These mini plastic pontoon boats are starting to become seriously popular, increasingly expensive on the second hand market as well as capturing the attention and interest of the public. Without a doubt, these small plastic pontoon boats are amazing and have caught us many fish. The memories created are plentiful. Let’s dive right in and start with the CONS.
Con #1 - Lackluster Cupholders
I like to drink! Out fishing, boating and swimming in the sun demands a large amount of water and I always keep a 40oz water bottle as well as small plastic bottles as a backup. Oftentimes I bring coffee with me in the early mornings and if it’s in the afternoon, I’ll grab some fast food with a soda and eat on the boat.
Unfortunately, unless your drinks are completely covered and spill proof, you’ll be doing a lot of cleaning. The cupholders are about half an inch deep. They are so shallow, even the smallest coffee mug can easily be spilled on the smallest wake. The cupholders in all of these plastic mold boats are basically worthless. They make a perfect spot for my Garmin Striker 4 fish finder, however!
Lots of folks have deepened these cupholders by cutting a hole around the perimeter of the cup holder, slipping in a stainless steel cup holder and sealing it with marine adhesive. This is a great idea that has worked for lots of folks! This is a fixable issue, but it’s worth noting that your first trip out will get MESSY if you’re expecting the cup holders to actually hold cups!
Con #2 - Drain Plug Locations
There are 3 drain plugs on my Pond Prowler. 1 on the interior near the transom and one on the front of each pontoon. Let’s start with the drain plug inside the boat, on the transom.
The interior transom drain plug is a couple inches off the floor. This is significant because unless you have a manual bilge pump, you’ll be lifting the bow of this boat over your head from minutes on end until you drain as much water from the floor of the boat as possible. I got a super cheap, plastic manual bilge pump that I now use and it’s far, far easier. I’ll link that bilge pump here.
The drain plugs on the bow of the boat, one on each pontoon, also suffer the same drawback. You have to lift the stern of the boat even higher to get the water to reach the TOP of the pontoons. However, it’s best to simply flip your boat upside down first, then slightly lift the stern. I’ve owned my Pond Prowler for about 6 months, so it’s time I do this procedure for the first time. You can check that out on my YouTube channel.
Con #3 - Rod Holders
Don’t get me wrong! I am very grateful they included any rod holders at all. Here’s my dirty little secret…. I hardly ever use the rod holders that come factory on all these tiny boats. It causes me a lot of issues all around and they’re only used when I have a passenger on the boat.
The truth is, my favorite place for rod holders is out of my way. Thus, the stern. This is a two man fishing boat, unless you get the one man 8’. I purchased super cheap clamp on rod holders that attach to the transom, next to the trolling motor and they are amazingly out of the way! Not to mention, I LOVE trolling on the flats with a line or two in the water. Here’s a Bluefish I caught simply by trolling a paddle tail!
Now, you can buy cheap plastic rod holders that screw into the boat. These work great! However, most spots that make sense to mount these types of rod holders, are in my way. Plus, I already drilled enough holes in my Prowler. I don’t want to drill more holes for a rod holder that will likely get in my way and annoy me pretty quick. You can pick up these clamps on rod holders for your boat here. If you’re looking for something more permanent, here’s the fixed rod holders.
Con #4 - No (dry) Storage
I owned a West Marine Water Tender 9.4’ briefly. One of the only things I liked better about the Tender over the Prowler is the built in dry storage. None of the plastic boats come with any sort of storage whatsoever. This has been a major oversight!
In my YouTube version of today's blog, I provide solutions to all these problems including certain places people have been able to install their own custom dry storage pretty easily. So the good thing is, this can be fixed! Although, it will take some serious planning and a careful hand.
Not having any storage for tackle, food, wallets, papers, anything is a big issue. I actually have my own solution that anybody can do. I bought a cheap, tiny cooler and decked it out with the same EVA boat decking I used on the boat itself. This works great, fits under my seat and keeps all my gear dry. Cheap, cheap and cheap!!
Pro #1 - Stability
Make no mistake. These boats are SMALL, however, they are more stable than the 12’ plastic jons by a mile. These plastic pontoons are more stable than a 10-12 ft aluminum hull. Some argue, it’s more stable than the 14’ jons!! Point being, size doesn’t matter here. It’s more about design. The main difference between the bigger aluminum jon boats and a pontoon of similar size, is their flat bottom or v-hull design.
