New to me Pontoon

Creek Company ODC Sport Pontoon

I bought this from a fellow member here on the forum and would say it is in excellent condition. This toon breaks down into a bag that fits in the trunk of a Honda Accord with plenty of room to spare. The toon assembles easily, but it did take 45 minutes to put together the first time. Once assembled it is 8 feet long, 54 inches wide, and 45 pounds or so. It feels heavy to carry and awkward to hang on to compared to a Cumberland. It will fit fine truck bed or full size SUV, however I did need to lay down my spare tire because of the width of the toon. As far as breaking it down for storage I intend to leave it fully assembled and hanging in my garage.
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In the water, it feels light and is not as affected by wind as much as the Cumberland. The pontoon kicks pretty well, not as good as my Cumberland, but just a tad slower. To contrast the kicking this little rascle rows great. The seating comfort factor is equal to Cumberland. However, on the toon there is more room to move around side to side and twisting around. This works out nicely as all my rods need to be stored behind me to avoid the oars rowing motion of my hand and elbows. I did rig up a trolling rod holder that slides under the seat when not in use and it works great.

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The two big storage pockets that come with the toon also hide the Boston air valves. This is one thing I really did not like about the toon. If I need to add or release air I need to move my tackle boxes around or remove them completely to access the valve. So I can only put 3600 size and smaller storage boxes in the pockets. However, there is plenty of room behind to add tackle boxes.

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On my initial voyage I bungee corded a milk crate on the rack behind the seat. A milk crate will hold more junk than you could possibly use in a day’s fishing, and I had this one rigged for 4 rods. While the toon felt fine with me in the seat the weight of everything hanging off the back end made it look tail heavy when sitting on the shore. I decided to improve on the milk crate situation by moving the weight more towards the center of the toon. I added two strips of wood immediately behind the seat that will allow for smaller storage boxes closer to me instead of hanging off the back. I can put two 3700 size boxes here if I want.  Also, I added a pair of rod holders behind the seat to accommodate up to 6 rods.

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That is super cool! I love how stable it looks. Would love to hook up on a big fish with that and go for a ride! lol

Dude great write up and setup buddy. I like how this is worked out for you. And it looks super portable as well thanks for sharing.

So when are you putting the battery and trolling motor on to cover Perris...........GT

Hi ya Jerdon,
Another great write up!
Luv your new ride Sir!
I look forward to its maiden voyage and write up that will follow!

SP Dan <“))><

GT wrote:So when are you putting the battery and trolling motor on to cover Perris...........GT

 I don't see myself putting a motor on it anytime soon. But, it is nice to know I have the option in the future.

SP Dan wrote:Hi ya Jerdon,
Another great write up!
Luv your new ride Sir!
I look forward to its maiden voyage and write up that will follow!

SP Dan     <“))><

Thanks Dan,
I think I will like this once I get it rigged.

jeffcpr wrote:Dude great write up and setup buddy.  I like how this is worked out for you.  And it looks super portable as well thanks for sharing.

Thanks Jeff,
I am going to need to put a wheel on it if I want to move it very far. I have a few ideas and will certainly share.

Great little boat! I had a boat almost identical to yours made by Classic Accessories. It broke down and fit inside a included back pack frame.

Are you air bladders made from a white, non see through material?

A couple things that I did not like or to watch for:

1) Small diameter, small gauge metal frame.
2) Foot rests are poorly designed, they hook in to close to each other making entry and exit difficult.
3) Upper skin material is not waterproof, lower skin is. Water passes through upper material and is trapped inside skin between air bladder and lower waterproof material. I began to smell a musty smell! That is when I discovered even in Summer temps trapped moisture DOES NOT DRY. After unzipping bladder skin I found a wet, slimy coating on underside of air bladder and source of musty smell. Air bladders on both sides had same musty, wet, slimy problem, as well as black mold staining both air bladders. Black mold stain on air bladders could NOT be removed. I tried Clean green, then water Bleach solution.  

I felt that having to towel dry or remove air bladders from skin to air dry after each use to avoid musty issue was just to much effort. I sold that pontoon and lucked into a super deal on a Aire Pac 800, which uses the same bladder material on upper and lower to make up bladder skin, water does not penetrate skin.

Motoboat that was well explained thanks for the info.  Sucks about the slime not cool glad you got an new one that works.  That is a reason I am really liking the Hybrid boats no bladder s its all right infront of you eyes.

