Rainbowhunter Posted August 27, 2009 Posted August 27, 2009 hey all, have been looking around at some pontoon boats. Does anybody recomend and not recomend them. and why. If you recomend them which ones are the best bang for your buck!!!. I dont wnat anything to expensive. Quote
Gil Posted August 27, 2009 Posted August 27, 2009 hey all, have been looking around at some pontoon boats. Does anybody recomend and not recomend them. and why. If you recomend them which ones are the best bang for your buck!!!. I dont wnat anything to expensive. I love my FishCat Cougar. I've had it for 4 years and probably had it out 80 times or so mostly on the Bow. It's low so it handles the wind well especially on lakes. While you might want a higher profile it you want to do white water, you don't need it for the Bow. I've taken my boat down through police in late June when the river was running at 250 m/s and I could have sipped a tea without a concern. It has 4 separate chambers, which makes me feel better. It's taken a lot of abuse and it still in great shape. The price is reasonable. The only thing I don't like it the seat slips back so I had to put a pipe clamp on to keep it in place. Quote
jack Posted August 27, 2009 Posted August 27, 2009 I've had lower and mid-priced Outcast boats(FishCat & Discovery) for a number of years, now. 80-100 days annually on the water. Each boat had its advantages and each one had it's disadvantages. But none of them ever had structural issues. FishCats: Lower priced, good, sturdy frame, the Cougar(8') and the Panther(9') have quad 'toons, lower profile, wide stance. Great for stillwater and Class 1+ streams. Streamer XL is 8' standard 'toons, entry-level price(under $500). FC10 Standup is the top, with platform and leanbar under $800. Minus: Stitched seams, steel frame, needs off-season maintenance to combat rust. Discovery: Slightly thicker 'toons and bladders, aluminum frame, welded 'toon seams(more durable), good for Class 2+. Minus:More money, (Discovery 10IR Standup is still under $1000, I think). I have had the D-10IR Standup for 2 years, sold my Spring Creek Pram, just don't need it anymore. Pontoons can be easily "customized" to suit the user, I installed a larger diameter anchor pulley to allow a bit heavier anchor retrieval on big flows like the Columbia River in the W. Kootenay. I recommend against lower priced/lesser quality 'toons. I have a friend who went the lesser priced route and had two catastrophic frame breaks on his 'toon, the last one while he was standing up, on a lake, right at ice-off. He went in, head-first, his foot hung up on the frame, had it not been for a guy in a boat, right there, he would not be around. Needless to say, he has not much good to say about skeeters. His name and contact info upon request. j Quote
monger Posted August 27, 2009 Posted August 27, 2009 Check out Scadden pontoons here... http://www.northforkoutdoors.com/ High quality and highly recommended Quote
fishfreak Posted August 27, 2009 Posted August 27, 2009 Just a word of caution.... Don't look at Cabela's website, or you might end up buying one... or two... Quote
misterbig Posted August 27, 2009 Posted August 27, 2009 Second the dave scadden product. Very light and very strong. I have a two person bladderless, alum frame, two standing platforms. It is great. The only downside I would say is when used as a one person the 13 foot pontoons are a tad big. M Quote
Simpson Posted August 27, 2009 Posted August 27, 2009 It has 4 separate chambers, which makes me feel better. I have the fish cat cougar and love it. Lower profile but never had an issue with water it could not handle. And could not agree more with the comment above. I have had one bladder go down more than once on the lake and river and continued to fish with no worries. Would hate to think what happens when you are half way through a float and that happens with a two bladder system.... happened to anyone? Quote
Simpson Posted August 27, 2009 Posted August 27, 2009 In addition, bought my wife the cheapest outcast model and have never had an issue with that one either. well made boats Quote
Guest PoorTurtle Posted August 28, 2009 Posted August 28, 2009 I have rogue pontoon made by classic accessories that i got from costco for under $400. its a 9 footer with lots of pockets, motor mount, anchor system, and a lot more extras. the bass pro shop has them on their web site, but wait till spring and save over a $100 at costco. i had a problem with one of my bladers (the divider between the two chambers must have had a rip because i could let out all the air out of one valve) so i emailed them and they sent me new tubes and bladers for free. 5 of my friends have the same ride and all sent the same email and got a extra set of tubes. the only down fall of this unit is it is a steel fram and weighs 80 lbs. you can see them floating down the Bow tomorrow. 6 guys, overnite trip, from fish creek to caresland. Quote
jjthom2 Posted August 28, 2009 Posted August 28, 2009 I have rogue pontoon made by classic accessories that i got from costco for under $400. its a 9 footer with lots of pockets, motor mount, anchor system, and a lot more extras. the bass pro shop has them on their web site, but wait till spring and save over a $100 at costco. i had a problem with one of my bladers (the divider between the two chambers must have had a rip because i could let out all the air out of one valve) so i emailed them and they sent me new tubes and bladers for free. 5 of my friends have the same ride and all sent the same email and got a extra set of tubes. the only down fall of this unit is it is a steel fram and weighs 80 lbs. you can see them floating down the Bow tomorrow. 6 guys, overnite trip, from fish creek to caresland. I have a Water Skeeter "double take II" and it's been great. I like to be able to break it down to two individual boats if i need to, but it's great to have the casting platform and someone else rowing. I even tried to break it on class 3 white water on the upper Red Deer. Not the best white water raft but it held up. Quote
craneguy Posted September 3, 2009 Posted September 3, 2009 gota add my 2 cents here i have the scadden northwest express, i love it but i am not sure its for everyone probably wasnt for me but i do love it. its a hand made boat and assembles like one and mine is big its 11 ft long, its big and its big when broken down too, i have the large boat bag that dave sells and its hard to pack the whole boat in there and i would not be comfortable loading it as baggage on a flight beacuse you are packing the pontoons and all the steel in one bag. it takes me an hour to get it set up with the the standing plat form and rear deck theres a lot of cam straps to put on and accessories, i also use a 5 hp gas motor on mine that adds to the set up time. its great drives nice and straight even in 2 ft waves. i only use mine for lakes and have never owned or used a different pontoon that this one Quote
scorpiondeathlock Posted September 3, 2009 Posted September 3, 2009 Ive had the outcast discovery 8 for four years now and never had a problem. The only problem is that my good fishing buddy just got a drift boat so it hasnt seen much action this year. Easy to set up and it folds down into a goalie sized hockey bag. It can also hold tons of gear too without losing mobility. my two cents.\ cheers, scorpiondeathlock Quote
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