| A pontoon boat can create a relaxing family day | | | | like to build a house-style cabin, or place rows of |
| on nearly any body of water, from a lake, to a | | | | chairs covered with an awning. The materials you |
| pond, or a slow-moving river. However, pontoon | | | | use will be largely determined by cost and |
| boats can be expensive. If you want to | | | | availability. |
| experience the fun and relaxation of owning a | | | | While a pontoon can simply float along or be |
| pontoon, never fear! With just a few basic parts, | | | | paddled, most boaters like to equip their boat with |
| you can build your own pleasure water craft. | | | | a motor. In this case, a standard outboard motor |
| The basic design of a pontoon is essentially a raft | | | | will usually do the trick. Since pontoons aren't |
| with cylindrical floats attached to the bottom to | | | | usually intended for speed, a small motor will |
| keep it afloat. The most important part, the | | | | normally suit your needs, but some boaters have |
| floats, can be created from any number of simple | | | | successfully used motors of up to 200hp with no |
| materials. Pipes, barrels, or fabricated boxes made | | | | problems. |
| out of concrete or steel will all work just fine. As | | | | Whatever style of boat you decide to use, |
| long as the floats are sturdy and air tight, they will | | | | ready-made or handcrafted, you are sure to get |
| do the job and keep your pontoon boat afloat. | | | | hours upon hours of enjoyment from your |
| Other parts include a simple, raft-style platform | | | | investment, and make countless memories in the |
| that can be made out of plywood, plastic or | | | | process. |
| sheet metal. Above the platform, many people | | | | |