Pontoon boat good or bad?

[BigSpinner]

Hi I was just wondering if anybody has a pontoon boat and what do you think of it. I am really close to getting one but I dont know. I want to run river's like the wilson, kilches, and more. How long should I get, are they safe, does price really matter. I just want to see what other people with them think any info would be great thanks.

Be safe,

[THE REEL HEY_YALL]

BigSpinner - they rule. :cool:

I was blessed with a good deal on a used pac1200 outcast for my first one. One day when I grow up and stop spending money, I will have Osprey design a customized frame that will suit all of my needs. Well, almost... :tongue:

The dudes to ask will be Tanner, Steelheader69, and of course, Osprey. There are several more out there will more knowledge and these would be my top 3 to ask first. Osprey built Tanner's frame and it is SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUH WEEEEEEEEEEEET. :cool:

Osprey doesn't know it yet, but in the future, his frame will help me land a world record or a guiness record. Don't know which one I will be able to go for............but I don't think it's been done before :wink: is all I'm gonna say.

Yes, they are very safe. They run in much more shallow water than a drift boat. Plus, you don't have to fish only with one, they make fun outings during the summer time in some chutes. :cool:

You can shoot me an email at the address below my signature and I can give you Osprey's email address.

[Jennie@ifish]

Bad, bad, bad....
Pontoon boat make river more crowded...
bad. bad. bad....
:smile:
Jen

[THE REEL HEY_YALL]

They'll be more crowded with pontoon boats, for sure, when I get done...muh ha ha ha But, I will be the trend setter. :shocked: scary, huh? :tongue:

[Thumper]

I keep a three-man cataraft on the EF Lewis. In high and regular water it fishes 80% as well and conveniently as a drift boat. In low water it is the only way to get down the river.....therein lies the biggest advantage. In low winter and in all spring/summer conditions it is fantastic, and you have the river to yourself. I'll always have a cataraft --- a real one for me and two friends, not a little weenie one-man pontoon boat.

[Seefood Man]

Hey Mad Mickey; Chubby guy in waders with lures and flies hanging all over them....MMMMM sounds like 95% of us could fit that decription :grin: :grin:

[big black mouth]

I have a outcast 9000 with double pontoons on each side, looks like a water bug, double pontoons is designed for low water and better control in tight spots. One thing I did was put it under the first bridge on the n fork nehalem between the fish hatchary and the town of nehelam. I oared a good mile upstream as the high tied filled in the holes and found some nice fishing spots, after the tide dropped I had a nice little white water ride on the way back. Some day I would like to launch in blind slough on gnat creek and use the high tide to get up as far as possible up gnat creek, this will put you into some areas where people can't get to, if you have tried to hike down gnat creek you would know what I am talking about. Once fishing on the salmon river while anchored I hooked into a 30# chrome salmon, next thing I knew I was going on a nice little boat ride as the fish pulled the boat with anchor off the ledge. I also used the high tide on the salmon river to row up where no drift boat could go. You can find some great buys in ebay. Mad Mikey, if you are reading this post could you tell me how high should the river be to make the drift from revenue bridge to oxbow park, would love to target springers in that streach of water.

[Mad Mikey]

BBM,
When I first did that the water was at about 9.5 at the Bull Run station. At the time I was not using the cfs graph for the flow below Marmot, (which I should have been using) so there will be a margin of error because I put in above the Bull run. There are a half dozen spots on that short float where you can bite it so be careful!!! Also easier to lower your craft from the bridge with a rope as I figgered out the second trip. Also, better take the right side of the island below Cedar Creek unless you are in a kayak.
After Dodge Park??? Hmmm. There's a couple guides who run that in 14-16 Pontoons. I've seen Bachman down there with the big green beast at 8.4. I would take a look at Pipeline before you do it. It don't look like much for a big boat but that last big reversal could eat up a little toon'. Seen it happen twice. You can pull out just above it and walk your boat around it no problem. That rapid probably would get safer around 10ft or so but don't quote me cause' I haven't done it at that height. Everything else below that would definitely be safer in the 9 and 10ft range me thinks.
After that, just be careful and scout. Don't want to say much more about that stretch. I don't do it on a regular basis but just enough to know if I spilt all the beans and a few choice people saw this post I might catch some grief :shocked: !

g'luck, be safe. MM

PS Don't try to do Revenue to Oxbow in one day if you plan on fishing. You will get too stressed out about what's around the next corner and not be able to concentrate! :shocked:


Sandy-Bull run:http://oregon.usgs.gov/rt-cgi/gen_stn_pg?station=14142500
Marmot-http://oregon.usgs.gov/rt-cgi/gen_stn_pg?station=14137000

[ 12-31-2001: Message edited by: Mad Mikey ]</p>

[BigSpinner]

Thanks for the help guy's this is why this discussion board is so cool talking to other
fishermen and women to get info and share tips thanks a lot. I hope to see you all out on the water next year.

