Any fresh ideas for a portable fishing pontoon?

Wow, nice detailed response there, Aquacub! Sorry the biz didn't work out for ya; the boats sure looked great and they definately seem well crafted. After my initial post I started looking into S&G boats and will probably end up building one if I can ever save up enough, what with family, bills, and the stuff the wife says we just HAVE to have...like electricity and food and crap like that.LOL!

Lately I've been fluctuating between a 12 or 13 foot kayak or trapper style canoe ( have a GREAT small river nearby that is never fished due to it being clogged with trees at every bend), and a 8 foot rowing pram for the ponds around here. I'm really excited to get one started but getting a lump $120 or so for epoxy is tough in my house.

 

What about a huge inner tube????? Or multiple smaller ones????

 

No problem Dryfty. I was happy to see someone took the time to look at my video of my boat.

 

Dryftwood: I feel your pain. Guys who want a boat and must reconcile that want with tight budget realities are real people. There is no shame whatever in being "budget restrained". If that were so I would have melted into oblivion long ago.

OK so you say that you are not particularly good at woodworking. You are probably better at it than you say you are. You gotta believe man. Or as Obama people were quick to say: "Yes we can".

Google up the PDRacer web site. (PDracer.org) That is a little boat that is, for its size, stable as a church pew. It is a boat that looks like a mortar box, but it sails pretty decently. So you don't want to sail. Just put the troller on it or row it to wherever you want to go. This little boat is so damned simple that you can build it if you are clever enough to get your sox on in the morning. It is built from materials that you get from Lowes or Home Depot. The finished boat is light enough and small enough to throw into the back of a pickup, or to cartop. Two sheets of plywood and some house paint. You can do the whole thing for $100 and have a bit of change left over.

I sound like a PD racer salesman but that is not the case. It just happens to fit for a solution to your desires. Oh, and by the way, the plans are free.

 

foam pontoon

i think that you are talking about the type of boats that me and my dad have built may time over the years, they consist of two foam blocks that are 10"x10"x10' long. i have seen the redneck versions of these boat that have a lawn chain duct taped to the foam. the way that we build ours is, the frame is constucted with electircal conduit, this can be 1", 3/4,1/2 depending on what you want. these boats are very cheap to build ( less than 200 bucks)and very effective fishing boats. I also have a 14 foot jon boat and never use it when fishing on the river because these boat are so much better , if you use a good design and frame these boats will last a life time, my dads is amost 20 years old and sitll using the same fome blocks and it still looks good. is is all about the design and protecting the foam, I am new this is my first post ever, i dont know how to attach a picture if you want to see a drawing let me know i can email them to you.

 

If you are talking to me, my boat was never as simple as that. Also, while I am replying to you, I can make a quick edit on the price of the AquaCub (it was 2495 MSRP). 3200 was the old price that I dropped once I had a handle on the outsourced labor.

I live in a rugged place, and wanted to build a rugged mini-pontoon boat. However, what you and your dad built 20 years ago, was like my first prototype. I used a conduit frame, plywood, and when I discovered that the first adhesives I tried, failed when in contact with water, I used rings of duct tape to keep the foam firmly together. As crude as it sounds at first, it was a great way to fine tune my method of buoyancy testing. It was never meant to be an end market sales item. For the purpose of what your dad and yourself had in mine, I am sure it's great. Heck, make a YouTube video about it.

Sumo, If you missed the link above, here's a link to my video about the AquaCub. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLIAUSSXioo

 

Pretty clever and cheap but exposed foam is illegal in some parts of USA. Supposed to cause water pollution and fish deaths due to ingestion flaked off particles,
I think. Best to check with GW to avoid fines or impoundment. Just a heads up, not trying to rain on your parade.

Porta

 

It is illegal hear also but the foam is covered with thin aluminum sheeting or rubber to get arount this , no foam is exposed.

 

i was trying to repsond to driftwood , like i said this is my first time posting anything the email that i have hear is very limited, i can't access utube, i did see a pic of the cub on the web, what you have is on a whole other level than what we have, out boats are only used for ponds and slow rivers we have had them registered in virginia for use with trolling motors, I posted this for those with limited money who may want a boat project that wont brake them up.

 

Hey sumo, no worries.but the AquaCub is primarily an electric boat. That was it's selling point when gas was soaring up to 4 bucks a gallon. I could put a different transom on it for a gas engine if I wanted too, or lower the side rails (and modify the seating) to making it a rowing boat. Or a combination thereof.

What got me, was that one of my competitors would use two guys to show how well their boats float, when I clearly show that it didn't matter if a 220 lb man or a 110lb woman stood on the edge of the deck. The boat doesn't need a counterbalance.

As for registering, I just needed a plaque with my state numbers on it, to pilot my boats. In the state of Idaho, you don't even need a title for the boat, as long as it is under 12 foot.

Anyways, nothing wrong in lending a helping hand.

hm, there is a YouTube button.

Now that's cool. The video embedding that is. lol