I have an old 20' pontoon boat at my deer lease that we fish on our small 50 acre lake with. It's a 70's or 80's model, and it's basically a pontoon deck with a trolling motor on it. It has no outboard. I've thought about fully redoing the boat- redecking it, new carpet/vinyl, new railing, new console, new furniture, new outboard. I see there are multiple pontoon sites for doing this. Has anyone taken on this task? Thanks in advance for the advice!

Goal- I want to set it up for white/hybrid bass fishing. The goal is lots of room with ample seating and fishing spots on the boat. Thinking of putting the console in the center of the pontoon deck for max fishing space around with a lounge or two. The boat will live at or on the lake 100% of the time.

Chad

If you don't have the title for it, get ready for a HUGE PITA experience when you try to register it. It can be done, but it ain't easy.

IF it has TX numbers on it you can check ownership online and they are still around maybe get the title or lost title and transfer to you. A LOT of the old numbers were dropped, then the boat would need to go through a TP&W inspection, was $69 a year ago, and be retitled (more fees). Best to call the TP&W office to be sure.

I have not done a pontoon rebuild but I would think it would be fairly straight forward....

My neighbor did his pontoon and he said he would never do it again. Guess it depends on how much patience and time you have

I had a homebuilt hull.
Getting it titled/registered is a painful process.
First, you have to provide receipts on all materials and hardware used on your build.
Second a game warden has to do a inspection before it's allowed to be titled.

There's information out there, but let me assure you there are no shortcuts allowed.

I did a floor rebuild on one. Complete pain in the butt. My floor braces had channels that the wood slid into on both sides. That was the hardest part getting the wood to slide into those channels. Granted I am just a shade tree guy with basic tools etc. It may be easier if you have better tools and a shop. It is rewarding when finished though. Just lots of work.

My nephew in Lubbock is doing this as a hobby. Bought an old pontoon with no motor. Is currently turning it into a two person pontoon cabin so he can sleep on it on weekends. There is one here in Huntsville that is a pontoon cabin. Owned by a retired guy who likes to night fish in the summer.