Pontoon Boat

OKAY, It time again to voice your opinions! I have been given the green
light to get me one of those nice pontoon boats, you know, the kind where
you can keep your hind end out of the frigid water. I am looking for one
that has river capabilities, as well as still water. I have been searching
the internet, looking at Outcast fish 9, Creek company ODC 816, and various
Water Skeeters. So What does anyone else have, are they happy with it, and
any other recommendations. Thanks for your advice.

David Ballard

http://www.kickboat.com/

Not a "pontoon" design, but, I love mine.

You won't find a better personal
craft for rivers, including very rough water, or one more honestly portable.
I
bought a pontoon boat first and never got the damn thing
together the first time before I returned it ... if you have to fight with
frames and tools and little pieces and then keep it assembled and strapped
on top your car ... it ain't portable G

wrote...
http://www.kickboat.com/

Not a "pontoon" design, but, I love mine.

You won't find a better personal
craft for rivers, including very rough water, or one more honestly portable.

How would you know? See below.

I
bought a pontoon boat first and never got the damn thing
together the first time before I returned it ... if you have to fight with
frames and tools and little pieces and then keep it assembled and strapped
on top your car ... it ain't portable G

You never got it together and yet claim it isn't portable? Following
your logic, I've never put together a F-16 so they must suck as well.
I have packed a pontoon boat on my back up to a high mountain lake,
thrown them in the back of a truck, strapped them to vehicles and
never had problems with them being portable. It all depends on your
motivation I guess.....

I would advise against a raft like Larry suggests. I have used one
before and thought a pontoon was much, much better. You sit higher
in a pontoon and can cast more easily, you don't drag as much, you
have more storage, you can maneuver the craft more easily, have more
storage if you get one that has a rear deck, can mount an anchor that
is more functional and so on. There are far more advantages to a
pontoon boat than a raft IMO. While a raft may not blow as much as a
pontoon boat, they sure aren't as easy to control in the wind. I
have rowed rafts, boats, pontoons, used float tubes and one of those
raft contraptions that Larry posted a link for. For a personal
watercraft, a pontoon boat wins IME.

If you want to try one of those rafts, go buy a cheap one person
raft, cut a section out of the floor (assuming that the air chambers
are not connected, which most are not) and give it a shot. You can
make a seat out of some sheets of thick polystyrene to raise you up.
Then borrow or rent a pontoon boat and compare the two. I am sure
you will chuck the raft and go with a pontoon after trying both.
--
Warren
(use troutbum_mt (at) yahoo to reply via email)
For Conclave Info:
http://www.geocities.com/troutbum_mt...nConclave.html

"Warren" wrote


You never got it together and yet claim it isn't portable?

My logic is that I wanted a craft that I could easily carry IN my car,
assemble quickly, and disassemble quickly and put back IN my car. My
search started because I developed a bad case of rotator cuff syndrome from
yanking on dogs and getting my 8ft pram ON my truck was too painful to
accomplish. Getting a pontoon boat ON my truck would have been, too.

When, in on the floor of my shop, I found putting the pontoon together to be
time consuming and frustrating, it was clear that it wasn't the craft to
suit my needs. I have called that need "portability" and I don't think it
is that far off the mark.

Use what you will, and I wouldn't buy any high ticket item on one person's
advice, mine included, but I love my WM, it suits my needs.

A V-boat, or open-ended float tube, is the ticket for me. 5 pounds, no
assembly, just air from arm pump, very portable.

Toney


"Larry L" wrote in message
...

"Warren" wrote


You never got it together and yet claim it isn't portable?

My logic is that I wanted a craft that I could easily carry IN my car,
assemble quickly, and disassemble quickly and put back IN my car. My
search started because I developed a bad case of rotator cuff syndrome
from
yanking on dogs and getting my 8ft pram ON my truck was too painful to
accomplish. Getting a pontoon boat ON my truck would have been, too.

