From Trooling to Posting

[Paublo]

Hi, for the past year I have been following the banter and information that has been crossing these pages and have not had a real question to ask until now. But I understand the expected protocol and am going to introduce myself and furnish the required pictures here and then move to the General Section for my question.

I love the water and boats and have spent nearly all of my 60 years on boats. They have been the source of family fun and memories. Currently I have a '09 Nautique SAN 210 wakeboard boat, a few SeaDoos, a share on a houseboat on Lake Powell, and my pontoon that I have had 1 year. Powell is my favorite place on earth, and as I have approached retirement (end of this year), I want to spend more time there. Actually my goal is to see every side canyon on the entire lake. We are talking about more shoreline than the west coast of the US. The houseboat is too big and I figured a pontoon would be perfect for lake camping. After searching Arizona for the perfect used pontoon for my purposes and coming up blank, a friend had me look at Lake Of The Ozarks. I found a very gently used, well taken care of '98 Playcraft 2400 Sport with a 4.3L I/O.

I then had to adapt it for my purposes; sold the bimini for $300 and bought a new double for $900 and had a full enclosure made for $1200, added an extra battery, hot water shower, marine radio, made a fresh water sink unit with 10 gallon storage and pump, 2kw Honda generator, etc. Anyway, you get the picture or will if I stop typing and attach the pics.

[03gsxr]

welcome and very nice pics

[dockholiday]

Welcome nice looking boat an scenery
doc

[killerkernrich]

do you get much wind there, if so i guess you hide out in a canyon. I have played on that lake back in mid 70's awesome..

[spurhunter]

Welcome! Nice pics, keep it up!

[captainjack]

Welcome great looking boat an sounds like u have all the toys an some beautiful scenery!

[Paublo]

Yes the winds and storms can come from any direction with little warning, particularly in the summer. The open water can be dangerous, but the side canyons are very protected if you can find places to tie off to. But I believe the scenery is the most unique and spectacular you will find anywhere. Changing water elevations during the summer and over the years can make for interesting navigation. Right now Lake Powell is down 70'+ from full, nearly 30' from last summer's high and it could rise 25 to 40' this year. Camping spots are never the same between trips.

[playcat]

Congrats on selecting the finest toon on the market! You have beautiful place to use it also. Don't forget to keep us up to date on your adventures!

[oldcoot]

Welcome aboard!!...very nice boat and definitely beautiful scenery....

[BobG]

I'll be there next year. Just need to get a lot more comfortable with my brand new boat. One of the things that has worked out really well for some friends of ours, was carrying "Spring Loaded Camming Devices", used by rock climbers to anchor in cracks in the rocks. They can now tie up in sheer canyons, as long as there are some cracks in the walls.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring-loa ... ing_device

[MacToon]

Powell is an unbelievably beautiful lake - my #1 all-time favorite place to boat. Looks like your pontoon is set up perfectly for spending plenty of time there and exploring all the canyons, coves, inlets, etc. I can't wait to go back this summer, but about the only place I'll miss my little bowrider is when trying to maneuver into Cathedral Canyon - I don't know if a 25' 'toon will fit back in there or not!

[Paublo]

Mac
The 25' length and 8'-6" width does make it harder in Cathedral (been there). But as i pull my way along the rock wall face, I don't worry as much about this boat if I touch or rub a little. On some trips I may bring along a jet ski for just that type of thing- it makes exploring and getting around so much faster and easier.

Bob
I have a friend who brought a Hilti along on houseboat trips and just drilled an anchor in wherever he wanted. I don't like the idea of leaving a permenant mark behind and I think it is illegal. The SLCD is a great idea.

[RonKMiller]

Hi Paublo:

We share a lot in common! Perhaps we'll see you there sometime, right now I'm going to wait until late September to visit again, I just can't handle the heat like I used to when a bit younger, I'll be nailing down 58 next week.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0IwHewPvEg

https://picasaweb.google.com/MillerRonK ... ngTheYKnot

Cheers,

Ron

IMAG0360.jpg (549.38 KiB) Viewed 5773 times

[RonKMiller]

Powell is an unbelievably beautiful lake - my #1 all-time favorite place to boat. Looks like your pontoon is set up perfectly for spending plenty of time there and exploring all the canyons, coves, inlets, etc. I can't wait to go back this summer, but about the only place I'll miss my little bowrider is when trying to maneuver into Cathedral Canyon - I don't know if a 25' 'toon will fit back in there or not!

Not a problem, my 28 footer fit right in - until the very end!

[RonKMiller]

I'll be there next year. Just need to get a lot more comfortable with my brand new boat. One of the things that has worked out really well for some friends of ours, was carrying "Spring Loaded Camming Devices", used by rock climbers to anchor in cracks in the rocks. They can now tie up in sheer canyons, as long as there are some cracks in the walls.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring-loa ... ing_device

That's an excellent idea - I've used them for the real deal - but boy howdy, are they EXPENSIVE! $$$$, and of course you would need to carry many different sizes to be effective.

I've been using different diameters of steel rod with eyehooks welded on the ends. You need to of course hammer or wedge them in place in existing cracks, but they're certainly a lot less destructive than drilling virign holes like Paublos's friend.

I can't believe someone would deface rocks in Powell that way.

One thing I'm strongly considering trying is putting some sort of inflatable bumper or bladder in the crack, then simply run a hose from my compressor to it.... kind of a weird idea but I think it would work well. I'm thinking the small air suspension truck "bladders" might do the trick:

bladder.jpg (15.66 KiB) Viewed 5758 times

There's also a US company that makes VERY tough inflatable fenders as small as 9" X 29" which might be perfect... and only $60.00 each.

http://www.praktek.com/products/fenders/fenders.html