking at those numbers I hope you're prepared for what this project will weigh once completed. There's a lot of plywood lurking behind those dimensions, then adding fiberglass and epoxy's gonna bump the poundage higher yet.
If, eventually, you don't gain answers here, there's another forum (membership's necessary to post to but membership's free) run by the folks who put out Woodenboat magazine.
Contributors there from all over this wonderful globe we inhabit, their collective experience with boats (in general) and fiberglass + epoxy for building them (in particular) ought to help fill any gaps in your current knowledge.
pv,
Here's a link to CLC's Shop Tips for Working with Epoxy and Fiberglass. It should answer a lot of your questions.
As spclark points out, you're building your boat like a tank, so you won't really need fiberglass & epoxy for strength. All you need is the abrasion resistance and sealing. For that, if it was my boat, I'd use 6 oz cloth on the bottoms where the pontoons are most likely to scrape and 4 oz everywhere else. if you think that certain areas will not have to stand up to scraping against docks, other boats or people walking on them, you could even skip the glass and just use an epoxy coating. Be sure to varnish or paint the surfaces. Bare epoxy doesn't like the UV in sunlight.
Browse through the Shop Tips (all of them, not just the epoxy/fiberglass section). There's lots of good info on boatbuilding in general to get you started right.
Laszlo
Glen-L has plans and a forum that deals with these
https://www.boatdesigns.com/12-28-Huck-Finn-trailerable-pontoons/products/169/
http://www.glen-l.com/phpBB2/index.php
sugestions as to material thickness
The image is invisible without a google login.
Laszlo
It's 'invisible' to me, despite my being logged into google.
Error says '...can't be loaded, try again later.'
Doubt I'll bother.
WHAT SIZE PLYWOOD DO U RECOMMEND?
Still can't see the picture, google still wants me to sign in. Is it supposed to be plans for your boat?
Laszlo
https://www.dropbox.com/t/AeN5BU1u5gD3OqTW
  Â
OK, I was able to download the image from dropbox. I've hosted a copy on my personal server so that it can be displayed here so that other folks can see it and weigh in if they feel like it. Your question is, based on the "built like a tank" comments, what thicknesses of plywood do we think that you need, right?
Give me a day or so to think about this.
Laszlo
Click on the picture to see a larger version. Right click on that and select view image to see it full-sized.
Laszlo
   Thanks much.
I used the Dropbox link earlier to look at that plan; Laszlo's picking it up & hosting it gives it a wider audience....
All that 3/4" ply + fiberglass & epoxy's gonna be pretty heavy, like I said earlier.
I have to wonder too if, with that dry weight, what kind of displacement it'd have once afloat? Load capacity?
Little if any apparent reserve buoyancy in that slab-sided design... stability's going to be minimal.
What kind of deck layout's planned?
What's the anticipated use
Propulsion?
Should I eliminate the 3/4" ply and build it with all 1/2"ply?
The pontoons will each be filled wilh styrofoam for additional bouyancy.
Deck will be carpeted with 1/2" aluminum railing all around fitted with 2 pontoon style chairs and 2 pedestal swivel fishing chairs.
Boat will be used only for fishing and propelled with a bow mounted trolling motor only.
I'm all for having fun in the shop, trying out new ideas, gaining satisfaction from building it myself, etc., etc.
And adding the caveat that this is only one person's unsolicited opinion and you've probably had all these thoughts yourself and rejected them for your own good reasons anyway...
Why not just buy yourself a beat up old aluminum jon boat for less than a couple hundred $$ (in other words, much less than you'll spend on materials per your planned wooden boat). Or even a new one? Or, still a deal if you start thinking about the labor of your build, maybe one of these for $799, which is basically what I think you are planning to make on your own: https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/p/field-stream-angler-10-fishing-boat-21fnsunglr10fshngpso/21fnsunglr10fshngpso?sku=21820646&camp=CSE:DSG_92700048853077568_lia_pla-824969399649&segment=&gclid=Cj0KCQjw1PSDBhDbARIsAPeTqrf0OsiBm6dWJfxEs6563M50N32-8PU6dhm2ExL3Z2tE6V3LJxtwgWEaAgDiEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
You'd be out there on the water fishing in no time. With plenty of time, and mabe even some money, saved to put towards building yourself a nice CLC kit of your choice?
And with my unsolicited 2 cents added, if you go forward with your build, all the best to you and I hope it turns out well.
PV, I'm adding another note just to ensure that you understand the physics involved. Filling the pontoons with styrofoam doesn't add any buoyancy, in fact it minimally decreases your reserve buoyancy due to the small added weight of the foam. Buoyancy will be determined solely by the dimensions (displacement) of your pontoons.
There will be positives and negatives with the foam fill idea. The positive is that the thing will be basically unsinkable should a pontoon leak. The negative is that you might be increasing the chances for decreased air flow and thus for rot. If your plan is to completely seal your pontoons with no access ports for bailing or drying, that is OK so long as you never have even the smallest leak. In my opinion is almost invevitable after some period of use - a seam will get a hailine crack or whatever. So, if it were me, I'd think about building in some access ports on top of the pontoons so that they could be opened, inspected, dried out, etc.. (Even a couple of these will add some cost...) But then again, your current design doesn't include drainage (limber) holes between your frames, and even with limber holes I dont think you'd get good drainage between compartments.
I don't think there are easy answers, just things to think about here. Based on experience I get VERY nervous about any sealed wooden compartment. Taking liberties with the quote from Jurassic Park - "Rot finds a way."