I have read what I have been able to Search for on this site, and others, relating to single-person pontoons and am wondering if you guys might be able to provide some recommendations or suggestions.

I am in the market for a Pontoon that I would use on predominantly stillwater spots here in Colorado. I don't have plan to use it on any rivers.

What I do know is as follows:
It would need to break down to fit in the back of my Xterra (with seats removed)
I would like to add a thrust motor
I would like to add my fish finder
I would prefer not spending an exorbinant amount of money

That's about it. I have researched a variet of makes and models but thought you guys might have some first hand knowledge as to what I am looking for perhaps offer some advice.

Most of what have seen are guys who attach their pontoons to a trailer and haul them around. I was hoping to avoid this, as I have no space for a trailer. The backpacker pontoons don't have stellar reviews and don't match my other criteria.

Anybody have anything I should consider?

Thanks

I got a Creek Company ODC Classic pontoon this summer. I really like it, although i've only used it a couple of times so far, and the price was very reasonable. In fact, I think I saw they were on sale for $199.99 on their website, with free shipping.

I don't have a motor on mine, but I know a guy that owned one and he said that he had put a motor on his. I didn't see it, the boat was stolen last summer, so I can't vouch for how it handled the motor.

http://www.creekcompany.com/indivdisplay.p...toID=6&Cat=

Bummer about it being stolen.

Am I just naive and unaware that with a little bit of hard work a motor can be installed on any pontoon?

I've got an outcast fishcat, and it sees the water about 1-2 times a year. I like it for lakes, but not a big fan of the toon for moving water. Since most of my fishing is now geared towards small to medium sized rivers, I'm wading rather than floating. It's a solid toon though, tough as nails and my only complaint with it is that I bust oarwrights pretty easily.

My outcast has a motor mount on the frame. A number of toons have the same frame setup as outcast. Take a look at Scadden as well. They're the Cadillac of the toon world.

Hopefully Corey or some of the other stillwater guys will chime in. They've got it down to a science.

My only suggestion is that you stay away from models that involve either stitching on the bottom of the tubes or straps for the frame that wrap around the tube if you are going to use the toon for moving water. I got a good deal on a water skeeter that had stitching on the bottom of the tubes and after two uses had ground through the stitching by pulling the boat on the banks to wade numerous times and a few shallow riffles I got stuck on and had to drag across. It is definitely worth it to pay more (500-600) for a single peice of high quality urethane than to save a couple hundred bucks and wind up with a toon that is near useless after a half-dozen floats, which is where I am at unless I send the tubes in for warranty repairs, which will cost a boat load for shipping.

Scadden or North Fork Outdoors is the best of design and idea, but I own a couple of them and BEWARE. Not only myself, but friends of mine all have had warranty problems with the entry level stuff (stitched or heat welded seams.) The stitched seams are not designed to last longer than three years (as explained to me by Dave himself) even though there is a 10 yr or more warranty. They do stand behind their product. If you do go that route by the high end stuff they sell. Their higher end stuff is the Cadillac of the toon world. Be very patient if you order one of their boats as it could take several months to receive your order after payment has been collected and almost impossible to get a returned phone call. This has been an ongoing problem they have had for over a year now as it is believed they grew too big too fast and can't keep up. I'm suspicious that the overall quality has suffered because of it.

I don't write this to turn anybody away from the company, but strictly to share some of my experiences with you. If they can get supply and service caught up with the demand I think they have the best thing going in the pontoon world. On the water their pontoons live up to the advertising with performance.

Keep in mind, it's not just being able to mount the motor. You're gonna want a stout platform for the battery which will weigh more than the motor. I have an Outcast Discovery 9, but, sometimes I feel a little cramped for space.

I have both a 9' fish cat and a 9' outcast, love them both and both have motor mounts. The fish cat is for moving water and it rocks, the outcast I use to chase pike and to combat the battery problem, I purchased an extremely deep cycle battery designed for the mobility scooters you see on tv, it weighs about 1/3 of my boat batteries and lasts just as long with the trolling motor. While I have done the motor thing, I prefer to row, the way the motors mount are behind you, just try sitting and trying to reach behind you and steer and run the motor, HUGE PAIN!! Just my .02

Thanks for the plug Ben! :) haha....

