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View Full Version : Inflatable Pontoon Boat - First Timer Perspective



erhetta
06-19-2008, 11:02 AM
First off, this post is very long. :shock: If you have NO attention span when it comes to long posts without pictures, hit your back button now….

For those still reading, this post was written mainly for those peeps like me that tried to do all the research and still had a hard time making up their minds on the purchase of an inflatable pontoon boat. I will attempt to share my personal experiences with regards to the purchase, initial setup, transport in a car, setup at a fishing location, and lessons learned about first time use on a lake. I will start by sharing my first “inflatable” raft experience since I tried to go the “cheap” route initially…

Last year, I picked up a raft and trolling motor for a “discount,” and while it was fun; it just did not suit me for fishing. I took it out to Rancho Seco and attempted to do some trout fishing and found some major issues with it. First, it was uncomfortable. Sitting on a cooler wedged in the raft just was not comfy. Second, even with the trolling motor, it was not very easy to move around and keep in a good fishing position when there was any wind whatsoever. Even with an anchor, the boat just seemed to swing around in circles in the wind. Third, it was impossible to move around in and impossible to stand up in. I guess if I were to put in hard floors, this issue would be resolved. I found that even with my vest and cooler under me, there were items that I had to put in the front of the boat that were difficult to retrieve when needed. It also did not work well when I snagged my line on the front of the boat and had to go from the back to the front to try to unhook it. Lastly, my legs were uncomfortable since they were basically straight out in front of me in the raft. The cooler was not high enough to be at a comfy seating position for a long period of time. Needless to say, I only took this out once. I will keep the raft for floating down the American during the summer, but will not try to fish out of it again.

So after two years of research, talking to many peeps on the boards, and seeing a buddy fish on one, I decided to take the plunge. I double checked all the manufacturers to see what new models were out there, what the price points were, and looked to see who had one “in stock” locally. I really hate to buy online when it comes to larger items. I usually buy about everything for fly fishing at Kiene’s, but they can’t stock everything anybody wants, so… I lucked out and found that “an unnamed large outdoor shop in Boomtown” had a couple of them that were high on my list; in stock and one was even on sale. I went to go do an in-store comparison. A couple of things I wanted:

1) Price – I am not rich, so $500 was my limit
2) Max Load – I am a big guy so wanted at least a #350 limit
3) Ease of assembly – It had to be quick to assemble and disassemble
4) Storage – It had to have storage for all my junk
5) Comfort – It had to have a padded seat with a sturdy backrest
6) Extras – I wanted extras like a rod holder, ropes, pumps, etc…

I got to the store and started looking at the two I had narrowed my choices to and finally made the decision: I purchased my (Name withheld so as not to bias any decisions) inflatable pontoon boat on sale, got it home and started the setup. It has everything in my list above and then some.

Setup took some time, but there was nothing difficult about it. My only issue came to blowing up the pontoons. I have a cheapo electric pump that moves some air, but is not strong enough to break the seal on the new halkey-roberts short valves so I did the game with airing it up as firm as the pump would go with the valves in the open position and quickly pulling the adapter off and closing the valve. This gave me what I thought was an acceptable pressure in the pontoons. It was all setup in the garage and looking great…now the fun part: I had to figure out how to break it down to fit in the trunk of a Buick LeSabre in some fashion that makes it easy to set back up when I get to my destination. This post is too long already, but needless to say, I was able to get everything except the trolling motor in the trunk.

Day 2 – Fishing at CP

Scott V and I had made plans to hook up at CP lake and I was stoked…I had my new ‘toon all set, had figured out what pockets to put what in, packed my cooler, and my boss was off this day. No reason to be at work after lunch, so off I went. I felt a bit strange unpacking my pontoon boat in the small parking lot with everybody looking at me. I got over it and started inflating the pontoons, putting everything together, and getting more and more excited as things started to shape up. It only took about 15-20 mins to get it setup and ready to launch. I carried it across the driveway and set it on the dirt next to the lake. Something was really wrong with the water in the lake, but I looked around and determined that the floating goose down, goose poop, and brown water in the little cove had to clear up once I got out on the main body of water. I was right about two of the three. I entered the water, drug my pontoon down to me, got in the seat, put my feet up, and started to row… ***Lesson One*** My seat let loose and slid all the way back on the seat frame. The seat was held on to the rails by studs and wing nuts. I have since replaced the wing nuts with locking nuts and good washers. Now the seat goes nowhere now, but at the time I thought, no biggie, I will readjust later. Bad idea…I was in a very bad rowing position and the ‘toon was no longer level in the water. I started fishing at the far end of the lake after a very long row. It was harder to row than I imagined, but later, I realized why….More on that to come in lesson two.

