personal pontoon boats?

[ruthven78]

Ok so I pretty much hounded my wife to get the boat and I believe I've broken through her stone wall......course I had to pick up an extra 12hr night shift at work to sway her but the one shift (all overtime) will pay for the boat and a little more....

So what else will I need?

Waders, anchor, fins, fish finder?

I already have a trolling motor and battery if I so wanted to use them

[leahcim_dahc]

Ok so I pretty much hounded my wife to get the boat and I believe I've broken through her stone wall......course I had to pick up an extra 12hr night shift at work to sway her but the one shift (all overtime) will pay for the boat and a little more....

They all break eventually...just takes a bit of patience, strategically placed photos, and obnoxious; exaggerated sighing while rifling through a cabela's catalog. It seems to work for the kids...so why not?

[ruthven78]

welp headin to costco to go buy my pontoon boat, that is if it will fit in my hyundai lol...if not gonna have to wait till I can take the minivan there

[racfish]

I too have been looking at pontoon boats.I have a 16' Tracer by Smokercraft but Id like a small personal boat for the smaller lakes in Ea Wa.Now that I'm under 300 lbs there are so many options.Ive seen some that weigh 40 lbs .Are they really that easy to fill with air and or that easy to take down?

[leahcim_dahc]

Are they really that easy to fill with air and or that easy to take down?

I cheat...I fill my pontoons with an air compressor. Just got to be careful and not over inflate them. I have also used a double action pump to fill them...takes a bit of time and effort, but not too hard.

When I first put mine together, I filled pontoons and let it sit for some time. Just to see what kind of air loss/leaks would develop. So far I haven't had any.

Teardown can be rather simple. I am not sure about other manufacturers, but mine has some quick disconnect pins. I didn't particularly care for the pins and put the frame together using bolts and nylon lock nuts. I felt the quick disconnects made the frame a touch too sloppy of a fit. When I store it...I'll just unstrap the pontoons, depthfinder and leave the frame intact and deflate the pontoons.

Putting mine together to fish off takes about 10-15 minutes. By the time I stash the gear, mount the rods in the rod holder, install the battery, depthfinder, and trolling motor...it was easier for me to just leave it together. Slightly inconvenient...but I can live with it.


Chad

[bp11139]

I have a few pointers for you with your new pontoon. Luckily for me, my girlfriend purchased the same exact pontoon for me on my birthday from costco. Perhaps, if we were married it would have been a different story.

First off I must say I am extremely happy with this boat. The anchor system is pretty basic but it works. I just put a large brick in the pouch and that works fine on the lakes with little wind.

My girlfriend has a toyota fj crusier. I tried putting it ontop of her racks but I didnt feel safe with it up there. So unfortunatly I have to keep the boat unattached in the back of my volvo sedan. I have the side guards in my back seat and the rest in my trunk. This has gotten myself quite effecient when putting it together. When i first put the pontoon together i ran into trouble blowing up the pontoons. I had a electric blower to fill it up. This wasnt strong enough to inflate the pontoon. So What the result was to put the inflating gauge in the open position, use the attachment and the electric blower to blow it up. I had to use the quick hand technique to pull the attachment off and turn the gauge to the closed position. I did find a cheap hand pump that was strong enough to inflate the pontoon when the gauge is in the closed position. I found the pump at Joes for around 20ish. When inflating the pontoons I use the electric air blower to quickly fill it up. I then use the hand pump to finish off the job. With this all said, it takes me around 15-20 min to put everything together.

I have yet to put the wheel on it. I dont know why, but for some reason i have not. I carry the whole pontoon holding the foot rests above my head and rest most of the weight on my back. I know, I know, I should just use the wheel but sometimes I question my decisions. If I get a trolling motor I will put the wheel on.

Heres a few more pointers in regards to your pontoon.

Be VERY careful when using the rod holder. In fact I dont know if I would even use it. It doesnt hold the rod affectively. My first time taking it out when I was getting everything situated, moving around had my rod fall out. Yep, gone down deep somewhere in pine lake. Fortunatly it was my girlfriends pole (cheapy).

With your size, I would move the seat all the way back. Im sure you would have realized this but, the first time out could be uncomfortable.

Have a great time with it. You'll love it. If you have any specific questions, pm me!

[ruthven78]

well I found out after getting home that the boat comes with a rod holder and a valve attachment for hand pumps....I was having a really hard time finding pumps that came with the correct attachment. I had bought a strap on rod holder at Sportsman's Warehouse that would hold the fly rod, and Im glad I did because the one that comes with the boat looks like it would only hold a spinning rod (tube shaped). I also picked up a battery w/charger for the fish finder I bought from Marc for $20 at Sportsman's and having it charge right now. I found the waders Im going to get but I was at the store too late and just figured I'd come back today to get them. I called Big 5 on division today about the Caddis fins and they said they had them in stock...evidently I am just blind and didnt see em when I was in yesterday or they got stock last night. I found some neoprene hip waders at Sportsman's for $29 but I couldnt find anyone to help me before they closed so going back today after I check out what Cabela's has to offer. Sportsman's also had the shoes I bought so I got to get a good look at them....course the ones I ordered online wont be in until next week. Im glad I pulled out the manual when I got home last night so I could see what all is supposed to come with the boat.

