The wife and I bought a pontoon to play around the bay in and take cruising - plus I won't have to get the offshore boat dirty on non-fish days.

Anyway, the previous owner took good care of all the vinyl with the exception of three rear areas around the transom - well, I guess pontoons don't have transomes, but you know what I mean. There are vinyl covers over the two boxes and another over the motor well. Unfortunately, I don't have any good pics.

Rather than re-vinyl these areas and then have to maintain it, I'm going to remove them and replace with starboard or some other composite material. The tops will be about 24" x 20" and 36"x 30". What thickness starboard should I make these out of? Will 1.5" hold people standing and jumping off of these? Also, what is the best way to sand/bevel the edges to give it a more finished look?

Thanks,
Larry