Be safe,

[Mad Mikey]

Pontoon boats are funner than a barrel of monkeys. I have a 2000 model Southfork with all the doo-dads. They are very stable and whitewater capable. I've run Warm Springs to Maupin in one day, all rapids near Maupin and Pine Tree to the mouth with no trouble. I've dropped it over the bridge at Revenue on the Sandy and floated to Dodge Park and from Dodge to Oxbow but will admit I walked it around Pipeline, that has eaten much bigger boats than mine and the water is $%^$# cold.
What's really fun is to pull plugs in small streams or larger ones during low water periods when the big boats can't get down. I like running the Wilson from the old Demolay camp clear down to Mills Bridge, only one spot you might have trouble in a bit below Kansas Creek if the water is too low. It's pretty technical when you are in the middle of a drift and a fish smacks your plug. I've learned to use thinner light wire hooks with a fairly stout line , grab the rod and whack it once, set it back in the holder and get to the shallows where you can drop anchor and stand up to fight your fish. Don't try plugging in a spot where you won't be able to have total control of your boat and a safe place to stop and fight the fish. Especially do not try to anchor up in fast or too deep water unless you have one of the boats with a platform on it, still that would be a tough place to land a fish. Be safe and wear a wader belt and lifejacket, things can sneak up on you fast. I think me and my best friend might own the only two tan/black models this side of Boise so if you see a chubby guy with all sorts of lures and flies stuck in his hat bobbing down the river, that'll be me!
I don't know a lot about the other brands but I've noticed the cheaper models have a lot heavier frames, good and bad. My SF is about 40lbs inflated and is easy to get down trails or hump it around a possible hazard. I would recommend sticking to the banana/rocker style pontoons, much more manueverable.

Have fun!

Mad Mikey :cool:

[Steelheader69]

Osprey and I have posted alot abouut cats on here. Yyes, thy are very safe (depending on model you buy). I can write you a big advice column. But whatt I'l do is post this, then answer on here when you reply.

Do youu plan to run seriouus whiitewater with it (solid clas 4's). How may people do you plan to fish out of your boat. A firm number is amust. If you say 1 now, it's hard to add a second person if you buy to small of a boat. Do you want to stand up and fish safely or simply float from point A to point B?. How much are you wiiling to spend?

Ii'll say this much now. You do get what you ppay for with a cataraft. You rarely get a deal oon a good boat unles you buy used. I originaaly bought my cat for whitewatering. Moved up to multipurpose a few years ago. I've run my boat in solid cllass 4+. You should know that when you run solid class 4's the bigger the boat the safer you will be, esppeciialy o the size of tubes (lenght and diameter). 've run some of my older smaler boats in class 3/4's, and handled iit, but only because of experience on the oars running these things. Yes, your rocker hullsare very maaneuverable, but are very unstable in turbulent water. Run a shot into a hydraulic and hope you have a lifevest and helmut on in a smal 8/9 foot rocker hull pontoon boat. I too have seen these liitle boats flip. Heck, I hve video fotage of a guy in my old whitewater club who almost flipped a 16' cataraft (9and I have sen othes actually do it). Just take it slow, and you'll do fine. If in doubt, check it ouut on a run. Scouting is the key iif you're running something new or are unsure.

Answer me he questions above, or email th answers to me and I'll give you what I can answerwise.

Jerry

[Osprey]

Hey Bigspinner,
What I've discovered ,since I started building Frames,is that most people move up from Pontoon boats to Catarafts.
Once you figure out how much fun these Boats are,it's a no-brainer :wink:
Here's something else....everyone says the same thing...I never imagined how well this thing handles,there is a huge difference between a pontoon boat and a true Cataraft ( larger tubes and bigger frame do not a Cataraft make) :wink:

it's not a Chevy vs Ford thing ....more like Yugo vs BMW ..............Os

[ 01-02-2002: Message edited by: Osprey ]</p>

[Tanner]

Big Spinner,

I have an Outast Pac 800 and I have a 16' Sotar Whitewater Cataraft. The Pac 800 is a great lake boat, and an OK moderate river boat. I thought it was a great whitewater boat till I bought my 16' Sotar. Like Osprey said, there are pontoon boats and there are Cats. I loaded up my Sotar this summer with both my kids and myself (630 lbs combined weight) and aproximately 600 lbs of coolers, food, beverages, ice, camp stoves, lanterns, tents, sleeping bags, fishing gear: well you get the picture, and headed down the John Day River. This was in July and the river was at 170 CFS. It was so low that you would have had serious problems getting a drift boat down it. On a three day float, I only had to get out of my cat 4 times to pull it off the rocks.

All I can say is do some research before you buy.
Use the web, there is lots of info. Try some searches containing names like Sotar, Wing Inflatables, Maravia. Look for polyeurethene tubes and full rocker design. Buy your tubes seperately and have someone like Osprey make your frames for you, to your specifications. You will be much happier. If you have any questions shoot me an e-mail.

Honestly, I love my cataraft but if I had to give up my driftboat or my cat, my driftboat would still be sitting in my driveway.