Fishing toon

[MarbleEyez]

How many people were aboard the new vessel when you hit 32mph??

 

[shorthairsrus]

What kind of speed u getting

 

[Allen]

There were 4 of us on board. About 580 pounds of people and a full 35 gallons of gas.

I still have to add a trolling motor and two batteries, then she'll be at her fighting weight.


Shorts, 32 mph at top speed.

- - - Updated - - -

And about 75 mph once on the trailer.

 

[shorthairsrus]

Sounds fun have a good time with her. I have a buddy that has a 150 on a two toon. I will have to pay attention what it does. I think it's similiar

 

[raider]

congrats allen, sounds like its gonna work out well...

how was loading and unloading, and boat control???

 

[Allen]

congrats allen, sounds like its gonna work out well...

how was loading and unloading, and boat control???

I was not unhappy at all with the control on the 20 mph day, it was a little tough on the 30 mph wind day. It can only get better though as I get more practice with it.

It took me two tries to stab the toon on the bunks with the wind almost perfectly crosswise. The first was a bad miss, but I got my shit together and nailed it on the second attempt. It is definitely not as forgiving as a standard fishing boat. The bunks are only 18" wide, or so.

 

[Kurtr]

Once you figure how far to have trailer from the dock if it is really bad coast in slow and the dock will help getting on.

 

[Allen]

Once you figure how far to have trailer from the dock if it is really bad coast in slow and the dock will help getting on.

Yeah, there was no dock at the lake we were on that day. Lots of frigging rocks on the downwind side of the ramp though.


Here's a new question to the toon owners. How long of a shaft do you need on a pontoon for a trolling motor? I am accustomed to putting 60" shaft motors on my boats, but as stable as the toon is, can you get away with something less? I'm not so worried about the extra cost of the longer shaft as I am of having a 60" shaft occupying floor space when a 48" shaft would do on even the windiest of days. Am I off base here?

 

[raider]

i have put 60's on both of mine... i fish behind the helm and use an i pilot... the 60 will give you room to keep the head above the 1/2 door rail when closed and keep the line of site between the 2... have had it give me issues when behind the door or rails...

my second and current toon came with guides that run 2/3 the length on the inside of the outer tubes... works very well, and any scuffs or scratches would b on the inside and not visible... another key for me is to have a driver back under me when i get bout 1/2 loaded... the motor will not push it on like a boat... i start by having them back in until the bunks are wet, then pull out until 3' or so of the front of the bunks are showing... when i get bout 1/2 way on and can't go any more, i signal to them to bring it back in slowly while i drive her the rest of the way up... when it's tight i go down the front step and stand on the hitch to attach and cinch up... shut her down, raise the motor, and off to the cleaning station where we throw on the boat buckles and transom saver and drop the top...

 

[Allen]

Raider, as usual, thanks again for some really good insight!

Yeah, my trailer doesn't have guides. I should look into them as I train a rookie boater in general, and myself. There are definitely a few ramps I frequent where they will be useful.

 

[Kurtr]

Yep I have the inside guides and they make it easy on a guy. I do it the same way get started then have driver back the rest of the way and it slides right up. Having the trailer straight in the water really helps me to

 

[Allen]

Either of you fellas have pics or make/model of your guides?

 

[Kurtr]

Sitting at the pediatric cardiologist but will get some when I get home in a few days and post them up.

 

[Allen]

Sitting at the pediatric cardiologist but will get some when I get home in a few days and post them up.

No problem, I am pretty sure I can picture the setup as I've searched the interweb. I've found pics of what sound like yours and Raider's setups, but not an actual dealer/manufacturer of them that long. I've only found some up to five foot and on posts that I don't like. I've seen a lot of bent to hell ones that are made out of heated and bent square tubing. Those seem weak in the bend area and I'd prefer to get something that can handle a little more abuse. I'll find a set like what you've mentioned.

Hope everything is going well for you!

 

[Wild and Free]

Triple tube 22' toon with 150 will perform best with a 14.5-15" diameter by 15 pitch prop.Thumbs Up Inertias are awesome props for toons.

 

[raider]

www.google.com/search?q=pontoon+tra...30#tbm=isch&q=pontoon+trailers+with+guide+ons


2nd down and 3 in, plus the 1 under it would b pretty close to what i have, cept i have 3 bunks... not good enough at this interweb thing to load pics of mine...

 

[JUSTWINGNIT]

was just looking for an update. You still liking the toon? I have my bopat up for sale and just got an offer on it. thinking I might go the toon way. just not completely sure though! I have a family of 5 and would like to have maybe some additional people onboard when pulling a tube. You guys think a 150 tri toon will do?

 

[luvcatchingbass]

Here is a suggestion.

 

[Allen]

was just looking for an update. You still liking the toon? I have my bopat up for sale and just got an offer on it. thinking I might go the toon way. just not completely sure though! I have a family of 5 and would like to have maybe some additional people onboard when pulling a tube. You guys think a 150 tri toon will do?

I do indeed like the toon, it is a real pleasure to drive. Obviously, it is not as nimble as my Fisherman, but it's pretty responsive.

I have no doubt that you'd be able to put 5-6 people on my toon and pull a tube with a couple people on it with ease. Maybe if I up-pitched my current 13 pitch enertia to a 15 it would get doggy, but it has great hole-shot as currently rigged. I still haven't quite got it fully rigged (missing an electric trolling motor for now), but I'm getting there. I get max speed of 32 regardless if I'm running into a 20 mph wind, or with it. The lack of substantial change in top speed regardless of the wind has me pretty optimistic that I'll still get in the mid-upper 20's while pulling the tube.

It's not as bad to load as I originally thought (maybe I'm a better loader than I am angler...actually, I'm pretty sure that's true). Unloading is a breeze, it trailers down the highway just fine, and so far even in 30 mph gusts I have had no handling/loading issues.

I'm going to be out on the toon tomorrow with the whole gang, hoping we can put a whooping on some fish for a change.

Anyone that's south of Bismarck tomorrow and sees a red pontoon with a bunch of kids and a gal that is way prettier than the boat driver deserves, I could use an up-to-date fishing report!


Depending on what you're willing to spend, Vallely's had a used fishing pontoon with a 225 hp Yammie on it for around $31k. I think I would be disappointed in the performance if I had anything less than the 150 mine has on it. That 225 has got to make that toon fly!

 

[Rowdie]

How slow can you go? Could you slow down enough to pull cranks? I wish they would start putting kickers on the fishing models.