More pontooner updates

There are times when I think that things may have gone a little overboard with the pontooner updates and then there are times when I say…”Why don’t I have TWO of these things!?!” Recent modifications have been put to the test and I have survived with pontooner intact. A few of these new additions have worked out better than expected where as some are going back to the drawing board. Here is an inside look at my “Tooner-Area 51”.

(Above: This is a shot of the “Franken-tooner” in modification mode at the storage unit. There are some tooner modifications that I don’t even want the neighbors to see.)

The Flat Deck was maxed out with outdoor carpet and sectionalized for easier transport. The carpet adds comfort and quiet on the metal frame as well as making the boards for all snuggly-wuggly in the pontoon frame compared to the wood. The added weight is less than a pound and the sectioned board allows a lot more flexibility in regards to mobility and storage compared to the long board.

Deep Anchor System passed its first mock up and trial run in near flawless fashion. The size of the spool is a bit obtuse for this craft but manages the anchor line far better than simply sprawling or coiling it on the deck. The temporary lashing works well enough for field-testing until I get some kind of an official bracket mounted. This anchor system will be used for waters where I might need to anchor in more than 30 feet depths. It could also make a good second anchor for better positioning. Still needs a few adjustments to withstand the Colorado’s high winds.

Ordered a new Rod Holder after finally giving up on my fabricated versions for now. The PVC versions looked too homemade even for my tastes. The Scotty spin rod holder looks more professional and can transfer from tooner to tuber with some slight adjustments. This product is only a 40-buck dig into the pocketbook. I may swap out the rod holder attachment with a different version that I have lying around.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0011326314693a&type=product&cmCat=SEARCH_all&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&No=18&Ntt=Scotty+&Ntk=Products&sort=all&N=0&Nty=1&hasJS=true&_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1&_DARGS=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcommon%2Fsearch%2Fsearch-box.jsp.form1

Another minor improvement was finally abandoning the rope and tie down system used to secure the tooner onto the truck and going with plain old bungee cords that are sized perfectly. Now I am kicking myself for not doing this sooner. Makes this entire operation so much easier. And that is the goal with most of my tooner mods…make things easier and spend more time on the water rather than struggling with gear. So far so good and after four or five trips I have managed to show up to the water’s edge with the tooner boat still on the truck.

There are still a ton of ideas on the drawing board and the tooner will hopefully going through an even larger transformation once we get this inflatable water craft fully legit with registration, electric motor and battery all dialed in. Just getting lazy with tags and have everything else. Guess I just like rowing.

Good luck and good fishing.