Scott showed up, and we started talking about the lake. He told me that the brown color was waaaay off for that lake. It was my first time there, so I had nothing to go on, but I had already caught an 11” ‘gill on my new setup, so I did not think anything of it. We worked the tulie bank for a while and it was slow. A couple hours later I caught about a 13” bass as we were working our way back to the take out point. With two fish caught, I was feeling good about going home and tweaking my setup a bit. I started to row again, noticing that the boat did not track well, was very hard to row and keep momentum, and felt “soft”. Basically, the pontoons were not inflated to the proper pressure and had actually lost pressure over the course of the afternoon. ***Lesson Two*** The one thing I did not check were the valves themselves. Halkey Roberts valves are a two piece valve that really needs to be checked before launching. There is a reason for the included valve tool :D If they are not seated and properly tightened, they leak…Under inflated pontoons drag badly in the water and that drag equals a whole lot of back pain from all the additional rowing you have to do. (I did not have my trolling motor at CP)

***Lesson 3*** Proper inflation on the tubes is critical for performance!!! So I mentioned my procedure for inflating the tubes and it seemed ok. The reality was that I was not getting the tubes to the correct pressure. I highly recommend a good manual pump like the K-Pump to top off the tubes. Once my off-brand manual pump breaks (very soon I am sure since it is so cheaply made) I will buy the K-100 from Kienes. Finally, I recommend a pressure gauge. Unless you have spent years inflating rafts and pontoons, there is no way that you can “feel” the right pressure in the tubes; also, having the same pressure in the left and right tube make a difference in tracking when using a trolling motor. Speaking of trolling motors…

I went to Mather yesterday to try out the trolling motor on the ‘toon and test my applied fixes to my seat, proper pressure in the tubes, etc… I also tried out the wheel attachment for moving the pontoon on dry land. What a joy!!! This came with my boat, but is an optional accessory for many out there. If you have to move a setup boat even 20 feet from where you set it up, I highly recommend one!!! I launched the boat, and started rowing away from shore. Once I made it past the weed beds, I reached back and clicked on the trolling motor and away I went…away all over the place, in circles, zig-zag, but not quite the straight slow line I expected. I have read about tricks to keep an oar in the water to act as a keel, and I have also seen a strap on keel designed for pontoon boats. The oar in the water works just fine without spending more $$$.

I think the trolling motor is a great way to cover lots of water from point to point, but Scott V showed me the trick to moving the pontoon boat without oars that keeps a nice pace, allows for wind adjustments, and is just plain fun….Swim Fins!!! Once I got to the far end of Mather Lake, I turned off my motor, and started to just use my feet and fins to move me backwards slowly up the channels while being able to cast and work my fly without needing to deal with the oar handle being in my face. I was able to maintain a good slow trolling speed if needed, could change directions as I needed, and was able to ward off the effects of a breeze without being swung in circles while being stuck on an anchor. Only 2 small ‘gills this outing, but a great time and a good workout was had.

One thing I did not cover that should be mentioned…Tear Down and packing for the trip home…***Lesson 4*** Keep a tarp and a couple of rags in your trunk!!! After the nasty water experience at CP, I learned how valuable having these things handy really is. Teardown was relatively quick…repacking the car took some time only because I had to wipe down everything that was contaminated with the nasty floating goose poop and slime. I did not have a tarp, so I had to spend additional time getting the nastiness off my gear before packing back in the trunk. If you have a pickup truck, you are in luck…just toss the whole rig in the bed, tie it down, and head home. Either way, it is only a 10-15 min job to tear down, pack up, and get back on the road.

I am very pleased with my purchase and am looking forward to getting out there in some lakes and ponds that I have only had bank access to. This little investment has opened up a whole new world of fishing to me and I would highly recommend it to anybody that wants to get out there away from shore, cannot afford or don’t have storage for a non-inflatable boat, or is a bigger person that can’t fit comfortably in a float tube.

I am sure there are many other opinions, tips, tricks, experiences, and stories out there with regards to inflatable pontoon boats, and I really would love to hear them.

Thanks for taking the time to read this very long post. I hope that it brings some additional insight and perspective to somebody considering Bill’s suggestion to “get out there on something that floats.”

Tight lines…..

Scott V
06-19-2008, 11:49 AM
I forgot to warn you about trying to go straight on a pontoon with the trolling motor. You will notice that the mount is not centered on the back of the boat, therefore making very difficult if not impossible to go straight. I am still learning how to use it and I have used my trolling motor alot.

Bill Kiene semi-retired
06-19-2008, 08:58 PM
Great article.....

You can add some photos later?

What I hate is a long post with no paragraphs.

I have had this ~$1,200 Outcast PAC 900 for a few years now up in the shop. I have to sell it. 50% off anyone?

Outcast tells me that they sell mostly the ones that are around $500. I will have to get some of them.

I will have Scott V take a look at their models with me.

Reno Flytyer
07-03-2008, 05:22 PM
I have a 9' Outcast. When I bought mine 5 or 6 years ago, it retailed for $850.00. I put in a fair amount of time shopping and comparing but was eventually sold on the materials and weight of the Outcast. Yes, I paid more but I have never been unhappy when I transport this craft...the 52# is easy, much easier than the 80# of most other models.

For Bill to offer this pontoon @ 50% off, it is a steal! Someone needs to grab this now - you won't be sorry!

The learning curve on a pontoon takes a while, but they are a pure joy to fish from. I'll offer just one tip for those without a wheel...I carry mine on my shoulders. The cross member that supports the seat crosses my back over the shoulders and I hold the foot pegs with my hands...it's absolutely the best way to move it around.

RFT