Does anyone have experience in purchasing a small pontoon boat either electric or gas for their pond?

check this site out

....or this deal (Ebay, link with limited life)

I would stay away from gasoline unless you have a large pond/lake.

Pondy, first off welcome to Pond Boss. When you say small pontoon boat just how small are you talking about? If you are talking about the little (9 to 10 foot long ones) then several people here have them. I forget what they call them but they are sold through Bass Pro Shops. Or are you talking about a full sized pontoon boat such as the one Bski linked above?

We have an 11 ft Weere's Waterbike (pontoon paddle boat) that has worked great on our pond over the years, new ones are a little on the pricey side.

http://www.weeres.com/waterbikeraft.htm

My wife and I recently took a trip to Mt. Rushmore for the July 3rd fireworks and across to Big Sky Montana for a conference. On the way back to Illinois, we swung by http://www.protatch.com at Grand Island Nebraska and visited a customer who has two of these http://www.protatch.com/Pontoon15.htm boats. It appeared smaller than anticipated (5' x 15'); but seemed pretty stable. We wound up ordering one and should receive it this Saturday.

FWIW: We became aware of a very slightly used Sea Rider (I think) boat for sale as we were heading out. It would have been cheaper and easier (already had outboard and trolling motors). We didn't go that route for a few reasons; but the two major ones were... It had two large pontoons and owner indicated due to those and a shallow sloping pond bank, she had to bail off a few feet out in the water. The protatch one is supposed to float in 4" of water so it should be much better for shallow ponds. Other big reason was load capacity. That one, though it had a bigger deck, had a stated load capacity of 4XX pounds. The one we ordered had a 9XX pound load capacity. Difference between being able to take 2 people or 4 people. Biggest other reason was that the four pontoon design is supposed to be more stable.

Also FWIW: I had been looking / researching for a number of years. You can even probably find some old posts on pondboss from me seeking advice. I think we'll be happy with the Protatch. They have a slightly smaller version that I had originally planned on; but after seeing it and comparing specs, the one we ordered seemed to make the most sense for us.

Also FWIW: I also have a large (30 foot?) pontoon boat. It is nice for some things; but not for fishing small ponds, hauling around much, etc. The smaller one will still probably lots of stability and the pontoon boat type benefits without the pain.

I was just bumping thru our listing from the Thomas Register (huge industrial search engine) showing all the companies that hit on our company website. We get some real doozies. One was a hit from an outfit called K L Industries. Imagine my surprise when I clicked open the K L Industries website .

Would anyone know where to get commecial sprinklers that they use on the golf course not the big gun next size down something that would cover 100 foot radius with a 3" or 2" gas pump for water source. We can not get parts for the old ones any more.

Thanks for any info Scott

At least it wasn't KY Industries!

Based on the unprecedented, astronomical steel mill price increases this year, a tube of sloop-flup would'a come in handy as I passed the costs along to my customer base.

We used up our quota as we were pounded with imports (air freight) from Egypt.

I have just ordered a small pontoon boat similar to the one rangersedge linked to, but it is made locally (Gainesville TX)& so thought repairs could be done more easily.. Not going to use link as the company doesn't advertise here, but will follow up on how well it works in pond situation..

I know who you mean and their little boats are pretty impressive. I've been on one and liked it. They are also pretty darn pricey.

DD!, I'm glad to hear you liked the pontoon boats as I haven't been on one. You are right about the costs, metals have really gone up. I started with jon boat(extra wide), then really extra wide v-hull in trying to achieve stability, but have decided to spend the extra money on a pontoon boat..Plus, my wife really wanted one! Will build a dock out of PT lumber; justifying boat cost!? cause I really wanted an all-aluminum dock(ridiculous costs!!!)

K L makes my WaterQuest 10.2. I only weight 150 lbs. but it's extremely stable with me and one other person. My bro in law is over 200 lbs and he was also very comfortable in it. No problem standing right next to the edge to raise the water level and reduce clarity.

Question regarding the above topic ! I have a new 10 foot pontoon boat that I'm rigging out for duck hunting on local ponds and would like some guidance as to a suitable quality bow mount electric motor of about a 30 rating. Many thanks. reply to: davemace@comcast.net

I would check if boat maker has recommended shaft length. unless you need the power / battery life of two battery system, i'd go with one of the most powerful single battery jobs from reputable manufacturer. if get in the salt, i'd consider one for it.

Pondy...ya may want to look at these links:


http://directboats.com/pontoonboats.html