2-3 man pontoon boat question

[narwhal]

Hello all. I was wondering if I could glean some info.

I had been plannin gon buying a large raft or cataraft this summer, but can't pony up the funds due to an unexpected knee surgery (damn snowboards!!). SO, I was thinking about getting something less expensive. I was looking at boats that would have been about $4-5000 fully equipped. I was at the raft store in Anchorage the other day and saw the 2-man Fishcat 13 for about $1600. That seemed like a great option. I can then rent a bigger raft if lots of people are gonna be going to the river (mainly Kenai and Willow in AK). However, I started looking around and looked at the Dave Scaddens (North Fork) online and see they have some 2 and 3 mans that are around $1800-3000. I was wondering if anyone had suggestions for this price range/useage of boat.

I may get the 2 man, especially at that great price (shop owner says they have not had any problems with them and they sell LOTS of boats). However I would love to have capacty for 3 people.

Also saw the cheaper boats in teh Cabela's catalog. i think the brand is Creek Company or Clear Creek CO. They have 2 and 3 mans for about a grand.

Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

narwhal

[shawn k]

Imho The cheaper two man pontoons arent that good to flyfish out of they are good for transportation thats about it.The diamater of the pontoons isnt big enough and they need to be about three feet longer. They pontoons plow when soneone is standing up in front which makes them harder to row. Instead i would look at the tributary line of rafts from aire or the rio bravo raft from hyside. They are good affordable boats. You can get on the water with a bucket boat and Nrs frame and oars for about 2800.

[ssickle1]

I don't know about the 13' supercat but I have a 15' supercat and it is awesome to fish out of. The price is right.

[gt]

in general, if you are doing moving water class II or above, you need tube diameters of 19" or larger. for two people, i would suggest the minimum length for daytripping is probably 12'.

you really need to look for a cataraft as opposed to a 'pontoon' boat. there is a world of difference in the design of these. the primary purpose of a cat is to take you safely through white water. it is the ferrari of floating devices and will enable you to manuver in situations you never thought possible.

the less expensive 'pontoon' boats for 2 folks are usually smaller diameter tubes with you sitting pretty low to the water. this is not an ideal situation if you are in white water.

now the kenai is not exactly what i would call a white water river, so you might be ok out of the boat you are looking at. OTOH, if you do a bit of homework, you will find that you can get a top notch frame fabricated for lots less than what the retailers are asking. quality tubes are also available direct from the mfg.

so how much investigation do you want to do???? start by visiting JPWINC.COM for some great tips and a look at what is possible.

[narwhal]

Anybody have any experience with teh larger Dave Scaddens?

narwhal

[NewFlyLady]

We have 2 Outcast 1200's (2 man). The first one has the seats lower to the water. The newer one has the seats placed higher and it is much easier to row. A couple of notes. Often the seats on a cheaper model are uncomfortable. Look for something that has a padded formed seat. Also be aware that the large pontoon boats seem to be more affected by wind making them a little harder to control and move down a river if it is a cross wind. Other than that I think the Outcast is a top quality product. You get what you pay for. :thumb:

[Scottpuck]

I have a scadden 3 man. I LOVE the boat, but getting it was quite the pain. The company has had some issues in their process, so getting all the pieces (and in the same color) required me calling Dave and complaining over a period of 2 months.

To his defense, he is a very nice guy and seems to realize that they need to work on their process. He bent over backwards for me to make it right.

[Mike Kibbee]

I noticed this on ebay last week. 13' Vangaurd self-bailing with a nrs frame. Seems like a good package for 3,350.00. Never dealt with them though.
Hope it helps.
Mike
http://cgi.ebay.com/Self-bailing-whitewater-raft-drift-boat-fishing-frame_W0QQitemZ7237769817QQcategoryZ15266QQcmdZVie wItem