Rowing and Finning on a pontoon boat

[smallmouth89]

My one experience with fishing from a "toon" killed my desire to have one of these craft. Of course it was a great "hands free" solo fishing platform but manoevreing over the water proved to be very disappointing. I was not happy with the way it rowed or the way it responded to my fins. They are very heavy compared to a tube so you cannot just swivel around with a slight kick like you can in a tube. The toon I got to try out was an Orvis repackaged "Water Skeeter".

Are their people on board who have had satisfactory performance with their "toons" on bigger stillwaters without having to use a motor? I'd much prefer to use my kayak because of the poor mobility I experienced in the pontoon boat. The kayak, however as TubeDude has rightly stated is not a great "hands free" fishing platform. (No better or more fuel efficient trolling machine though!)The toon would also be much more efficient for floating rivers where there is a vehicle waiting at the other end. I can't imagine trying to row one back upstream.

I'm very interested in what you pontoon users have to say about the mobility of your particular models. I woul hate to spend the money for a brand name toon and find it as disappointing as the one I borrowed from my friend. Anyone recommend or use a good manoeverable lightweight toon that could be hoisted up on the roof of a car by one man.
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[Fishhound]

Hey smallmouth89,

You've made some valid observations on pontoon boats. I also have one of those in addition to my tube. As TD pointed out, the two are complimentary rather than exlusionary. One does what the other cannot do very well. That said, here are a couple of my observations and experiences with the two.

My tube is a stealth machine - a commando raiding watercraft - it's light(when I leave all of the extras at home), manueverable, packs up small and easy to carry quite a distance to a remote fishing hole(even inflated). And most of all, it's just fun !

My toon is designed such that it can handle a class 3 river - even a class 4 if a person is experienced and gutsy. It rows and handles wonderfully in any water and only draws a couple of inches of water(with out motor - with motor it draws another inch and a half). But, it is far more robust than the toon you borrowed and with a motor(electric or gas), or, with just oars it can fly across the water. The down side to it is that it was very expensive and depending on the configuration of it that I use, it can be quite heavy(at it's lightest configuration, it weighs in at only 55 lbs). In comparison to my first pontoon boat(similar to the one you used), it kicks like a dream.

The answer that I came up with to your concern about holding position against the wind or mild current, is the anchor(I would recommend learning good anchoring theory beforehand) - for both my toon and a kayak. I've borrowed one of my fishing buddies kayaks on a couple of occassions and experimented with a number of those concerns. My next watercraft(to compliment not replace) will be a kayak with an anchor system. A pontoon(even without a motor), like a kayak, can be a trolling machine with the addition of stratigically placed rod holders and a fishfinder - which I have both of on my pontoon as well as an easy to use anchor system for holding stationary.

As far as transporting my pontoon, I have a pickup truck and it fits in the back when it's fully loaded. However, it is also very easy to assemble and dissassemble when I take in my other vehicle that does not have all the room. My first pontoon boat was also quite easy to take apart but heavier. With some practice(I'm talking doing it more than a dozen times at your house), you can get a routine down that will allow you to put almost any of the pontoons together and tear them down in just 10 or 15 minutes - about the same amount of time required to get on the water with a fully blown float tube system.
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[Carp_Punisher]

[#505000]The Water Skeeter probably wasn't the best choice to start from. A friend of mine borrowed his neighbors and he had all sorts of problems and valid complaints about the craft. After seeing it and the problems with the design I wouldn't recommend them. [/#505000]
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[#505000]I have a float tube and a Fishcat 9 pontoon. They each have a function but where I can I usually use my pontoon. I find I can't turn as fast as I can in my tube but I can still manuever without difficulty. The biggest pros to the toon are they can carry more weight/gear and you can get up some speed so you can get to your fishing hole a lot quicker than you can in a tube. With the speed you can also have a lot more range. [/#505000]
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[#505000]The fishcat 9 has a steel frame so it is a little hefty to lug around. If you have the $$$ burning a hole in your pocket I would recommend a lighter aluminum framed pontoon.[/#505000]
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[LuvFshn]

I just recently bought a TU pontoon boat and really like it. I agree, I think using Oars & Fins on a pontoon boat can be quite difficult at times , especially when you have strong winds. As a result, I use a trolling motor.

I like to use my fins inconjuntion with my motor. The fins act as rudders and steer the boat when the motor is running. I am able to have my hands be completely free which is very nice when you are throwing lures or trolling. At faster speeds, I use my oars to steer instead.

In my opinion, I would take a pontoon boat over a kayak anyday due to the stability factor. I have flipped over in a canoe like boat and lost all my gear from a boat wake. In my pontoon boat have been waves up to 3 feet and managed not to flip over. [cool]
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