When, in on the floor of my shop, I found putting the pontoon together to
be
time consuming and frustrating, it was clear that it wasn't the craft to
suit my needs. I have called that need "portability" and I don't think it
is that far off the mark.

Use what you will, and I wouldn't buy any high ticket item on one person's
advice, mine included, but I love my WM, it suits my needs.

wrote...
My logic is that I wanted a craft that I could easily carry IN my car,
assemble quickly, and disassemble quickly and put back IN my car.

I could see trying to fit 9' pontoons into a car as being somewhat of
a problem. What was it that caused you problems when trying to get
it into the truck? The weight or trying to handle something that
size given your condition?

My
search started because I developed a bad case of rotator cuff syndrome from
yanking on dogs and getting my 8ft pram ON my truck was too painful to
accomplish. Getting a pontoon boat ON my truck would have been, too.

Pontoons are pretty easy to load in a truck IMO. Take the air out of
the pontoons and put the frame in with the pontoons still attached.
Take out, inflate and go or take out, go and then inflate depending
on the situation. Of course I have only done it about a dozen times
but found that they were quicker and easier than what it takes to put
my drift boat in the water and get everything ready. Pontoons can be
a difficult to carry when hiking into a high mountain lake in my far
too painful experience. I know what to do differently next time
though... A kickboat is probably better in that regard.

When, in on the floor of my shop, I found putting the pontoon together to be
time consuming and frustrating, it was clear that it wasn't the craft to
suit my needs. I have called that need "portability" and I don't think it
is that far off the mark.

Once you put it together though, do you really need to take the whole
thing apart? Most people I know don't disassemble the frames. Of
course they aren't using a car either......

Use what you will, and I wouldn't buy any high ticket item on one person's
advice, mine included, but I love my WM, it suits my needs.

That's why I suggested a comparison. I totally prefer a pontoon over
one of those kickboats. For you the kickboat is better. Who knows
which one the inquirer will like better. g It depends on
preferences and usages I guess.
--
Warren
(use troutbum_mt (at) yahoo to reply via email)
For Conclave Info:
http://www.geocities.com/troutbum_mt...nConclave.html

david ballard wrote:

OKAY, It time again to voice your opinions! I have been given the green
light to get me one of those nice pontoon boats, you know, the kind where
you can keep your hind end out of the frigid water. I am looking for one
that has river capabilities, as well as still water. ...

Anybody who puts a kick powered pontoon boat on moving water is a total
****ing moron. Forget pontoon boats, belly boats, silly little inner-tube
contraptions and all that other nonsense and get yourself a canoe.

--
Ken Fortenberry

"Ken Fortenberry" wrote in message
y.com...
david ballard wrote:

OKAY, It time again to voice your opinions! I have been given the
green
light to get me one of those nice pontoon boats, you know, the kind
where
you can keep your hind end out of the frigid water. I am looking for
one
that has river capabilities, as well as still water. ...

Anybody who puts a kick powered pontoon boat on moving water is a total
****ing moron. Forget pontoon boats, belly boats, silly little inner-tube
contraptions and all that other nonsense and get yourself a canoe.

or not a ****ing pussy. I didn't read where he said anything about class V
rapids.

I can't speak for pontoons, but I have used mine in "white water" ....
several different times, and felt 100% totally safe

and I'm a pussy, a lily livered, whimpo ...

check the pictures section at www.kickboat.com for what they can safely do

oh, you do NOT use fins in rivers, at least I don't, that is what the oars
are for ... having your feet dangling ain't real bright ....

Ken Fortenberry wrote:
Anybody who puts a kick powered pontoon boat on moving water is a total
****ing moron. Forget pontoon boats, belly boats, silly little inner-tube
contraptions and all that other nonsense and get yourself a canoe.

You are right about kick-powered boats and float tubes. However, there
are many makes of pontoon boat that are powered by oars that function
very well and very safely on rivers. You keep your feet out of the water
and row. The Outcast series of boats comes to mind. I have an Outcast
900, and it is excellent on rivers. It is also good on lakes, which is
the only palce I will use the fins.

TL
TL