Okay,

#1. I have a 27 lb thrust electric motor that I use on all of my boats. Is this a worthwhile propolsion source for my new pontoon boat, and should I spend the money or build a motor mount for it, or is that a watse of time. I bet I could almost get up on plane. Seems like a lot of excess weight.

#2. When going down rivers, do you ever wear fins? I fished out of float tubes for 5 year, and feel comfortable using them, and they seem like a way to make pulling plugs in a one man boat a reality, freeing up your hands to fight the fish while you kick over to shore.

Thanks in advance,

Andy

After you get out and use your boat on a river you may be able to answer the questions for yourself based on how the boat rides. Using fins in anything but the slowest current is a bad idea. It would only take one submerged log to pull you down. I think trying to pull plugs out of a small pontoon boat is more trouble than it's worth anyway.
You can use the motor on lakes if you can afford the weight. I weigh 225 and my Southfork sits low enough as it is with just me.
See how the boat feels to you and then think about it.

Hi: While force fins are great in still water in a pontoon boat they would be a dead loss in rivers of any speed. You can turn the boat quickly to avoid things like sweepers and rocks and I dont believe you could make sufficient headway upstream to pull plugs properly.
I tried it in a Bucks and it dident work worth a darn.
What I did find is that the boat will drift along at just about the same speed as a dry fly so you can get good onepass coverage along the shorelines..If you raise a fish you can always pull over to shore ,anchor and work the area over thoroughly.
coot

I have taken a pair of the Caddis style fins and cut them off two inches beyond the toe of my wading boot. I also put felt on the heel of the fin. When I am floating a river like the Yak where I know there is relatively small chance of an unforseen hairy situation I wear them to manuever the boat for casting purposes. I don't use them for propulsion or major moves, just to keep the boat positioned for casting effectively. When they are not being used, FEET UP!!!! When using them I still don't keep my feet much under the water...It is not the safest thing in the world, but I'm carefull and use them in small doses...it works for certain situations.

Hi Dogfish!
I just ran my 7'Waterskeeter with a 38# electric around a small lake near Concrete. First I set it up on stands & hung the motor & battery to check the center of gravity. It was motor heavy so I made some adjustments. I would advise you to test in still water before you hit the river. I have to move the center of gravity forward with a modification to the seat position. Then I'll go back to the puddle & retest before I put it in the Skagit.
It will have it's limitations, but I think you'll find it to be a very versital craft with the addition of the motor.
Good Luck, Jeff

I don't know if this will help,but I saw a person with a pontoon boat and motor tooling around a small lake in my area. It looked like the pontoons were just barely out of the water(it really sat low)and it really moved that boat around. Another thing is that the belly boat people have a attachment to their boats that will take a small motor and a battery. Looks like a small belly boat.

I've never mounted up my trolling motor to my pontoon boat, but I saw someone use a cooler strapped to the platform behind the seat with the battery inside it and the trolling motor clamped to the cooler. Seemed to work for him. Looked like a simple solution.