Horst Waterbike Restoration – Pontoons Repaired

You may recall that in June I retrieved the rusted, discarded remains of what turned out to be a 1950s Horst Waterbike. Today I picked up the tiny aluminum pontoons from Glen, the man in the woods who does welding, junk trading, and anything to make a buck. I also learned that he makes metal art from old shovels, turning them into large beetles and spiders for garden decorations. He recently sold 40 of them.

To repair the damaged pontoon, he cut away the dented section from the bottom, hammered it flat again, and welded it back together. He also noticed that there were hairline cracks along the original welds, so he re-welded the bottom seams, adding metal to the bottom edge to make it stronger.

I’ll probably do a bit of rust removal from the frame this year, but the bulk of the project will have to wait until Spring, when the warmer weather returns. The pontoons will be cleaned and polished. I’ll sand blast the steel frame, spray an automotive-grade epoxy primer and paint, then reassemble the little boat for relaxing cruises around Thayer Lake.