Introduction
A couple years ago, I carelessly left my 16 ft canoe on the river bank (for 3-4 months) so eventually, someone walked off with it. (I hope they get good use from it … I sure did). Anyhow, I started looking for a canoe, freighter, boat … something to use here. My choices soon narrowed down to a couple options. I could get another canoe in the 17 ft range, a yak or a drift boat.
A canoe was quickly discarded as I often have 2 visitors in the craft at one time. Not stable enough. Further, I’m getting too old to be cramped up for too long.
A freighter is an option (that is, a 17-22 ft canoe, square tail, 3-4 passengers. I also put this option aside because of the class II – III rapids we have. I don’t want to have to rely on my passengers to paddle to be able to negotiate even the mildest of white water.
So what I needed was a one man rowing position for multiple (2) passengers, but light enough to carry to the river bank. Aha! … A drift boat. There are several wonderful products in the USA and I have piloted a few different makes and models in BC. Traditional glass or aluminum drift boats come in at around 300 to over 500 pounds. As I don’t usually have organized boat ramps, I need to “portage”, drag or carry the craft to the water in most situations.
In comes the pontoon drift boat. A friend in Chicoutimi had bought a 2 man pontoon drifter from North Fork Outdoors in 2008. I gave it a good inspection and was sold on the quality and functionality. In November 2008 I ordered up a three man model. Here’s what I got, my impressions, the minor modifications I did and my (humble) recommendations.
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