Pontoon Inflation Question

FAOL Community Fly Anglers Online
1

Well hello again all.

Okay I have taken the leap off the deep in. This past weekend, I was in the Bass Pro Outdoor World in Cincinnati, Oh. Spent some time hanging out in the fly shop there. And wouldn’t you know it, they had some pontoon boats in stock.

Now some of you may know that I have been looking at buying something for a while now. Well, after looking at the ones in the shop, I settled on one from Outcast. The paperwork call it a BPS 8 Sport, but it is the same floats and frame that came on the Water Skeeter models that they had. The differences, the pontoon is a blue and gray coloring, the boat didn’t come with an anchor hoist attachment, and was priced at $199. This was $160 bucks cheaper than anything else in the shop. I figured, same equipment, same capacity, lower price … why not.

Well, I floated the thing today and had a ball. Other than breaking my Sage 690 VPS at the end, the evening was nice!! By the way, the sage broke after hooking a nice largemouth and broke about 1/2" above the ferule between the 2 rod sections (called Sage and have already sent it off to them!)

Enough about that though. I do have a question for all of you though. When is the pontoon fully inflated???

I am pumpming the pontoons up with a dual action hand pump. I pumped till it looked to be fully inflated and could easily push in the hull with my thumb. The instructions say to inflate to around 2.5 PSI.

The reason I ask this is that it seems to float a little lower in the water than I expected. The cargo net was riding slightly in the water.

Can I over inflate it with a dual action hand pump?
When it just starts to look full inflated, is it?
Should I be pumping the thing until it gets tough to pump air in?
Am I doing the thumb test properly? It didn’t take a lot of pressure, should I have to push it with a little more pressure than I think?
Do these ride that low in the water normally (cargo net just in the water?)
Does anyone else feel that I wasn’t inflating the pontoons enough?

Any help is greatly appreciated!!!

Sincerely,

Reg

PS I cannot believe I waited so long to purchase one of these things! They are to easy to use!

2

Reg:

I can totally understand your comment about waiting so long to buy an inflatable. I?ve had a float tube for about 7 years now and I ask myself the same question EVERY time I use it.

Now to the air:

First of all what type of air bladder is in your boat? Urethane air bladders that are stretchy seem to hold their shape best; vinyl tends to get softer. If it is possible for you, invest in a cheap pump from Wal*Mart, (less than $20), and take it with you to the body of water being fished. Then pump your boat till it feels right and put it in the water while you get ready to get in. The colder water will cause the air inside the bladder to shrink making it soft. So use the carried along pump to top it off after it has been it the water for a bit.

You can over inflate an air bladder causing it to burst. I have a pump with an air gauge which was slightly more expensive than a good dual action pump. This gauge measures very low air pressures and it makes the job of getting the pressure right a breeze. Here is the link to place where I bought mine:
[url=http://www.praktek.com/:785dd]http://www.praktek.com/[/url:785dd]

Phone: 877-617-5615

Look for air pumps under products. The pump I have is a Bravo dual action with a gauge. They also have foot pumps too.

Have fun!

[This message has been edited by Bamboozle (edited 30 March 2005).]

3

I find that I am constantly adjusting the air pressure on my pontoon. Air pressure changes all the time with temp and altitude.

In the early morning I fully inflate the boat on the trailer and drop it in the cold water, the air volume contracts and I need to add more air.

By noon I pull onto a beach and stop for lunch, half out of the water and sitting in full sun the air expands, I let some air out of the boat.

End of the day I put the boat on my trailer and get ready to drive back to the campground. Wait a minute, I have to drive over a mountain pass to get there, better let some air out so I don’t expand and burst driving over the pass.

The boat inflates easiliy in the morning with the double actuion pump. For on river adjustments I use a more compact foot pump. After a few trips you will get to be a good judge of air pressure using the thumb. Do your final pre-float adjustment with the boat in the water, so the air is cooled to water temp. Keep in mind that it is a whole lot easier to add some air than to repair a burst bladder while stream side.

If your boat is like my Skeeter it will have a lot of rocker (curved bottom.) As a result it rides lower in the water than a flat bottom boat. Make sure the seat is positioned at the center of balance. Otherwise the boat my ride bow high and you will find you butt in the water. I needed to drill some additional holes in the foot rests and the seat rails to get mine in good trim.

4

I’m betting you are way underinflated. I would estimate about 50% of all of the tubes and 'toons I see on the water could use more air. Many are floating around with wrinkles in the fabric and sagging in the middle. Your boat should be pumped up tight with all the fabric taut, it should not feel soft to the touch. With a double action pump you can feel when the boat has enough air as the pump will resist further efforts to inflate the boat. Get in the habit of blowing the boat up tight just before you enter the water and relieving the pressure a little as soon as you get out. Don’t travel with a fully inflated boat.
I once visited with a guy that tested inflatables and he said that he doubled the recommended air pressure then put the boat out in the sun with a pressure gauge on it. Some models exceeded 20# of pressure before failing. So don’t be too bashful and fish out of a mushy boat-air it up! Ive

IveofIone-Ivebrakesforlakes

5

I bought a pontoon boat this year. I have yet been able to use it. But on mine it says that when you push on the floats. It should feel like you are pushing on the end of your nose and not your forehead. I hope this helps.

Every day that I wake up and everything still works. Is a good day.

6

I pump the pontoons on my skeeter up until they are pretty firm. Heck, I’ve never taken the time to compare to my nose or my forehead, but they are firm. I like the dual action pump as it allows me to inflate each pontoon in about 45 seconds at a steady pace of full length strokes. I guess the best advice is to put as much air in as you feel is enough to get it to float like you want to. If it pops before you get there…well, I’d say back off a few pumps, but it might be too late. I think the chances of actually popping one of the bladders is fairly slim without just going nuts on it. Another idea about the cargo net riding in the water… you may be able to adjust the seat position on the frame. I can on my skeeter and found it best in the furthest front position.

These are the idle thoughts that posses a man’s mind when he’s not able to fish.