The Pond Prowler, Bass Raider, Quest Angler, etc all are PONTOON boats. This makes them incredibly stable. I personally stand while I fish. I also stand on my swivel seat for sight fishing! I walk around, adjust cameras, make long casts, prepare food, throw anchors, etc. I tried these activities in a 10’ flat bottom and was on edge the whole time (literally)! Not much will beat these boats in terms of stability. Lastly, these boats are practically unsinkable due to their plastic and foam makeup.
Pro #2 - Customization.
This isn’t aluminum, fiberglass or anything but simple plastic. Although, yes, it’s extremely durable plastic, it’s still plastic. If you take a look at my boat you’ll notice how unrecognizable my Prowler has become. There are many holes drilled in my boat including pull handles, fish finder and a paddle holder. Drilling and mounting on these boats are extremely easy! I have full tutorials on how to do this properly, here.
I could yap all day and all night about my Pond Prowler modifications. Rather than that, how’s a picture and a full list of every mod I’ve made?
My Tiny Boat Build:
Pond Prowler 10': bassproshops.vzck.net/pondprowler
Trolling Motor: https://amzn.to/3S2GAvE
Battery: https://amzn.to/3TKycSF
Battery Box: https://amzn.to/3TKydWJ
Fish Finder w/ Transducer: https://amzn.to/3S3PUPU
Clamp on Rod Holders: https://amzn.to/3vk6OAZ
Clamp on Boat Lights: https://amzn.to/4aCVxMj
Upgraded Boat Seats: https://amzn.to/3vtNzoo
Camo Boat Decking: https://amzn.to/41J8kJ1
Foam Flooring: https://amzn.to/3NLl38h
Paddle Holder: https://amzn.to/3RKRtAQ
Extra Handles for Bow: https://amzn.to/3U2c32H
Emergency Paddle: https://amzn.to/3vsxU8T
Anchor: https://amzn.to/3RJYIZJ
Pro #3 - Functionality
Flat out, this thing works. We’ve used it to fish, hangout, film content, go to the beach, ride some wakes and waves, etc. My Pond Prowler does everything I need it to! First of all, the stability alone makes this boat very comfortable. The seats rotate 360 degrees, allowing an incredible range of motion while casting, especially with a passenger.
Water drainage is great as well. Every surface on the interior is designed to funnel all the water into a little pool near the transom of the boat. This is also right where the interior drain plug is located, that we mentioned earlier. When pulling in big fish or simply hopping in and out while swimming, all the water quickly gets funneled towards the stern and out of my way!
The rod holders on the bow are pretty much perfectly placed. There’s not a ton of options in terms of locations on the boat to easily place rod holders from the factory. The fact that these boats come with 2 rod holders is pretty friggin’ sweet if you ask me.
Also, this boat comes pre-wired inside the hull from the stern where the battery tray is, up to a trolling motor plug on the bow. How cool is that! Leave your battery in the stern next to your outboard and plug the trolling motor in on the bow, without running a bunch of messy chords all throughout your boat! How awesome!
Pro #4 - Price
I purchased my Pond Prowler for $300 cash used here in Panama City Beach, Florida. However, the second hand market is shooting into the stars in terms of fully custom, used plastic pontoons. Regardless of the used price, you can buy these boats brand new from a variety of department stores from the ranges of $700-900. That’s pretty dang cheap for a brand new hull!
The plastic hull, brand new, is pretty cheap. Luckily, all the mods are also affordable as well! I have about $1,700 total in my Pond Prowler and it’s pretty much fully modded out. The only thing I do not have is an outboard. I use a simple trolling motor for my propulsion. If you were to try to build a brand new custom fishing boat, you won’t find anything less than $10k. These are extremely affordable, cheap to modify and don’t require a trailer, insurance, storage, maintenance, etc. No monthly bills for these boats!
These plastic pontoons fully modded on the used market sell for THOUSANDS! I saw a fully fitted Bass Raider with a trailer sell for $3k USED last month! If you build a brand new boat, you could probably still stand to make a profit. I know for a fact if I were to sell my modded Pond Prowler, I’ll make a serious profit! Either way, I can’t find many brand new boats for $1,700 that are maintenance free, insurance free, NEW and stable.
As you can see, I love these types of boats. Don’t get me wrong, I love ALL boats, kayaks, paddleboards, RIBs, etc. I’ve caught fish on all different types and sizes of boats. The Pond Prowler and others have a special place in my heart. Sure, I could sell mine Prowler, buy an aluminum 14’ with an older outboard and have way more boats for the same money. However, I will likely never sell my Prowler. It’s too comfortable and flat out catches fish.