New Pontoon Boat

[Lotech Joe]

Just ordered the Colorado XT from Cabela's. Cant wait to get it. After this Spring's yard work, I should have some time for relaxation with a fly rod in hand. I ordered the sage color because there are so many out there with orange boats.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templ ... t=9&podId=
0052743&parentId=cat360011&masterpathid=&navAction=jump&cmCat=MainCatcat20431-cat360011_TGP&catalogCode=
IJ&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat360011&hasJS=true

Sorry for the length of the link.

[Mike Carey]

SWEET! Enjoy and catch lots of fish in it!

[fish4brains]

You would cry if I told you the price of that same boat as Costco!

[Marc Martyn]

I ordered the sage color because there are so many out there with orange boats.

He knows the price at Costco and they only have Pumpkin and Black.

Meet you on the lake with it, Joe:cheers:

[Lotech Joe]

You would cry if I told you the price of that same boat as Costco!

I'm not sure, but I think the boats at Costco are the older models. They have gear bags on the front of the pontoons that can snag a fly line in a heartbeat. I don't think they include the transport wheel and you have to pay for shipping and handling and tax. At Cabela's, which is actually closer to me, all you pay is tax. I thought I had checked them out pretty well. Maybe not though.

[David Hall]

Joe - you did your homework, made a purchase, no regrets, just enjoy life and don't look back. I look forward to enjoying lake time with you, Marc, Mike and anyone else who loves to fish and laugh.

Dave

[Mike Carey]

judging from the picture, similar boats but not exact. Joe is very right about those front storage bags. That was the one negative I saw on the Costco unit. With my luck I'd lean forward to get something out and fall right in!

[fish4brains]

You would cry if I told you the price of that same boat as Costco!

I'm not sure, but I think the boats at Costco are the older models. They have gear bags on the front of the pontoons that can snag a fly line in a heartbeat. I don't think they include the transport wheel and you have to pay for shipping and handling and tax. At Cabela's, which is actually closer to me, all you pay is tax. I thought I had checked them out pretty well. Maybe not though.

My bad, I did not look at the Costco one very hard since I already own a 'toon. Enjoy, they are serious fun on moving water.

[Lotech Joe]

You would cry if I told you the price of that same boat as Costco!

I'm not sure, but I think the boats at Costco are the older models. They have gear bags on the front of the pontoons that can snag a fly line in a heartbeat. I don't think they include the transport wheel and you have to pay for shipping and handling and tax. At Cabela's, which is actually closer to me, all you pay is tax. I thought I had checked them out pretty well. Maybe not though.

My bad, I did not look at the Costco one very hard since I already own a 'toon. Enjoy, they are serious fun on moving water.

No sweat friend.

[Lotech Joe]

fish4brains,
Maybe one day this summer we could tie up on the north fork of the Cd'A. Or you could come my way and we could venture out on Medical Lake or Amber Lake. I'll bet we live less than 10 miles apart. :bounce:

[Rooscooter]

I recently purchased a pontoon boat from Costco.com. I got the "Outfitter XT" which is the same boat as the "Rouge" by Classic Accessories. Actually, Classic Accessories isn't the manufacturer either. They are built in China (surprise!) and are imported by World Wide Sourcing, Inc.

Ordering directly from Costco.com was very easy. There are no shipping charges and the boat came in 2 days. I put mine on the water for the first time this weekend and had no problems. I did have a leaky valve on one pontoon, but after I read the instructions I tightened it with included wrench and the slow leak has stopped.

The model does have forward and rear cargo pockets, but I found that they are no issue with snagging line. They also have the transport wheel. Additionally, when I ordered mine (April 5th) there were two color schemes available (Sage and Pumpkin).

I tired a friends Klamath-LP (Water Skeeter) last year and had issues when I had a fish on with the "points" of the pontoons snagging my line. This pontoon boat had very curved pontoon (I assume for river use) that raised up nearly 18" off the water to the point. This was much more of a problem than the cargo pockets on the "Rouge/Outfitter models.

I would recommend to anyone looking for a pontoon boat to check out the ones at Costco as they are a very good value for the money and are the same models as the "Classic Accessories" models (Rouge and Colorado)for about 2/5ths the price.


Tight Lines!!

[Lotech Joe]

I recently purchased a pontoon boat from Costco.com. I got the "Outfitter XT" which is the same boat as the "Rouge" by Classic Accessories. Actually, Classic Accessories isn't the manufacturer either. They are built in China (surprise!) and are imported by World Wide Sourcing, Inc.

Ordering directly from Costco.com was very easy. There are no shipping charges and the boat came in 2 days. I put mine on the water for the first time this weekend and had no problems. I did have a leaky valve on one pontoon, but after I read the instructions I tightened it with included wrench and the slow leak has stopped.

The model does have forward and rear cargo pockets, but I found that they are no issue with snagging line. They also have the transport wheel. Additionally, when I ordered mine (April 5th) there were two color schemes available (Sage and Pumpkin).

I tired a friends Klamath-LP (Water Skeeter) last year and had issues when I had a fish on with the "points" of the pontoons snagging my line. This pontoon boat had very curved pontoon (I assume for river use) that raised up nearly 18" off the water to the point. This was much more of a problem than the cargo pockets on the "Rouge/Outfitter models.

I would recommend to anyone looking for a pontoon boat to check out the ones at Costco as they are a very good value for the money and are the same models as the "Classic Accessories" models (Rouge and Colorado)for about 2/5ths the price.


