a good one man watercraft?

[.dsaavedra.]

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_84259_175005001_175000000_175005000_175-5-1

for when i get a job and a truck, i can go out by my self and easily get on the water. this seems to be the best pontoon with the most features for the price. think its a good one?

[CGH]

Ever tried building one

[kickbasskid]

Does that thing even float?

[Micro]

For that kind of money, I'd buy a small jon boat that I could load into the back of my truck. You can get wheels for the back edges. I think a small jon would be a much more versatile boat, and would cost less. Even with an electric motor.

You can get a new 10' jon for $499 and still have enough left over for a 30lb thrust motor and battery (and a charger).

http://www.trackerboats.com/boat/index.cfm?boat=2860

This will easily fit in the bed of a small pickup.  

[PDB]

If I were you, I'd go for a good fishing kayak. Simple, stable, stealthy and capable.

[.dsaavedra.]

For that kind of money, I'd buy a small jon boat that I could load into the back of my truck. You can get wheels for the back edges. I think a small jon would be a much more versatile boat, and would cost less. Even with an electric motor.

You can get a new 10' jon for $499 and still have enough left over for a 30lb thrust motor and battery (and a charger).

http://www.trackerboats.com/boat/index.cfm?boat=2860

This will easily fit in the bed of a small pickup.

i have a leaky 12' aluminum jonboat and 36lb motor and batterey.

its pretty much a pain in the butt to transport and fishin. that thing is so tipsy its not even funny. its a big pain to have to deal with the leak.

that $500 10 foot boat is riveted, and if i get a jonboat it will be welded...i dont wanna deal with rivets again.

a 10 foot jonboat would be pretty difficult to handle by my self...im not a very big guy. and i probably wouldnt get a trailer because alot of the places i fish have no boat ramp.

[.dsaavedra.]

Ever tried building one

nope.

but that is kinda neat. i saw plans for that on the internet a while ago. forget where they were though.

[surfer]

dsaaverdra,

If your jon is leaking through the rivets try the two hammers technique to tighten the rivets back up.  It worked for me.

Take a sledge hammer or heavy solid weight and place it against one side of the rivet.  Take a regular nail hammer and smack the rivet a few good times.  The rivet will flatten and expand filing the hole again.  No more leak.

Ps  what does your name mean?

[Grey Wolf]

Check Cabelas , you'll find there are nice cheaper pontoons out there.

[twors]

I would go with a fishing kayak long before messing with a inflatable anything.

[32251]

I would go with a fishing kayak long before messing with a inflatable anything.

I have several Sea Eagle inflatables.  The best money I ever spent.

The SE6 is the one I use by myself. Stand up in it and cast all day long with no problem. Finshed fishing. Just let the air out and put it in your trunk.  

I love my inflatable.  

[Cory20]

Dave,

I'm on board with the fishing kayak crowd.  They're so much faster than a kick boat and from the looks of them, have similar amounts of storage.

With a small jon boat, the trailer should be light enough that you could wheel it down to the water by hand.  Or you could just eat more  

Cory

[Popeye]

For a Jon boat isn't there a large wheeled dollie available that you can attach to one end so that you can just roll it down to the water and then remove the dollie?? Heck, with a couple 16 - 20" bicycle wheels and some pvc tubing or cheap angle aluminum you could probably build a dollie that could be collapsable and put in the boat after you got it to/in the water.

[ThomasL]

I have a one person creekboat.com for the website that i use in ponds and had built a frame like a basshunter has with a folding seat and mounted a cuda242 depthfinder powered by a small 12v battery that works well for me,also got a kayak cart to load it on and i can push it anywhere like a wheel barrel!I have had three canoes and one inflatable pontoon that the wind played havoc on.

[David P]

With that kinda money, might as well go get a porta boat or something.

I got my pontoon for $400 comes with the wheel and all. Haven't taken it out, I'm waiting on my waders to come in the mail. I'll let you know how it goes. Just stand on the seat, no need for paying $400 extra for a casting deck, or build one like I said.

For $800 you have other options, a good, none leaking jon boat, it all depends on the water you're fishing, how accessible a trailer is tot he water, or is a pontoon the best way. Gotta make that decision, as I did.