MotoBoat wrote:Great little boat! I had a boat almost identical to yours made by Classic Accessories. It broke down and fit inside a included back pack frame.

Are you air bladders made from a white, non see through material?

A couple things that I did not like or to watch for:

1) Small diameter, small gauge metal frame.
2) Foot rests are poorly designed, they hook in to close to each other making entry and exit difficult.
3) Upper skin material is not waterproof, lower skin is. Water passes through upper material and is trapped inside skin between air bladder and lower waterproof material. I began to smell a musty smell! That is when I discovered even in Summer temps trapped moisture DOES NOT DRY. After unzipping bladder skin I found a wet, slimy coating on underside of air bladder and source of musty smell. Air bladders on both sides had same musty, wet, slimy problem, as well as black mold staining both air bladders. Black mold stain on air bladders could NOT be removed. I tried Clean green, then water Bleach solution.  

I felt that having to towel dry or remove air bladders from skin to air dry after each use to avoid musty issue was just to much effort. I sold that pontoon and lucked into a super deal on a Aire Pac 800, which uses the same bladder material on upper and lower to make up bladder skin, water does not penetrate skin.

Thanks for the heads up.
This toon doesn't have the waterproof bottom like the Classic Assesories style. I thought that was a minus, but maybe not. Yes the bladders are the white material and it all seems to dry in 24 hours hanging in the garage. I will certainly keep an eye on it.

Thank you for the post. I've been looking to upgrade from my U-Boat design tube and trying to decide which models in my price range would suit me. This post is extremely helpful. Answered some of my questions on the toon models.

This is the place to get info on float tubes and what people think. Ask your questions and we will fill you in.

Big Jake wrote:Thank you for the post. I've been looking to upgrade from my U-Boat design tube and trying to decide which models in my price range would suit me. This post is extremely helpful. Answered some of my questions on the toon models.

I am glad it helped. I picked this ton up used, so I got a great deal on it. I can say if I have to walk a little ways I still use my Cumberland. Once I figure out a lightweight wheel system I will use the toon more.

I did a review on the bladder-less XPW 239 a month ago. I can say if I knew the 239 was going to be on sale for $400 I would have waited to buy that. 

If you like see my review here:
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I added wheels to the toon. I first made a wheel system with a wooden frame I was unhappy with. Then I found a kayak wheel setup I thought would work.

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Two one-inch pieces of PVC strapped to the wooden rod rack fit perfectly over the aluminum frame for the wheels.

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I used some Velcro tie downs to hang the wheel system under my seat while not in use.


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While the wheel system hung perfectly with this system in the garage at 7 feet from the floor, it was more than cumbersome to try and use once the toon was 3 inches above the water. I am going to need to change this up.

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The wheel system needed a few tweaks to be sound. I decided to wrap a bungee cord around the removable wheels and just leave them on while fishing. The orange bungee.
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It seems to work fine with 2 trips like that so far.
The wheels work fine, not great, on pavement or cement. I have not tried them on sand or off road yet.

I also wanted to rig a trolling rod holder so I could row and troll. I started with a sliding holder under the seat, but that was too close to the water line. I came up with this sett up and it works great. When rowing the rods are clear of the motion and I can reach them easily.

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It is also a convenient place to set my rod when rigging that is not behind me.

What brand of fins are those ? Nice Set Up!

rayprado714 wrote:What brand of fins are those ?   Nice Set Up!

Those are Force Fins, I really recommend them. Thanks, I am trying to get this setup to be a fishing machine.

Jerdon WOW that is a Perfect set up the Rod holders bate boxes Great Job you ROCK

Glad you are putting it to good use. Really like the mods you have done.

TobyB wrote:Glad you are putting it to good use. Really like the mods you have done.

Thanks Toby.
I'm sure you know it is a bit more of a "production" to store, load, and get to the water. I am happy with how it floats and fishes now. Still my FishFinder to suss out and a few tweaks left, but I am pretty happy with it.

Here is a video of what this toon has evolved to so far.



You can see the trolling rod holders attached to the frame. I can fit 5 rods and my net on the back. I have little holders for my oars to rest on when I am kicking, fighting a fish, or rolling down to the water. The Deeper Pro just drops in the water from a string. And my phone is hidden under the sun hat for a best location so far.

I have been leaving the wheels attached and in the water as I fish. I can't seem to notice a difference when rowing.

Dude, that thing looks awesome

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