So it begins, my ultimate dream crappie fishing platform......

[JDavid]

I am using the name "3x3x30" as the working name for her. That is because she has 3 pontoons, will take $3,000 more than I have budgeted to complete, and I plan on fishing off her for 30 years. I started the ball rolling this morning by pulling the trigger on the pontoons/ subframe fabrication.

There will be at least one trolling motor (I-pilot?) and of course batteries, electronics etc. somewhere.

Can anybody spot and glaring problems with this boat layout/design?

[huntinslabs]

Only thing I see if possible is move the livewell to under that front center seat to keep weight at center so it has less chance of leaning. But if it hangs below the top of the pontoons then carry on. Can't wait to see the finished product.

[olduckhunter]

go slow with the plans and be flexible. i don't spider rig or troll but if you do and if you fish with others you might consider placing seat placement things up front where two can fish side by side. same at the back if it's a "family affair." you might be limited to where you put in to fish but i think you will have a fine safe fishing rig when finished. think about umbrella holders for the hot summer times. carry on.

[T.C.]

A pontoon isnt easy to fish with when its windy. You can get the i pilot but it may not be able to keep you where you want on a windy day. It can only go in the direction of the head and if you gotta 15mph crosswind on the side of that big ole boat all i can say is good luck. It will fish like a dream no calm days im sure. Looks good to me. How long and wide is it?

[JDavid]

Huntinslabs- I have thought a lot about side to side balance. No perfect way to account for all passengers, full/empty live well etc. but I will be able to place the batteries as a counter weight if needed. Good news is that with the two 19" side pontoons and the center 23" pontoon I will have a heap of flotation capacity to spare.

[JDavid]

Hunter- I will indeed be spider rigging and pulling/pushing crank baits. In light of that I have removed the under seat storage from the front seat so I can mount my add-a-seat for front side by side seating in my latest design. For trolling I will be side pulling- no rods will be in the very back.

[JDavid]

Young Gun- It is not going to be a "big ole boat". ;-) I guess the drawing kind of deceiving, It will be 7 feet wide and 16 feet long. With a full load of gear and two fishermen it will weigh less than 1,000 lbs. I have a few years of fishing experience now with a small fishing pontoon boat- my current boat is Pond King Pro that I love but it is just not quite big/fast enough for my taste. My new boat will sit quite a bit lower than your typical "party barge" and it will have short open rails instead of the typical solid walls on most pontoons. I would say that will be affected by wind more than the lowest profile boat but no more than a typical high sided boat.

[JDavid]

P.S. @ Hunter- I am going to go VERY slow and be VERY flexible. I want to get everything right the first time and I am sure that when I get started that my plans will have to tweaked as I progress. I will definitely post pics as build it.

[Fishawk]

good luck, looks like you know what yer doing.

[boat49]

Looks good, but I do agree with huntinslabs on the livewell in the center. I look forward to the picture progress!!