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[RiverBum101]

Hello I'm getting a pontoon boat in May, and i was looking for some advice from people with experience with pontoon boats.
I'm going to be drifting the stamp River mostly and was looking for something easy to pack down steep trails but can handle white water thanks. Budget 600

[HOOK]

thats a pretty slim budget for something easy to pack thats also going to be rated for class 2-3 rapids. first your going to want an aluminum frame as they are 25-30lbs less than steel frame ones. second you need to think of how much you weigh and how much stuff you will be packing along because that plays into the length you will need.

keep yours eyes peeled on classifieds everywhere to get something good in your budget

[Sterling C]

For your budget you'll have to go used.

That said, there are a lot of good boats on the market. I picked up a water skeeter river guide last year for $600.

For tamer rivers like the Stamp, such a big boat isn't really necessary, an  8 footer should be more than adequate.

[silverslab]

watch craigslist and ebay, I picked up a brand new outcast pac 900 FS  for 550 including shipping from ebay, and have seen the streamer xl 8 foot for as low as 300,  with needing it in may you might be alittle hard pressed for time to use ebay

[silverslab]

Oh and stay away from cheap ones, I bought a creek company first cause it had a so called lifetime warranty, but I just didnt feel compfortable in it, always wondering wht if!!! as it wasnt very good quality,   Only used it a few times and then sold it

[HOOK]

i myself own an Fishcat 9-IR

the reason i mentioned the weight thing is because the smaller ones cant be loaded up with stuff if you weigh in the 200+ ballpark which alot of men do. I went with a 9 footer because i can load it up to 400lbs it says. So far i have had it over 300 im sure with a bunch of stuff on it. 

 I think the weight rating is more for moving water applications then for stillwater because there willbe more torque put on the framework when running moving water.

I do believe there is a guy on Speypages selling a Fishcat Pac 9000, you may have to search it or sift through the pages of the Classifieds to find it but i dont remember seeing it sell.

[Clarki Hunter]

Check the Washington state Craigslist too.  I almost went down and got one last year but found one local the night before I was heading down.  I found some of the boats down there are tricked out and going for very reasonable... especially with our strong dollar.