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hi guys
after a long time i used yesterday my pontoon again
fishing wasn't great just a few small rainbows
but i getting a bit of trouble whit all the work you have whit a pontoon
you know like building it up, taking al the gear whit you
when you on the water you dont go back to your car to get something
and afterwards building it down
when you come home clean it and let it dry and put it back in store
i think it's to much work for a few hours of fishing
i was wonder how you guys feel about it
johan
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[cool][#0000ff]Hey Johan, good to hear from you again. Hope you are having a nice spring. It sounds like you are getting to go fishing anyway.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]It also sounds like you are getting a dose of reality. Pontoons are more work to assemble and disassemble, unless you are able to carry them to and from your fishing spot in a trailer or a truck. Many of our BFT members in the USA have pickup trucks or buy small utility trailers to carry their pontoons...all aired up and set up...so that all they have to do when they get to the lake is unload and go fishing.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Whenever somebody asks me which is better, a tube or 'toon, that is one of the things I try to point out to them. If they do not have a large vehicle, truck or trailer, they have to plan to spend more time before and after fishing in setting up and taking down their pontoon for transport.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]That is why I will never give up my float tube completely. There are still too many places that it is easier to get to and to fish in a float tube, rather than my new pontoon or from a boat. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Pontoons have the advantage when you need to move faster or cover more distance. Using the oars (or electric motor) provides much better propulsion than fins alone. They also allow you to sit higher off the water, which is better in cold water and for fly fishing, when you need a higher casting platform.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]There are a lot of fishemen who do not like the extra work involved in setting up and taking down their pontoons. I suspect that some of them decide not to go fishing sometimes, just because they do not want to put up with that business. Too bad for them. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]We are sorry that your marriage with your pontoon is having difficulties. I hope you do not get a divorce.[/#0000ff]
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[font "WST_Engl"][red]You know, I couldn't understand how anyone would prefer a float tube over a pontoon until you mentioned this. I guess it's cause like you say, the set up. I have two trailers, one big for the 11 1/2' ers and a small 4 foot trailer for the Echo or even the SFC cause I have a small SUV.[/red][/font]
[font "WST_Engl"][red] However, on long trips that we take the Van, we deflate one or both cardiacs and put them in the back (out of sight thing). Not that big of deal however with the pump we have, inflate takes 5 minutes for all four pontoons.[/red][/font]
[font "WST_Engl"][red]Small lakes that require walk in (Uinta's, Tibble) we do take our smaller tubes or pontubes, but have taken the bigger, just requires the wheel or two people to get them to the water, which, load everything (battery, anchor, oars, flippers, vest etc) on the potoons and make one trip.[/red][/font]
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I would probably have the same complait as you but I've made some changes to make using the 'toon easier I never let the air out of my toon any more. I bought 2 of the bicyle pullies and rigged them up to the roof of my garage so All I have to do is back up my pickup in to the garage and and drop the 'toon strap it down and I'm out the door. The reverse is true on the return trip. I know this set up is not an option for everyone.. just a suggestion. I attached a pic for reference.
If you don't have a truck I've seen people just strap 'em to the top of their sedans fully inflated.
![[Image: gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=15394;]](http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=15394;)
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][purple][size 3]CATCHandreEAT We do the same thing, but just use the tie downs to pull them up in the rafters. We have a tall garage so we can hoiste them up and still park the full size ford van in there.[/size][/purple][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][purple][size 3]Your garage however is a lot more neat than ours so I will no be posting picture of ours[  ] We also put our Echo's (small 4 foot pontoons) up there too.[/size][/purple][/font]
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Johan raises a good point. I, too, have felt the burden of having to set up and tear down the pontoon. It can be a royal pain that can cause you, subconsiously at least, to dread anything but a full day or overnight trip. It is certainly a factor in the tube vs. toon argument.
zonker
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well guys
thanks for the support and tips
i dont have a big garage so thats no option
but i'm thinking of a way to move the pontoon in total setup on my car
or put in several parts in my car
there must be an easy way to make it less work
@ tubedude we took some therapy now to work it out
so still no divorce
johan
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[cool][#0000ff]Good to hear that you are able to work out your differences.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have just finished making a support frame, to attach to the cartop rack that came with my GMC Jimmy. I will be installing it to carry my pontoon on top of my vehicle, securely and without scratching the paint job. I will take pictures of the whole thing when I am finished.[/#0000ff]
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I agree with you, the toon can be a burden unless you have means of transportation. I'm able to throw mine in the back of my truck but have also strapped it to the top of my Honda Accord on some extra long trips. I get some strange looks but it's much easier on the wallet. Were you fishing from a Lake or river? Just curious.
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I move gear for a living and have to unload 1/2 of my van to load up the pontoon, assemble it like the guy says, then unload it and reload my work gear when I get home. Adds another hour to the whole process. My old van had a rack, my new one doesn't, even with the rack I had some "experiences", never lost it but on the interstate in high wind it will cause you some paranoia while strapped to the roof. Canoes and other watercraft have more weight and wind doesn't bother them as much, plus you don't have to "assemble" and "dis-assemble" everytime, sometimes I wish I had a canoe instead of the pontoon. I can pack my toon in to remote lakes though, I guess they have their advantages and di  vantages.
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[url "http://easypacker.com/"]http://easypacker.com/[/url]
This looks like it might work good for you
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nice, costs more than my toon though, I was out today, things went pretty smoothly, I brought the toon out at 9:47pm, by 9:55pm I was on my way home, 8 minutes, not so bad. Setting up of course is longer but you have to take into account messing around with tackle as well, I'm guessing it took almost 20 minutes til I had everything rigged to let in, still worth it to me.
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no matter where and when it usually takes me an hour toget on water
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[#0000ff][font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][size 1] Post:[/size][/font] [/#0000ff] [font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][#0000ff][size 1]no matter where and when it usually takes me an hour together on water
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Not true Poky. It is usually 15 to 20 minutes for you and me and about an hour to an hour and a half for Mojo. He has to talk to everyone first. If no one else is on shore, it cuts his time to a half to forty-five minutes.[laugh]
A small trailer from Harbor Freight, runs $250. (or around there) makes transporting easy! We had one modified for a couple hundred more for TWO 11 1/2' pontoons, but my Zuke can haul them now.
[inline "Zuk and boats.jpg"]
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