Question one: what you do consider an exorbitant amount of money? lol.....it's a good question though, you need to decide how much your are willing to spend and then we can get to what might be the best boat for your budget. Do you want a starter type boat that might last you a few years while you get into it and be willing to upgrade later or do you like really good equipment? or a really good value boat in the middle? Keep in mind accessories add up fast too so take that into account; pfd, battery, motor, oar rights, anchor, rope, fins, rods holders, long net, all that stuff adds significantly to the equation. another thing to do since it's winter is watch Craigslist and/or Ebay for used deals.

general rules of thumb:
urethane or bladderless is better than PVC, it will last longer.
aluminum frame is better and lighter than steel
warranty length and if it's unconditional or not
adjustability of seats, oar positions, frame on the toons. can you make it fit your body?
weight (sucks to haul a heavy boat on your back on the trail down to Trapper's )
anchor system?
cargo deck?

stuff like that. as far as breaking it down pretty much all of them do but it's fairly a pain, especially if you have done a lot of hard wiring for your electronics and transducer. if you can keep it setup at home then just throw it on top of your xterra with a couple straps. saves a bunch of setup/breakdown effort. I put mine on top of my Tahoe all the time. a couple NRS or ratchet straps good to go.

sound like anything in the 8-10 foot range will suit you, shorter will be a bit lighter and easier to store/transport. 9' is a good length for not being too tilted in the water with all the weight of a motor and battery. I started out with an 8' water skeeter I traded someone for. that boat was tough as heck but also heavy and I had to do a lot of custom work on it to get it the way I wanted it. (it's just like all your other gear, if you get a boat you will be constantly tweaking with it to get it just right) Last time I upgraded I wanted my last boat and went with the Northfork Madison H2. it has been a sweet boat but has needed some tweaking as well.

All that said I really like the Outcast PAC boats and the NFO. I think the frames on the lower end (fishcast/discovery) boats have some issues like was mentioned with the anchor setups/motor mount and cargo decks. The PAC series have bomber construction and setup and the materials are top notch. Outcast is made by Aire the rafting company and those are the same as their American made rafts (not the chinese lower end ones) with the same 10 year no fault warranty that is pretty much the gold standard in rafting. The NFO boats on the other hand are probably ahead of the game in innovation and features as well as being able to kind of customize it when you order. I think the frame on mine is up to par (X7) with the Outcast, but the cargo deck is huge plus the standing deck which is nice at times. Some of the materials maybe could be a bit better so I would give the Outcast a slight edge there. I haven't had any issues with my boat so I can't speak to what BBT was talking about. I got my boat quick and was able to talk to Dave and Larry and haven't had to deal with the warranty although that was one of the reasons I went with the H2 (lifetime). Plus, if you call and talk to Larry Tullis and tell him you heard about them from the board he will generally give you the show special price or better regardless of what they are showing on the website. could be several hundred on a higher end boat or something like $50 and free accessories and on the lowest priced ones. or at least it was back then.

ok, I guess that's my dissertation on pontoons for the evening. or at least what I can think of right now. let us know when you get setup and I can give you some sweet tips on how to turn a bike kickstand into a transducer mount and wiring options and there are plenty of ways to deal with motor mounts (offset it to the side, use a swivel seat mount, loosen and turn the motor head, run backwards and use your fins to steer, run forward and use an oar to rudder instead of the motor) and anchor systems that aren't quite right. ram mounts work great for sonar setups too.

later, Cory

(chewy, remember this?? we need to get this trip back on!!!)

Dang, Corey, Chewydog, I remember that lake, that spot, probably even remember EATING that fish!

I miss the trips there but life has gotten so much busier. Harder to plan for it.

I have a toon but I only use it on the big water anymore because it is a pain to tote around. I have a hatchback so I have to break it down - doesn't take long to set up (about the same as the tube) but it takes up the whole dang car.

