Fishing Forum

Hey, im new to the forums. I live in st. George Utah.

I recently was in salt lake visiting my dad and picked up a toon from cabelas, the classic accessories cimmaron.

The rest of my family lives in las vegas, so the past few days ive been here visiting. I took the pontoon on its first trip, out at lake mead. Never used a pontoon before, so a few things im unsure about.

I have some trouble paddling without spinning out, i know its because im not using the oars correctly. (oars not equally in the water.)
This model has horseshoe type oarlocks that are pinned, with rubber rings around the oars as stops. The problem im having with them is the rubber ring seems to slide up towards the grip after just a few paddels. is this normal?
Someone i know has the odc classic, and there oar locks clamp on to the oars. is it possible to convert my toon to use clamp on locks? seems like the clamp ons would eliminate the problem of the oars sliding down. And i like that my oars will remain verticle to the water with them.
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Welcome. No that donut should not move.
I recommend you get some "OAR RIGHTS" and replace that ring. You will need to adjust the oars then tighten the oar right.
They are designed to keep the blades in the right position at all times.
But the rings should not slide at all.

I have several friends that have the same pontoon you have, so if you have more questions, bring the up.

You are correct too in that you will be stronger with one arm but it will become easy. I do still wear flippers though and recommend it.
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Thanks flygoddess. Thats good to know that the donuts should'nt move like that. That was my main problem while i was out there, seemed like every 30 feet or so i had to re adjust them. Im gonna give classic accessories a call tomorrow about it.
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A quick fix for the rubber rings might be a few wraps of electrical tape on the oar above and below the rubber rings once you have them positioned where you want them. It wont help in keeping them vertical, but it should keep them from sliding.
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Problem with that is you would have to keep adding and taking it off the tape to remove the oars. They slide into the horse shoe/wish bone holders
If the ring (Oar Stop)is tight, the oars shouldn't slide inwards. You are pushing out when you row.
Also find a good distance between handles for you. When holding them straight out, there should be 6" to maybe 18" between hands. This can change if the oars are shorter or longer.
I prefer longer oars than what comes stock on boats. Seems like they go with the minimum length.
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what do you mean by the "tape"? the oars are two piece, aluminum, and seem to have a plastic coating on them. to put the oars on and off i just break the oars down, slide one half through the lock, and slide the oars back together. Is there suppose to be another piece im missing?
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Oh sorry flygoddess, didnt realize there was another reply, i see now what you were talking about. lol, sorrya bout that
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The oars should have a Black PVC sleeve about 6" to 10" long not qite at half way mark but more towards handle. This is to shield from wear of the brass oar holder against the aluminum oar.
That ring (oar stop) should be on that sleeve.
You should be able to slide your oars into the oar holder without breaking them in half. Start at the blade.

Here is my old boat and oars with the oar right. The donut on the oar right should be in the same place as the donut on your oars.


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Weird, mine aren't like that. My oars are sleeved the entire length of the oar, no aluminum is exposed, its impossible to slide into the lock unless the oars are split.

I see the Oar right in that picture, ill have to get some of those, that would help me a lot.
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I looked at the oars on line and see what you mean. Black oars...LOL. Sucks having to take them apart all the time. I slide my new ones up from the blade, but the shaft is a little bigger than the aluminum.
The oar rights are great.
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I think I know which oars you have. I have some similar that I had picked up at cabelas in their bargain cave. If they are the same then they are smaller diameter then the others out there. I put the clamp ons on these oars. I found that they did not fit due to the diameter so I hit Lowes plumbing department. They have some rubber squares that I took and cut to fit the oar locks. Worked great for the oars are now tight in the ocks and no slipping. Here is a pic of my toon where you can see the modifcation I made for the oar. Hope this helps! I also attached a larger picture that shows it.


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Albino, I did the same thing on my Alpine and Navigator II that had the "clamp" style oar keep, but his boat is like mine, the brass Horse shoe or Wishbone. They will fit loose. I would say, if the donut slips no matter how tight you go, you might want to try the rubber like an old inner tube, under for like a shim.
You could also look into the clamp style, but I have heard they are different shaft size and might not fit in your frame.
Let me know if that interest you and I will do my best to help you in that direction also.
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For now im going to just deal with it, until i have some spare money, then im going to buy the oar rights. They seem like they would solve all issues. As far as the oar locks, i know the classic acessories "delaware" model has the clamp type locks, and they are the same diameter as the cimmarons locks. And they pin on just like my current locks. If i can find some from the delaware, i might just buy them.
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Went out to lake mead again today, im definatley going to have to pick up some oar rights, or the clamping type donuts, these rubber ones are sliding all over the place.

But other then that it was a fairly good trip, hooked up to a striper, but lost him about 10 feet from the toon, He wrapped my line around a big boulder and snapped it.

Later in the day the wind picked up to about 10mph, i quickly learned im going to need an anchor for this thing. i was getting blown back into shore. So i packed it up and called it a day. Definatley happy i picked up a toon, beats the old tube in alot of ways. Just needs a few modifications
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[cool][#0000ff]What? Wind on Mead? Naaaaa. Never happen.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Glad you at least got a good hookup. Too bad about the "early release for bad behavior".[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Pontoons usually do catch more wind than most tubes and become a real challenge to hold position while fishing. A good anchor system will help you to fish a spot more thoroughly and efficiently with a lot less work. Just be sure you use the right kind of anchor for the bottom you will be fishing. Rocks eat anchors.[/#0000ff]
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Awe come on 10 mph is a breeze...LOL.
At least it was blowing the right direction. For me, it is always blowing away from shore and I have to work to get back.

Of course, that is where I would have rowed out and drifted with casting and stripping line back in. Let the wind move me.

I am with you though, I have move away from anything without oars about a year ago and will never look back.
I seriously didn't notice a big difference in wind resistance other than I got a little more beat up on a smaller boat (tube) and legs burning.
In fact I tried both in one day to make sure. Both are effected by wind in my opinion. But one is legs only, the other legs and oars.
Unless you add a motor, then there is no problem...[laugh][laugh][laugh]

Be careful with an anchor also. Many a lines have been wrapped around by fish. And in my case, I have had to chase a few fish and an anchor would have cost me the fish.

On your boat, how comfortable is the seat? Allot of people ask me about them.
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The wind wasnt so much the issue, just that on lake mead, a 10mph breeze makes for some crazy waves. it was fun though, felt like i was airborne off a few of those waves.

As for the seat, its decent, im not a big guy. But that bar on the top sucks. im going to put a piece of padding around that bar, or make a new bar all together that is shaped diffrent. I have access to tubing benders etc.

As for the anchor, what weight and style is best? 75% of my fishing is at sand hollow and quail creek in utah, so fairly smooth bottoms not rocky. will a grapling style work ok? thats what ive been looking at
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take it back and get a scadden []
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There are the metal cylinder style with the spikes that are good, and the mushroom, Not sure on the claw style. When we do use an anchor it is several large links of chain on a carabiner . We just add or subtract links as needed
It is probably the easiest anchor.
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I have alot of chain laying around, ill have to try that out. Doesnt seem like it would take much to hold me in place.
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