[Reel_Nut]

My wife had no challenge with me buying pontoon boat hen i told her i bought one for her also.

[kutthroatkilla]

My wife had no challenge with me buying pontoon boat hen i told her i bought one for her also.

Very nice. I'm going to go with a toon over a tube. The the toon should last a lifetime and I'll get one for around $450. I want the oars to be at least 7 feet long. I'm mostly a stillwater fisherman, but they work well in rivers and they anchor well in lakes. The idea of being it a tube and kicking just tires me out thinking of it all day. Sam-K -- I'm going with a toon not a tube, just to let ya know. PM me if you want to know the model and brand. KTK

[FISHKILLER]

I just purchased a Creek Company 8' pontoon boat for $180. I figured it was worth a shot for the price. If I end up enjoying fishing out of a pontoon I will buy a nice whitewater boat this winter when they go on sale. It has a lifetime warranty. I will set it up and take it out this weekend and let you all know how it does. I am selling my boat and tow rig so this was one of my only options for getting off the shore now. Don't wory though I can still take my dad's boat when I decide to go out in the CR.

[A9]

My wife had no challenge with me buying pontoon boat hen i told her i bought one for her also.

Very nice. I'm going to go with a toon over a tube. The the toon should last a lifetime and I'll get one for around $450. I want the oars to be at least 7 feet long. I'm mostly a stillwater fisherman, but they work well in rivers and they anchor well in lakes. The idea of being it a tube and kicking just tires me out thinking of it all day. Sam-K -- I'm going with a toon not a tube, just to let ya know. PM me if you want to know the model and brand. KTK

Looks like I'll be kicking around trying to keep up with ya. I just need something to get out on a few local lakes every once in a while, cause I already have a 12' Aluminum....I just want something quick and easy to get out on the water, float tube does the trick...

[ruthven78]

Well NOBODY had the Caddis FF model fin in stock. Big 5 only had the stubby caddis fins and Marc already warned me about those. Everywhere else sold crappy ones that looked like they would slice side to side through the water easily. Sportsman's said they dont know if they will even get more FF model in stock or not. They were also out of the $29 neoprene hipwaders (stocking foot) so instead I got the Allen Gold Stream breathable chest waders they had that were marked down from like $90 to $59...course stupid me didnt look in the box BEFORE leaving the store, or even before getting home...stupid me didnt even try them on at the store....yeah I was pretty inattentive today...they fit well, cept the inseam is a little long but that what I have to live with to have waders fit my butt & gut lol. The chest belt and sliding gravel guards were missing, makes me wonder if that is why there were marked down. I also decided to pick up a pair of felt bottom shoes and will just send the ones I ordered online back if I dont like them. The Allen Gold Stream wading boots I got were marked down from like $50 to $34.99. It all fits fairly well, with a pair of socks and waders on the boots are almost a snug fit, should give me pretty good ankle support, once they break in they should be even better. Sportman's was the only place I found stocking foot hip waders, and since they were out of the $29 ones, and I didnt feel like paying $69 for the hodgman breathable ones, I went with the Allen Gold Steam ones instead.

So needless to say Im flipperless right now, but going to oder the caddis lace lock fins online. Tomorow going to take the toon to Amber and try it out, just going to row it...the oars are pretty nice. I put it all together today, pretty easy really, course me being inattentive tried to put the right frame on the left pontoon and vice versa...TWICE! lol....and I put the middle frame on backwards so the receiving tube for the wheel would have been in the front....but hey, now I how to put it together pretty well. Havent found a way to hook the fish finder up yet and dont think I will take the trolling motor with me tomorow but it does have a nice motor mount and its own anchor system with a locking cleat. I looked at the Trout Unlimited model with the same brand name at Cabela's and to me they look pretty damn near identical, cept for about $100 price difference.

Oh and it fits great in my little Hyundai Accent....course I had to fold the back seat down and completely deflate the pontoons and break the frame comepletely down......

[Lotech Joe]

Craig,
See ya at the lake. I'll probably be there between 8 & 9. :bounce: :bounce:

[ruthven78]

Craig,
See ya at the lake. I'll probably be there between 8 & 9. :bounce: :bounce:

oi would have been there sooner except stupid me somehow ended up going down Rock Lake Rd and got quite ways down there till I had that "wait a minute" moment. It was cool to meet you and Marc, thanks for the help with the toon!

I still have one of Marc's flies too....

[Marc Martyn]

I still have one of Marc's flies too....

I meant for you to keep that so you can make up some when you get your tying stuff unpacked and organized. I used that same Olive Leach all day long. Great pattern.