pontoons

[pa]

Hi Folks,

Anyone had any experience with these toons?

Creek co odc sport xl
Classic accessories arrow backpacker
Trout unlimited madason pontoon

Thanx for the help
Pa
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[Bowcutt]

I have the Copper River Pontoon which then became the TU Madison. It has 7' pontoons and I weigh under 200 so it is OK. For the money it has been adequate. I have never owned another pontoon but my brother has a much more expensive 'toon with 8' pontoons. Other than being built from better materials they are about the same for fishing. Mine weighs 45 lb and my brothers is about the same. We put them on car top carriers and the light weight makes that easy. They travel well on top also, just make sure the seat doesn't pop up while you are driving. I do this by orienting the 'toon so the seat is held down by the wind.
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[pa]

thanks bowcutt. i will check this one out also. are 6 ft oars ok for this toon?
pa
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[Bowcutt]

At first I thought they would be too short at 6' because I am accustomed to drift boat oars but they work fine. When I pull up the fins and just row I can really move along quite well. The exercise is good to help keep warm on a cold day and just good anyway. I don't want to put a motor on it and then have to go through the licensing thing and all.
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[sinergy]

Hey Pa I see your looking to buy a Pontoon boat Right on I honestly believe it was one of the best purchases Ive made. Opens up tons of options on the water without the maintenance and cost of a boat .

I got the green Creek Company ODC Sport XL awesome pontoon boat for the money it has 8 foot pontoons, pretty solid frame and 6 foot oars.
Ive fished it on just about every major lake in Utah to my surprise it held up pretty well. Im about 200 lbs and with a trolling motor and battery I felt pretty safe on a really windy day at strawberry.

The only downsides I would say is the first one I bought had a problem with one of the pontoons. The pontoon had a sticky Boston valve that slowly leaked air but I exchanged it out and haven't had any problem since. Oh and if you want to eventually upgrade and get a trolling motor the trolling motor mount isn't included its a separate buy at 90.00 !!! ( If I were you Id try to find a mount thats included )

Also when buying a pontoon boat you'll have to take in consideration of transporting the toon, unless you own a truck transporting the toon can be a bit tricky.I own a suv and fully assembled toon wont fit in the back. So I assemble the frame then strap it to the roof rack then deflate the toons thrown them in the back and inflate them when I get to the lake.
Im thinking about buying a small utility trailer next year... would make things alot easier.

If you have any question let me know I did allot of research before buying mine.
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[flygoddess]

You have already got some EXPERIENSED answers here.
I started off with a 6' Bucks Bag "Alpine". What a great boat! I had it in some of the nastiest weather on both Strawberry and Henry's and it did just fine. In fact I had a broken leg so I put a waterproof duffle on my leg and went out on some very ruff water. I also put a motor and battery on this little guy.
I then moved ont to a MUCH bigger pontoon which does require a trailer or complete deflation to fit in the back of the truck.
This year however, I got the Navigator II. A 9' pontube that folds down to about 30"x20"x10" and has it's pwn back pack. The back of the boat looks very much like a "V" tube, but is longer and has a zipper in the floor to feed a motor through with an opptional deck. It has Oars that are very nice.
The best thing about this is it fits in my car.

One thing I do consider a must when buying any kind of tube or toon is that the bladder Must be Urethane, not PVC , a really strong outter fabric, Halkey Roberts valves, and if there is a frame....Aluminum.

More money, but that Bucks Bag is going on 12 yrs old and it is still in great shape!....oh yeah, and NEVER a leak.
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