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Creek Company ODC 1220
Review
This past summer, the FFIM field testing crew has had the opportunity to
put to heavy use the new ODC 1220 2-man pontoon boat, offered by Creek
Company, exclusively through Cabela's.
This boat retails at under $1000,
making it by far the least expensive boat in its class, according to our
research.
Given the low price, we were skeptical at first, and were not really sure
what to expect. The shipment arrived in 2 large 80lb boxes, and the boat
was definitely packed in well, with no room to spare. Setting up the boat
for the first time in the yard was not difficult, but I wouldn't classify
it as completely easy either. Use of the instructions was very helpful,
as there are many separate pieces, which on the positive, allows the boat
to be broken down to a small size, and on the negative means a bit of
extra work to put all of it together from scratch. We had the boat
together in about 90 minutes on this initial setup.
The good news is, once set up, it is unnecessary to take the boat
completely apart again, for storage or transport, unless you really want
to. We are able to store the boat in a small shed, (like you find in most
backyards), and transport it in the back of a Ford Explorer with the seats
folded down. The boat only needs to come apart to 4 pieces of the frame,
and the two pontoons deflated to accomplish this. If you had a vehicle
with a wide roof rack, it is feasible to car-top the boat, as it weighs
less than 150 lbs. However, ours was too narrow to do so, and we never
tried. Ideally, a small flatbed trailer, like the type for a couple
snowmobiles, or an ATV would be perfect. Since the pontoons are 12.5
feet, a 5x8, (or 6x10, etc.), would be ideal. Then you could leave the
boat assembled and inflated, and save a lot of time getting on and off the
water.
Even with our need to
breakdown and setup the boat each trip, we found it
to be not a hassle at all. Our setup time is about 15-20 minutes, from
unload to "on the water", and the breakdown time is about 10. (We should
note that this is with 2 people setting up, it'll take a bit longer with
only 1). In addition to the frame and the pontoons, the boat comes with a
couple dry bags that we strap onto the frame by the oar locks, for storing
fly-boxes, cameras, etc. There are also a couple mesh bags that we leave
in place when storing the boat, that are setup underneath and behind the
front seat. We've found these perfect for storing a small cooler, and the
requisite PFD's, landing net, and of course the air pump, in case of any
leaks or accidental deflations on the water.
Speaking of the pump, it's a double action, (pumps air on both stroke
directions), and fills the pontoon's large chambers surprisingly quickly.
The valves seems to do well to hold the air, just make sure you've aligned
them properly, and keep an eye on them during inflation. If they get off
centered and stretched by being pulled inside the opening, this can cause
a small separation and a slow loss of air while on the water.
 Now to
the fishing!!!
As I said earlier, at first we were skeptical at
how good a quality we were going to see, for a boat that retails at under
$1000, but I must say, within 5 minutes on the water on the very first
outing, our fears were put aside....this is one solid boat!!! The
aluminum frame is light, yet adequate, the pontoons tough and strong. The
fishing platform in the front, and gear/poling deck on the back are
nothing to worry about. This is an awesome fishing vehicle, with sturdy
knee braces for fishing stability in the front. We've had this down class
II whitewater, and stood up and fished the whole way, no problems. The
only drawback we've seen in terms of fish-ability, is the stripping basket
situation, as the basket that comes with the boat is small, and shifts
easily, causing the anxious fishermen to often miss it and end up with
line caught up around the frame and D-rings which hold it together. Even
this is not much of a problem, if you patiently un-snag the line, it's
just that sometimes the fishing is soooo good, it's hard to be patient, if
you know what I mean!!!
To round out the standard equipment, this boat comes with a very nice set
of 8' counter-weighted Carlisle oars, which to anyone who has rowed a
driftboat or pontoon boat before knows, a good pair of oars makes all the
difference in the world. We were very surprised and pleased at what a
great set of oars this boat came with.
So, in conclusion, we'd like to say we had an absolute blast with the
boat, and would recommend it highly to anyone interested in getting into
the drift-fishing world. It's a great beginners boat, if you have a
friend who you can drag around to all kinds of great spots you can't get
into wading with. And the 2-man feature definitely has an upper-hand on
the one-man boats that you are seeing more of now. It's much nicer to be
able to have a person concentrating on the fishing as you head downstream,
and one on the rowing, rather than one person doing both, as anybody who's
ever fished out of a one-man pontoon boat will tell you. Besides, if you
need a buddy to go with you as a shuttle anyways, why not take a 2-man
boat, and enjoy the day together fully, rather than each of you rowing
your one-man boats? We've found that rowing someone else for half the
time is actually just as much, if not more, fun!
You can get more information about the Creek Company, and their boats at
www.creekcompany.com.
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