[GatorBK]

A gheenoe is your answer http://www.gheenoe.net/

Here is my oneor two man gator hunting rig.Its a custom made 10 ft gheenoe and a gator I got this morning

They are great and you dont need a trailer . They fit right in a truck or on a car . A motor can be mounted on them , mine only weighs 70 lbs. I can stand up in it easily and sight fish and cast . They are much more stablethan a canoe and easier to manuever and quieter than a john boat

[jerbs]

Get a kickboat!!!

I've fished out of pretty much all lower budget fishing vessels and a kickboat is by far the best. Control, stability, storage...the list goes on.

You can find some much cheaper then the one you were looking at though. If you wanted to get top of the line pontoon boat, go with a versa vessel. ODC creek company sells some good boats for a good price, as does water skeeter. I own a water skeeter and before I got my boat I took that thing everywhere a boat could go and more.

[GitRDoneIke23]

I have a kayak. I LOVE IT!!! I've taken it out in the bay, the lake and even the surf for some AWESOME fishing! The one I have is a Wilderness Systems Tarpon 120. It's about 12 feet long. It cost around $700 but I got it on sale. But you can find MANY other GREAT kayaks for the same price, or cheaper.

I would DEFINATALLY go with a kayak. Just make sure you get a "sit on top"

as opposed to a "sit in" http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_58961_200006006_2000000000_200006000_200-6-6

[Tokyo Tony]

It seems like there are two schools of thought, the "toon" and the "yak"  ;D

I want to get a toon/pontoon boat/kickboat this year, and Dave, the one you posted looks awesome.  It looks like you can stand up and pitch/flip very easily in that.  That, IMO, is a huge advantage over a kayak.  Another advantage is that if you have flippers with it, you can easily adjust your positioning as you cast or fight a fish.  You can work down a shorline and work the whole thing without having to paddle.

On the other hand, it seems that a kayak is faster, easier to deal with (just put it in the water - no inflating), and safer for longer trips (you can even do camping trips).  The thing I don't like about kayaks is that to move you HAVE to use the paddle, which seems like a hassle, especially on windy days.  Do you yakkers find that to be a problem?

[jerbs]

That right there tony is why a pontoon is much better then a kayak. Having fins to be able to move around at your own pace and pull some bass out of some junk is why a toon is much better then a yak. Try pulling out a 5+ brusier of some brush while trying to oar backwards ;D

kayaks are great fishing vessels, especially for the ocean, but for bass I'd choose a kickboat anyday.

[GitRDoneIke23]

Tony-

I really don't have that hard a time when it's windy. I always cary an anchor, which helps and on my kayak, I have a rudder on the back which makes it REALLY easy to steer when paddling. With the rudder you don't have to concentrate on steering with your paddle. It's pretty nice. here's a pic of my kayak. (mine is orange) http://www.wildernesssystems.com/tarpon-120-angler

[.dsaavedra.]

sorry guys, i forgot all about this thread! there are many responses. ther is no way i would ever get kayak. definitley not one to sit will my legs streched all day. noooo way. i have to stand. which is why i like the casting deck pontoon. but that is alot of money and if im gonna pay that much i wanna assess my options. i do have one of those little dollies for my current P.O.S. jonboat. the dolly also happens to be a P.O.S. we got it from a yardsale or something.

there are 4 places that i fish that have a boat ramp. and two of those places i wont be able to go to by myself, i'd need my dad with me, because they are on a navy base, and he works ther so he has a pass that can get me in. i couldnt go there by my self. my favorite lake doesnt have a boat ramp.

not sure how hammering the rivets will work because there is alot of old caulking alllll over the bottom of the boat. im not even sure if its the rivets leaking. i think its the seam down the middle of the hull. my dad and i have found a few spots on the hull that are leaking. and everything we have tried hasnt worked.

my name is jus my first initial "d" and then my last name "saavedra". the two periods before and after are because i was trying to edit my info and it wouldnt let me because my display name was the same as my login name, so i just slapped two periods on it and said "take that". lol.