Buying a pontoon boat

[Mike Thomas]

Well I have finally sold my dingy and would like to buy a pontoon boat around the $300 to $400 mark. I will have to have it deliverd to a shipping company for forwarding to me here in N.Z. So my question is who should I buy from? I am considering Cabellas and Bass Pro, are they sponsors of FAOL? If not any other suggestions would be welcome.
All the best.
Mike.

[J Castwell]

Mike, thanks for the vote of confidence, but I have never even sat in one of the things. No help at all. And, no, neither of them are supporters of FAOL, but thanks for asking. I hope someone else can help you out here.

[Avalon]

Dear Mike,

Shop long and shop hard. Unless the NZ currency is really strong I don't think you can get a decent pontoon boat for $ 300 to $ 400 myself.

Have you ever looked at these boats? They are a lot closer to you, relatively speaking.

http://www.dabbie.net/

Best Wishes,
Tim Murphy

[dixieangler]

I don't think you can get a decent pontoon boat for $ 300 to $ 400 myself.

Funny, my Creek Company ODC 816 catamaran seems pretty good to me . About $325 at Cabelas. I haven't had a problem with the cat yet and have had it for a number of seasons now. It sits in storage partially assembled but deflated until I get ready to use it but its portable enough to put in a car trunk when fully disassembled. I did add a PVC rod holder, PVC sonar unit holster, and an anchor system (I would not use the anchor in fast moving water though) for it. I have flippers and carry them but rarely use them now on the slow waters I fish since I have the anchor. I have a little ice cooler strapped on the cargo deck also. Snap pins and the high capacity pump make set-up and take-down easy and quick (about 10 or 15 minutes for me). I have the older model that I like better since it has the padded seat rather than the new plastic one.

http://www.creekcompany.com/products/816-a-lr.jpg

http://www.creekcompany.com/products/816-d-lr.jpg

http://www.creekcompany.com/pdf/816.pdf

I see that Cabelas now has them for $349.99, still cheaper than direct from Creek Company at $399.99.

[ducksterman]

I was just in Sports Authority 2 days ago...aka Gart/Sportmart....they had a WaterSkeeter Vision originally for $400..on sale for $200...would pay a lot of postage...I know nothing of the quality or the features.

[Avalon]

Hey guys,

Precisely the point of my post.

You can't buy a good pontoon boat for $ 400.00. You might buy a usable one for that but it won't be a good one, just look around.

This man is in New Zealand. If his boat from America fails then there goes his fishing season. Anybody want to stake their reputation on it?

Quit giving cheapskate back home advice to a guy who isn't from backhome.

Best Wishes,
Avalon

[MOturkE]

Avalon,

Quit giving cheapskate back home advice to a guy who isn't from backhome.

[Gnu Bee Flyer]

Al Campbell wrote a review on the Waterskeeter River Tamer Deluxe Pontoon Boat. To find it click on Features then find Reviews, in Reviews click on Product reviews then scroll down a bit till you find. Al's review on the Waterskeeter River Tamer Deluxe Pontoon Boat I bought one because of this review, it has seen some hard use and is still in really good shape. It cost me around $650.00 CDN or so but is sure worth it.
Make sure you get a good anchor system on whichever one you get.

[Avalon]

Avalon,

Quit giving cheapskate back home advice to a guy who isn't from backhome.

Dear MOturkE,

I stand by my remarks. The man lives in New Zealand, he needs a good boat.

It ain't like he can drive a bad boat back to Bass Pro Shop or Cabela's.

We tend to forget that stuff.

Best Wishes,
Avalon

[Shaky Wadr]

I looked long and hard for a pontoon in the price range you mention. I have to agree with the others. If you want a good boat you may have to go up in price a bit. I ended up with a "Bucks Bags" Southfork model about 3 seasons back. $550 I have given it a lot of hard use and have had no problems.