Mark

I was thinking of that place just the other day. Then I thought of carrying my toon up that %&$#* trail. My arm could probably be twisted, though.

Excellent advice thanks guys.

I think the lower end Water Skeeter or something similar would be appropriate. I would love to start out with a sweet Scadden like yours, Cory (that think looks sweet!). However, I don't think I could justify spending that much right of the bat. I can upgrade later.

I appreciate the points that I hadn't really thought about, such as a long net - all the more reason to start off with a more value-oriented boat.

It is good to hear that you are able to secure it on top of your Yukon, I was concerned I wouldn't be able to properly secure it and lost it driving to South Park!

Not to put down the skeeter, but if you are already thinking of upgrading, save the $200 that you'd spend on the skeeter, and put it towards an outcast or a scadden and just get the boat you want. If you go the other route, the resale value of the skeeter is much lower, and you end up spending a lot more money, and ending up with the same boat in the end.

So in your opinion anything on the lower end of the scale would be not worth it?

My opinion is that you often times get what you pay for, and that I would rather have something that I can grow in to than spend the money later. I know if it were me, I'd regret getting the skeeter later, when I wanted an outcast, or a Scadden. If you're alright with getting a lower end toon, then go for it. Me, I'd rather get a mid level to higher end one, and have something that will last a lot longer (and have a better warranty too). Not knocking the lower end boats, just thinking down the line 3-4 years.

That's a fair response.

Hi all. I'm still pretty new here but I would like to put my $.02 on this topic. I looked at a ton of toons this year. I finally just bit the bullet and got a Scadden. They had a great fall sale and I decided that I'd go for it. I ordered my boat and got it Shipped up here to Canada in 9 days from the day I ordered it. Between Dave and the guy I finally ordered from ( can't remember his name.) they answered every question I had and explained everything to me quite well as I had never owned one before. My buddy ordered on as well and he had a bit longer shipping and a supply problem but it was rectified and got to him in 2 weeks. I ordered Avenger XX and he got Outlaw x5. Thats my experience with the business end of it.

Now to the boat. I had never owned a toon but test drove a few. This on handles spectacularly with my flippers, I would say almost as well and as easy as my float tube! Also good with 24# motor and I'm sure oars as well but my co-ordination there needs some work! If you can swing it I would say to spend the money on a high end toon that you will be happy with. It takes me about 40 min. to set up from full deflate and I put it trunk of car. I think I can get faster as I get comfortable with it and have only had it out 3 times. Hope this is helpful in some way. Good luck with your decision and enjoy whatever you decide to go with.

I have pictures and can post if you like. It will just take me a bit to figure out how to post here.

Millwright01

Another option might be Craigslist. I saw a bunch on there this spring. The going rate was somewhere around half of retail. May or may not have a warranty. Some came with motors, some not. Worth a look.

It sounds like most people have had a much better experience doing business with Scadden than I have. I'm glad to hear it as I do believe overall their boats are a step above.

I was in Sportsman's Warehouse lately and noticed a Bucks Bags Bronco Extreme 9 for $600+ which is a great price. Don't have any experience with the Bronco, but I've used a Bucks Bags Southfork for 6 years and it's served me well. These boats have polyurethane bladders and stainless steel frames (stronger than aluminum but lighter than powder coated steel). The Bronco I saw had an anchor system, but I don't know if that was included in the price or extra. BB makes a separate motor mount that you would have to buy.

FWIW, I have a big carry case for my Southfork, which only weight 42 pounds, and can put it together in about 20 minutes, but it's still a pain so I put it togethr at the start of the season and strap it on top of my truck for transport.

I scored my 9' fishcat with motor and battery for $400 off of CL and my Outcast complete package with motor and battery was $200

http://creekcompany.com/multidisplay.php?Cat=12
Fall sale.
Im happy with mine.

There is a North Fork Outdoors (Dave Scadden) Outlaw X5 with all the bells and whistles on KSL.com classifieds.