Pontoons? Options

[Boom]

I've read through a bunch of the old threads but I still have some questions. I'm looking at picking up the 9' Classic Accessories that Costco is carrying. It appears to be a fairly good boat for the money and since it's from Costco you can return it if there is any issues. Has anyone used this boat or the other similar CA pontoons? How would it do on the Bighorn or late season Yellowstone?


It appears that if you spend a bit more money you can get a better river boat but you lose some features that would be handy at the lake. Ultimately I would like a stand up Fish Cat or Scadden but you lose a lot of portability by upgrading to one of these.

[WhitefishEd]

sorry...cant help you.
i walk on water...snort..

[Boom]

sorry...cant help you.
i walk on water...snort..

I tried that this hunting season and fell into a froze over ditch. Good thing I was a Boy scout once and came prepared with extra clothes.

[deepcreek]

sorry...cant help you.
i walk on water...snort..

But Ed it's very hard to see you, hook up the neon.

[SPlatteBoy]

Pretty much every person I've ever heard of that bought one of those boats or similar (they go by a few different names) ended up returning them. Pontoons leaked, seams failed, boats are heavy, all those pockets and extraneous junk on the boat hang up on things, bad anchor system, list goes on. you just get what you pay for.

I'm curious though how you lose some lake features on a river boat and how you lose portability with the standing system on a Scadden? (I have a Madison H2 and it's one of the lightest boats on the market.)

[Boom]

Pretty much every person I've ever heard of that bought one of those boats or similar (they go by a few different names) ended up returning them. Pontoons leaked, seams failed, boats are heavy, all those pockets and extraneous junk on the boat hang up on things, bad anchor system, list goes on. you just get what you pay for.

I'm curious though how you lose some lake features on a river boat and how you lose portability with the standing system on a Scadden? (I have a Madison H2 and it's one of the lightest boats on the market.)

From the looks of some of the boats you lose the rear motor mount or bracket. Some companies appear to have them as an accessory but there weren't many pictures of the setups. As far as standing models go in general they appeared bigger and harder to breakdown and transport. I was mostly looking at the Skykomish or the Fish cat 10 both of these are larger than I had wanted. I hadn't noticed the Madison pontoon until you mentioned it. After looking at the specs it seems to be a great boat. Do you know what the difference is between the Madison ST and the H2? How well do they break down and pack away? Is the standing platform stable enough to use while anchored in running water?

[BigBrownTrout]

From the looks of some of the boats you lose the rear motor mount or bracket. Some companies appear to have them as an accessory but there weren't many pictures of the setups. As far as standing models go in general they appeared bigger and harder to breakdown and transport. I was mostly looking at the Skykomish or the Fish cat 10 both of these are larger than I had wanted. I hadn't noticed the Madison pontoon until you mentioned it. After looking at the specs it seems to be a great boat. Do you know what the difference is between the Madison ST and the H2? How well do they break down and pack away? Is the standing platform stable enough to use while anchored in running water?

I have the Skykomish and not the Madison, but the difference between the ST and H2 is huge. The ST is more of an entry level boat where the pontoons are a bladder inside of an exterior protective layer or bladder housing. The bladder housing is stitched together and not heat welded making them much more likely to have problems. The threaded seams will wear out. With regular use every season they are not expected to last much more than 3 years, although the boat comes with a 10 year warranty which is good. If only used a few times a year, they may last a long time. They might have moved away from the stitching now. The H2 is a much better built boat. The pontoons are fully heat welded with high grade fabric making then much stronger and abrasion resistant. The standing platform on the frames are stable in most conditions. They are just fine in moving water anchored or not, so that is not an issue. I'm no longer using my platform however due to the noise they make when in waves, still or moving water. As far as pack-ability, I can easily put the boat in my Celica with room to spare. The back platform on either boat is designed to accommodate most motors either electric or gas powered.

[Boom]

Thanks for the info. It sucks that these are so nice, because I think I'm going to have to start saving up for one.

[SPlatteBoy]

From the looks of some of the boats you lose the rear motor mount or bracket. Some companies appear to have them as an accessory but there weren't many pictures of the setups. As far as standing models go in general they appeared bigger and harder to breakdown and transport. I was mostly looking at the Skykomish or the Fish cat 10 both of these are larger than I had wanted. I hadn't noticed the Madison pontoon until you mentioned it. After looking at the specs it seems to be a great boat. Do you know what the difference is between the Madison ST and the H2? How well do they break down and pack away? Is the standing platform stable enough to use while anchored in running water?

yeah, I see what you are saying. most of the decent boats are already going to have a motor mount and large, solid rear deck anyway. sometimes if it's that netting or basket or something it's easy to replace with a piece of diamond plate. some of the cheaper and smaller boats that don't have some of that just aren't designed to be carrying a battery and motor anyway. it's a lot of weight in the back. and for rivers it's nice to have a good deck area to pack gear.

