North Fork Pontoons

[fishophile]

Hello all,

 

After briefly looking through the archives, it seems that North Fork make a pretty decent pontoon... As I am in the market for one I was eyeing up the Madison River model. Does anyone have any personal experience with this craft? Also, is there anywhere in Alberta that one is able to purchase these boats? or do they have to be ordered from the USA?

 

Thanks

Matt

[Roast]

Hello all,

 

After briefly looking through the archives, it seems that North Fork make a pretty decent pontoon... As I am in the market for one I was eyeing up the Madison River model. Does anyone have any personal experience with this craft? Also, is there anywhere in Alberta that one is able to purchase these boats? or do they have to be ordered from the USA?

 

Thanks

Matt

 

Last year I bought a Madison River (non welded) direct from NFO. I had a great experience and talked directly to Dave. I looked high and low when I was buying my pontoon, and nothing compared as far as features and materials for the price (though I bough when our dollar was in much better shape). The pontoons are hand made, but don't have the finish of an outcast pontoon. However I liked the fact the pontoon had urethane bladders (more durable, and less affected by temp and altitude), an aluminum frame, and a casting platform. The pontoons have quite a bit of rocker which makes it great for rough water, but less stable on lakes. The casting platform takes some getting use to because of the pontoons rocker. You may feel like you are going to fall in, but its actually really stable once your use to it. The only knocks I have on the boat is that one of the pin holes did not line up perfectly when assembling (but I fixed it pretty quickly) and I expected the rear deck to be a bit thicker gauge aluminum (however it does keep the weight down, and doesn't flex).

 

You can buy the pontoons directly from NFO, and you can also buy them from Cabelas. I bought mine from NFO because they included a powder coated rear deck (there were some complaints that the bare aluminum could discolor), as well as a stripping basket.

 

I would also check out a pac 800, as I believe that it was a pretty close is price once shipping, duty and all the other charges are applied. The pac doesn't have a casting platform, but the finish (welds ect) are a bit nicer.

 

I would love to see one of NFO outlaw pontoons. They look awesome.

 

Hope that helps