For those who float...

J,

For getting down a pool quickly, kayak over pontoon but for pure fishing purpose, pontoon wins You could use the kayak with a group of friends to do a booze cruise. Do that with a pontoon and they'll make you the pack mule. You'll have to carry everything. Cargo capacity, pontoon. Standing up, pontoon. Nearly impossible to flip, pontoon. With the kayak, transport is easier and you don't have to monitor psi of the bladders. Each has good and bad points. Since I only use it for fishing, the pontoon made the most sense for me.
 
krayfish wrote:
J,

For getting down a pool quickly, kayak over pontoon but for pure fishing purpose, pontoon wins You could use the kayak with a group of friends to do a booze cruise. Do that with a pontoon and they'll make you the pack mule. You'll have to carry everything. Cargo capacity, pontoon. Standing up, pontoon. Nearly impossible to flip, pontoon. With the kayak, transport is easier and you don't have to monitor psi of the bladders. Each has good and bad points. Since I only use it for fishing, the pontoon made the most sense for me.
Click to expand...


Ya mean ya can't party in a toon? :-(
 
It could probably carry a 1/4 barrel in ice. I just choose to focus on fishing, wind knots and young chicks with bikinis / innertubes
 
Last time out a bikini hatch totally took my focus away from fishing.
 
Last time I floated the wb during the bikini hatch, I reeled in, tied onto the tubers and drank beer / bs'd for 2 miles. It was a pretty solid effort. Brandon yell at me for not trying to close the deal but I was happy hanging out with young hotties. Unlike Pittsburgh, these were #2-4 at the biggest. LMAO
 
cool story. Did Brandon float too? If I had a toon or a yak that day I would have followed this hatch down river.
 
Well I was going to ask if bikini babes in tubes put the fish down but I see that it really doesn't matter. :)
Does sound like a most pleasant way to spend some time on the water.
Sam
 
reason i am selling my toon is i found something better than it for fishing. became a dealer for them.
http://www.nucanoe.com/
beats a canoe or yak too.
 
I have inflatable for sale

http://classifieds.pennswoods.net/classifieds/viewad.cgi?adindex=2425795
 
The best advice I can give you is don't listen to anything Krayfish says! Before you know he'll have you talked into a drift boat, Scadden toon and probably some other product I've never even heard of.

I know as I now have an 8' Bucks Bags Southfork and a Scadden Assault XXX thanks to him. It's not wonder his day job is to work in sales!

On the other hand he is right, buying a good quality boat is worth it. The yough is a good time but can be rough on equipment. Save up and buy the best you can get and keep your eyes open on ebay and craiglist as they do pop up. I'd recommend Bucks Bags, FishCat/Outcast, and NFO (Dave Scadden) products. Have used or been around all of em and they are all good quality boats.

Good luck!
 
Thanks again, everyone, for the advice.

I think I am going to wait for now to make a purchase, and save up some cash to get a more rugged boat. The main reason I was attracted to the boat in the original post was the price tag and the fact that I had $115 in Cabelas rewards. I am taking a trip to Colorado next month, so I am spending a good bit of my play money on that right now.

The Scadden Assault line looks really nice though. I was on the Yough on Saturday and couldn't help but think how nice a boat would have been to cover some water.

If anyone is doing a float trip any time soon, and has room or equipment for an extra, I'd love to tag along. I can buy a couple rounds afterwards at the very least.
 
Sandfly,
How small do these type of pontoons breakdown?

How long does it take to go from broken down to fully inflatable and ready to fish?
 
You can deflate / roll up the pontoons and they'll fit into a rubbermaid tub. 4 pins, 2 minutes and you can have the frame in the trunk of a compact car. Less than 30 minutes to set up and launch. 15 minutes to breakdown at the end of the day.
 
I've owned a Creek Company toon for almost 10 years and it has held up very well. I will not use it on any river with more than class 2 rapids. I don't fish the Yough so I have no idea what you'd be dealing with, I fish mostly still waters and low flow Susquehanna North Branch which is pretty tame, I would NOT attempt the Lehigh.

I've biked it and actually backpacked it a couple times, no leaks and no problems.

Just wanted to add that their toons are very good quality, with limitations certainly but still very good, and they have parts for everything at reasonable prices.

I'm curious if krayfish ever owned a Creek Company toon and if so what his opinions were on them.

 
HD,

I'm pretty sure the Yough is a bit more violent than the Lehigh. He's going to need a pretty sturdy boat for out there.
 
Creek Company and Buck Bags are garbage in my opinion. I have saw both brands blow tubes on their very first float. In fact I saw one of those brands blow tonight on the Bighorn. Tried to help the guy out but it was shot.
 
I've helped PhilC load his bucks bags and it seems pretty solid. I'd chalk the blow out you witnessed to operator error (aka check your pressure once in a while).

Only blowout I've seen was w/ creek company. They don't seem very sturdy.
 
I have had zero issues with my Bucks Bags since '05. Beeber had a bladder leak once but that was b/c how it was strapped to the trailer and the zipper unzipped and caught the bladder. Bucks have the only stainless frames, which are heavier but can be repaired if it it breaks...Kray can tell you what happens to a toon flying off the trailer at 70 mph, and that Scadden is RIP since welding aluminum is very difficult if not impossible depending on the break.
I finally installed the standing platform on my Bucks this year which makes my Bronco like their Henry Fork model...it was more sturdy than the Scadden platform but its permanent (which would be an issue if you might hit a rock, it also rides close to or in the water sometimes), it makes it heavy, and requires allen keys/extra times to disassemble. If I could start over I would prolly get a Scadden for the superior platform alone...but while we're at it, I'll stir the pot and say D. Scadden learned everything he knows while working for Buck Bags except how to provide good customer service
 
krayfish wrote:

Only blowout I've seen was w/ creek company. They don't seem very sturdy.
Click to expand...

I remember that one. The one I saw on the Bighorn yesterday was a real PITA because he had about 5 miles left on the float. FWIW, the toon that did not burst was not overly full. Could have been a fluke.
 
Dear Phil,

Please be careful. You are walking a thin line very close to slander. You might end up with the Northfork Mafia knocking on your door. :)) Actually the flying pontoon has been repaired thanks to DaveS and a skilled welder. I've floated with Tom since the repair and it's almost like the boat is bionic...stronger and faster. I haven't used your boat w/ the platform but can't believe the platform is any better than what's on my boat. That Bronco Extreme is 11' long and has 2 bladders in the cover. If one ruptures, inflate the other and keep on trucking. Neat idea but it's not cheap.

jdad,

When Brandon's boat blew, it was in the middle of a slow deep section. I was borrowing his lighter and we were bs-ing......BOOM. We couldn't find a mark on the cover where he might have hit something but it just failed. I don't care for the nylon or cloth covers. They claim they are stronger but the only toons I've seen pop were cloth.
 
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