Thanks Bassboy, I was hoping you'd chime in on this one. That's a really good idea and I think it will be more cost effective as well. My supports are 4" wide 24" apart. Here's a pic. Essentially I'm going to take the 24' pontoons and cut them in half to make 2-12" Boats.
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A couple more questions for you. I'm thinking I'd cut 1" out of the web so that the hat's top is 2" wide, 4" overall(so they fit either direction on my bracing). Then I thought if I cut the 1/2" out of the height I could be more efficient with waste, by getting 8 pieces out out of a 4 x 8 sheet. Will cutting the 1/2" in height make any difference in the strength? I don't think so, but I thought I'd ask.
I'm guessing option B would be the better design as it speads out the touch points on the deck right? Or doesn't it really matter. I kind of like option A since it will require less deck connections. I'm thinking about using aluminum decking material and I think I'm going to have to have the screws visible on the top of the deck so it would cut down on the screws being seen.
Do you think the hat design can carry a 6 foot span better than the square tube? Would it help to run one center support just connecting all the crossmember hat supports together? I thought it might help distribute the load a little better( but it's probably no different than screwing the decking material down to the hat bracing).
Thanks for the help!!