FAQ

Question: What materials will I need to complete my pontoon boat?

It will depend what length and width you are building however, You will need to pick up some sticks of 1 1/4 PVC (white or gray). If you plan on a wider stance you will also need some decking boards. (approximately 5 1/2 will be added to the width with each deck board added) If you order the Epoxy with your kit you need some cheap paint brushes or small rollers to apply the epoxy and some rubber gloves.

Question: What choices do I have for the protective coating.

There are a few choices available to cover the EPS forms, just keep in mind it has to be safe for EPS or it will melt the foam, it also has to be durable enough to withstand the elements of "being a boat"! Please check out our video page.

A. You can use the Epoxy that Styro Innovations sends with the kit (its safe tested for foam and ships free if purchased with the kit) You can apply several coats for durability if needed. You also will have the option to use anything you desire (like fiberglass or a popular bed-liner spray) after you have a full coat of the epoxy resin encapsulating the pontoons. Please be aware that Styro Innovations purchases the resin in bulk and only passes the resin on to give the customer an available resource.

B. You can use the bed-liner spray (video available on this site). Just keep in mind you will absolutely need to paint the pontoons with a WATER BASE paint before you apply the bed-liner paint or it will melt the foam.

C. You can apply fiberglass resin over the pontoons if you have the skills. We have learned that not all fiberglass resins will go directly over the raw EPS forms without melting during the curing process. Please do your homework and test a small area before you go "all in" with fiberglass coatings. Hint; If you apply a coat of the safe tested epoxy FIRST...then you will be able to apply fiberglass resins without melting the foam.

D. You can take the pontoons to a truck bed-liner shop and have them sprayed with a colored polyurea. This is the process that Styro Innovations discontinued due to the availability and price of the material. Not every shop will want to spray anything other than a truck bed, so please check with them before you drag a bunch of pontoons down there only to be sent away.

E. We have discovered another way to coat the EPS foam safely. We purchased a 5-gallon bucket of rubberized roof coating; the price will range 50 to 100 bucks for 5 gallons, and it goes a long way with several coats. (we used Duck Coat from Menards, both black and white) We have spayed it with an under-coating gun, rolled it on with a roller and even dipped the toons. It shields the foam with a rubber coating and seals it nicely. We also thru in some sand for a non-slip surface. This is a game changer for a low budget coating that anyone can do.

You may have other plans to cover the raw pontoons your way, these are just a few ways that have been tested and to help you along. Only you can choose the mentioned choices above with what resources you are accustom too and what skills and patients you have.

Question: How much do the kits weigh and how much weight will the hold?

Again, this will depend on some variables with the length and width of your project. Here are some shipping details on a 9 foot model. The shipping weight with each box shipped is approximately 8 pounds a box. The 9 foot starter kit with the floor option is a 5 box shipment. If you choose to go longer in the length you can do so with 2 foot increments that ships in 2 boxes, so add another 15 to 20 pounds for each 2 foot increments in length. The 10lb shipping weight is for the corrugated box and the EPS forms only. If you order the epoxy resin with your shipment there will be a couple boxes that weigh 4 to 5 pounds more. The total weight of a 9 foot boat and floor will be close to 40 to 50 pounds and will accumulate quickly if you decide to add decking boards to the width and of course the PVC will also play a big factor in total weight.

This is only an opinion, but we tested the 9 foot model and it will hold a 250 pound man with no problems. It will actually hold twice that but you have to draw the line between stability and just too much weight to where the boat no longer performs. This is your project and you need to be the judge of how comfortable you want to be. I weigh 265lbs and can go out with a 9 ft long x 38 inch wide model, attach an electric trolling motor and a old school battery along with some equipment and feel comfortable. There are some options if you want to hold more weight by adding to the length and or adding to the floor. The floor adds to the surface touching the water and adds a lot of buoyancy. Please contact us with an email if you have any special request on supporting weight. I have told many potential customers that we felt these pontoon kits were not for them and recommend them to look elsewhere. We just want to make sure you understand all the details on what to expect.

Note To Buyer and we are just saying!

These pontoon kits are NOT made in a mass production enviroment. Every pontoon is CNC cut out of EPS then manually dressed out of the block individually when they are in a somewhat fragile state. Sometimes they will develop some cosmetic flaws during handling before they get coated with poly-urea. This has no effect on performance and is hardly noticeable to the human eye. Please contact us before you order if you feel this is an issue.
The tolerances are very loose (+\- .062) to keep the fit consistent with all the models. There is some accumulative tolerance that may affect the total length of the pontoons once assembled. The poly-urea process adds a total of .030 to .040 layer to the outside dimensions. No worries if you are worried about fit...every pontoon is fit tested before we box them to assure you will have no issues.