Tight Lines!!

I'm not surprised that the boats are made in China. I also hear that China is financing some of our bank's loans. (Go figure) My shirts are made in Liberty Lake by my wife, and my jeans are made in Mexico. That's what I can afford. As far as pontoon boats go, let's go fishing together. We can compare our boats and have FUN at the same time. I plan on hitting a bunch of the lakes north of Newport this year. Let me know if you're game. It'll be fun, I promise.

[Rooscooter]

It's a global world for sure. I'm doing more and more work in the "developing" countries these days as well.

As for pontoon boats, I'm sure most of the components in all pontoon boats are from a developing countries. I grew up in the Boise Valley and used to know the real Buck of Buck's bags. He is long since deceased and the company he started is still in the area down there. Most of the materials and metal components for their pontoon boats aren't from the US. They assemble with parts from many different areas. It's just a sign of the times.

I'd like to meet on a lake sometime. I have told myself that I need to get out to a few more of the area lakes this year. I usually stick to Fish, Williams, Badger, Fan, Horseshoe and of course Amber. I want to hit Bayley and some of other lakes East of Colville this year. Also, I want to try Medical and West Medical as well.

Let me know when you are going and I'll try to get there too.


Tight Lines!!

[Mike Carey]

I recently purchased a pontoon boat from Costco.com. I got the "Outfitter XT" which is the same boat as the "Rouge" by Classic Accessories. Actually, Classic Accessories isn't the manufacturer either. They are built in China (surprise!) and are imported by World Wide Sourcing, Inc.

Ordering directly from Costco.com was very easy. There are no shipping charges and the boat came in 2 days. I put mine on the water for the first time this weekend and had no problems. I did have a leaky valve on one pontoon, but after I read the instructions I tightened it with included wrench and the slow leak has stopped.

The model does have forward and rear cargo pockets, but I found that they are no issue with snagging line. They also have the transport wheel. Additionally, when I ordered mine (April 5th) there were two color schemes available (Sage and Pumpkin).

I tired a friends Klamath-LP (Water Skeeter) last year and had issues when I had a fish on with the "points" of the pontoons snagging my line. This pontoon boat had very curved pontoon (I assume for river use) that raised up nearly 18" off the water to the point. This was much more of a problem than the cargo pockets on the "Rouge/Outfitter models.

I would recommend to anyone looking for a pontoon boat to check out the ones at Costco as they are a very good value for the money and are the same models as the "Classic Accessories" models (Rouge and Colorado)for about 2/5ths the price.


Tight Lines!!

So what is your opinion on the corner storage bags? Can you get to them OK? I have been very tempted as it would be nice to own a smaller pontoon but those bags I swear look like they aretoo far to reach. Do you have problems with this?

[Rooscooter]

The forward and aft storage pockets can't/shouldn't be accessed while in a lake. I think they are there for river fishing as you could easily access them while working your way down a river.

I guess the adventurous could access the front ones O.K., but I lost my invincibility complex in my late twenties!!

Tight Lines!!

[fish4brains]

fish4brains,
Maybe one day this summer we could tie up on the north fork of the Cd'A. Or you could come my way and we could venture out on Medical Lake or Amber Lake. I'll bet we live less than 10 miles apart. :bounce:

Appreciate the offer! I mainly fish for trout on moving water but you just might be able to entice me onto one of those lakes. The CDA is fishing good until it blows up with runoff, but right as it starts to come down and clean up a little, hold on.

[w7co]

I have the Colorado 9 which I like but a word of caution. I have had significant problems with the bladders. I am on my second set. The right bladder has developed a leak in the seam at the rear where the bottom swings up. It seems like a manufacturing problem. (China). The good thing is that Classic Accessories has been very helpful. I was able to fix the last leak with pvc glue. Make sure you don't over fill the bladders with air.

Good Luck

[Lotech Joe]

I have the Colorado 9 which I like but a word of caution. I have had significant problems with the bladders. I am on my second set. The right bladder has developed a leak in the seam at the rear where the bottom swings up. It seems like a manufacturing problem. (China). The good thing is that Classic Accessories has been very helpful. I was able to fix the last leak with pvc glue. Make sure you don't over fill the bladders with air.

Good Luck

Thanks,
I will definitely keep that in mind.

[Lotech Joe]

Got my new boat Friday. (day before yesterday) I assembled it Friday evening hoping to take it for a shake down float this weekend. As it turns out, I got the worst cold I could remember in recent history. Ear aches, bad tonsils, congestion and major coughing from the lungs. I've fished in poor health before, but I wasn't supposed to fish this weekend. To drive the point home, the starter on my car gave up the ghost. So I suffered and whimpered all weekend. Poor me. I hate it when my admiration for me is surpassed only by my sympathy for me.
Anyway, I have the fish finder attached. (I'm going to use a bicycle kick stand for the transducer) I have the bags and stripping basket attached where I want them. The anchor system is complete, except for a small lead weight. And, I'm keeping my wading staff in the starboard side gear bag. The only thing left is to determine where I want to carry the landing net. When I take it out for the first time, I'll decide where to secure the seat; fore or aft of where it is now. It's going to be FUN, for sure.
Be happy for me. Be very happy.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templ ... hasJS=true

[Marc Martyn]

Get over that bug:-& , Joe. Wrong time of the year for that to get the better of you. I can't wait to see how dapper you look in that new flotation device:cheers: It should make for a great photo.