I don't know about how the Fish Cat standing platform is mounted but depending on that you could be right. As for the Scadden, it doesn't affect it since it just a sliding plate that goes under the seat and a hoop bar that folds down. It just sits on brackets that slide on the side rails. totally optional to even use it and takes seconds to install or remove. Doesn't affect the breakdown or setup at all. Some of them bolt or fasten in place and aren't retractable and the standing rail is fixed, those you are correct would be more difficult. I agree with BBT, it can be nice to have on occassion but far from necessary and has some drawbacks like he mentioned.

Like BBT said, the ST versus the H2 is the bladderless technology and longer warranty. Most boats are constructed with that bladder type of construction though. The H2 can handle higher air pressures and aren't susceptible to the seam issue. I'm not sure it's a huge deal if you take care of your stuff. More of it comes down to the materials and construction. I think Outcast probably uses better materials in their pontoon shells and they are pretty bomber. Same stuff as in their rafts. I'm not sure Scadden's are nearly as thick. The bladderless are pretty nice but they don't really compare to the materials in a good raft. But the lifetime warranty is nice.

I keep mine setup all the time so don't know about the breakdown but Scadden does make different frames (or at least they used to) and if you call you can kind of customize your ride. They'll let you pick the frame, toons, all that separately if you want. If you call and talk to Larry tell him you are from the boards and he'll cut you somewhat of a deal, at least the show prices and maybe a free accessory or something. Some of the frames are smaller with more breakdown for fly-in and stuff. Some are a bit wider with a bigger standing platform and more fixed bars so don't breakdown as small. Just ask them. And if you don't want the standing platform just tell them you don't and it's a couple hundred bucks less. Most guys keep them setup to avoid the hassle and unless you have anything other than a compact car, it's pretty easy to just put it on top or something.

You really don't want to be anchoring in moving water anyway and can't if the current is moving at all. Only on the edges and in eddy's. Risk is if you anchor in water that is moving and your anchor hangs up you can flip pretty fast. That said, the standing platform is fairly solid but I have heard of people taking a plunge for various reasons. Definitely use caution.

[Blackotter]

This is the end result of dropping an anchor in moving water.

Granted, pontoons aren't going to sink, but it's a recipe for disaster.

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[tplane]

Boom,
I have both the Classic Accessories “Colorado” model, and the Scadden Skykomish (bladders, not the H2 Pontoons). I’m one of those guys who started cheap, but ended up getting the better boat within a couple seasons and therefore flushed several hundred bucks in the process. I can honestly say there is only one thing the Colorado boat has that I wish the Scadden had, which is that mesh “deck” which stretches between the pontoons and under the seat. It saved me a couple times when my fumble fingers dropped a bag of weights or something. As to the things you mentioned:

Breakdown: The frame of the Scadden boat breaks down and sets up much quicker and easier than the Colorado boat. The Scadden frame goes together with 4 pins, and there are 2 pins for the standing platform lean bar. The cargo deck attaches to D rings on pontoons with two cam straps. The Colorado frame has 6 or 8 pins as I recall and the rear cargo basket on requires bolds instead of clips or straps. And because the Colorado frame is steel, it’s much heavier than Scadden’s aluminum frame.

Anchors: The Colorado boat I baught several years didn’t have an anchor system at all, although it came with a rope and a mesh bag to fill with rocks. Maybe that works for you on a pond, but I pretty much only fish moving water so I had to rig something myself with a pulley hanging off the rear part of the frame (raised piece where the motor mount attaches) and a cam cleat I bolted to the frame under the seat. It works, but not nearly as well as the through frame system on the Scadden boat. And NEVER try anchoring a pontoon in moving water with any real velocity to it.

Portability: I wouldn’t say either boat if very portable once it’s set-up, and they are pretty close in weight. The steel frame on the Colorado boat is obviously heavier, but the standing deck and solid aluminum cargo deck of the Scadden boat add to it’s overall weight. But you can get a wheel that plugs into the Scadden frame if you really need it. When the pontoons are fully deflated and everything taken apart, I can’t one is any more compact than then the other.

Other stuff: The longer pontoon on the Skykomish make it track better when rowing, and more stable. It can also handle bigger water because the Colorado pontoons are attached to the frame via Velcro staps instead of cam straps on the Scadden. Once I tighten those straps down and add a little more air to the toons, the boat feels very tight. I always thought there was a little more play between the frame and the toons on the Colorado boat with the Velcro straps. The frame on the Colorado boat has all kinds of little posts and pegs sticking up that are magnets for tangling up your fly line. The Scaddens cargo deck is bigger and although you need to drill some holes in the upper lips so it’s easier to bungie down your gear, it just makes for easier arrangement of your stuff since you have more area to work with. Finally, the pontoon coverings on the Scadden pontoons are much thicker and more durable than the ones on the Colorado boat. The bladder material is much higher quality as well.

I’ve taken the Colorado boat down the Madison, Henry’s Folk and Colorado River and it honestly was fine for the money as you initially thought. But the Skykomish is so much better in every way, I do wish I had just spent the money initially and not paid for the “pontoon starter kit”.
Good luck