Quest for cheap PFD's (ooh and saying 'hi')

[sjw]

Long time luker, first time poster... but I'm looking for some cheap keyhole style PFD's. I've seen the $25 Canadian Tire jobs, but saw that Bass Pro Shops (US) site had $8 keyhole, and a whole selection of different PFD's for around the $10-$15 mark. Anything like that locally? I've browsed Canadian Tire and Bass Pro, but the cheapest I've found is $25.

As you might have guessed, I picked up a boat recently, last weekend actually. Finally got tired of casting from shore. I've got a PFD for myself, but would like to start sharing my latest purchase with some friends, but hoping to spend ~$30 instead of $100 for 3 PFD's.

Oh, and if you'd care to fill me in on any free boat launches in the area, I'd appreciate that too! I've already found MacGregor Lake, how is the walleye limit 0 there? It's all I was catching!

Obligatory pic:
http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/4762/boatwkm.jpg

[The Fisherman Guy]

CONGRATULATIONS on the new boat sjw!

And WELCOME to the board!!

those tin boats are very versatile, and will get you into many fish for sure. Bass pro sells a hand crank, gunwale mounted downrigger for 80 bucks I think. A great addition if you start fishing some bigger water like Minnewanka or in the interior of BC.

When it comes to life jackets, my best advice is to find something comfortable first, then make your selection based on your budget. I am willing to bet that the shoes on your feet and the shirt on your back cost more than ten dollars. So what's worth more?! Your life, and the life of your passengers, or the shoes and shirt you are wearing?!??

Years ago I worked retail sales. Parents would almost ALWAYS buck my "up selling" them on a helmet to accompany the new snowboard they were buying their kids. Most of the time, if they did decide to buy a helmet they would look at the most inexpensive option. My reply to that was, does your child have hundred dollar feet and a ten dollar head? Begrudgingly, they would reconsider their choice.

What point does my long winded diatribe mean to you?

Save extra money on other accessories for your boat, and invest that cash in better lifejackets. Keep them in a Rubbermaid Action Packer, and they will stay clean and dry until you need them. Plus they won't end up floating in the gas/oil/water mixture at the base of your transom when no one wants to wear a 10 dollar PFD!

:thinking-006:

Good luck this fall, tight lines!

[bubba 96]

Or if ya can just wait a bit, i'm sure canadian tire will be clearing out there life jackets last yr i outfitted my family in jackets they were normally 55 bucks, but they went down to 20 bucks a piece.....Or I think they have a bag with 4 in for 75 bucks..

[sjw]

Or if ya can just wait a bit, i'm sure canadian tire will be clearing out there life jackets last yr i outfitted my family in jackets they were normally 55 bucks, but they went down to 20 bucks a piece.....Or I think they have a bag with 4 in for 75 bucks..

But that's a little more dangerous than going with the 'cheap' units. "Sorry guys, no life jackets this weekend, they weren't on sale yet!"

[Jar4500]

Wal-mart $18.00.

[FishingMOM]

But that's a little more dangerous than going with the 'cheap' units. "Sorry guys, no life jackets this weekend, they weren't on sale yet!"

I would suggest the guys get their own.

This way they are responsible for finding what they will be most comfy in.
Then it isn't money out of your pocket, they get what fits them properly.

No life jacket ........ no trip.

You made the big expenditure in getting the boat, trailer, insurance etc. Surely your buddies can find their own.

[DarkAisling]

Welcome, SJW :)

Since you bought the boat, and will presumably be the one towing it and incurring wear and tear on your vehicle, maybe your friends would be willing to purchase their own PFDs?

I can understand that you would like to be a fully prepared host, but there are advantages to having them purchase their own. They'll get something they're comfortable with, something that may fit them better, and something that is appropriately sized for them.

We have an abundance of PFDs, and I never feel comfortable with it when someone borrows one of ours. I'm always so worried about having one fail, or someone using one that isn't correctly sized for them. We have a strict "no PFD=no play" rule on our watercraft . . . that all of our friends and family happily adhere too.

[SushiUnagi]

FishingMOM has a really good point.

I bought my lifejackets via the safety bundle from the stealership where I bought my boat. Big mistake! Way overpriced. They charged me these cheapie ones for 40 bucks each...sigh oh well.

But in terms of boat launches I can share a few:

McGregor's launch is ok. Free and the launch ramp is in ok condition. However, they do not have a dock which is a real pet-peeve for me. Wait McGregor has a picnic table half submerged in the water that ppl use it as a dock. I have a fiberglass boat so the idea of driving it on the gravel to park it is not really a smart option.

The worst I found is the marina within Sylvan Lake. They charge $15 for launching and have a launch ramp wide enough for 2 boats at the same time. The ramp on the side with the longer dock sucks big time. They have a big hole at the point where you would stop your trailer in...your tires get stuck in it so your trailer is tilted on one side. So when you load your boat your boat is also tilted... Had a really tough time loading the boat correctly. Especially if you are by yourself. Thankfully there were a few nice peeps there helping me hold on to the boat while I drove it out last year.
Lake is nice, but the fact that this marina charges for launching and that the ramp is in such bad condition is not worth it. I've heard there is a nice public (free) launch ramp on the north-west side of the lake. But for us coming from Calgary is an extra 30 mins drive :\ $15 or 30 mins worth of gas and mileage...umm.

Little Bow provincial park on Travers has the best dock area. The dock can handle 20+ boats to be parked there. Also has 2 ramps so 2 ppl can simultaneously launch at the same time. Its free as well but usually very very busy.

PCR has a single ramp but quite wide. Dock is nice and I guess because of the # of dock fishermen on it, usually ppl don't park their boats there as often. Its also free!

Newell's dock is dated but still better than McGregor with no docks at all. 1 boat at a time. Lots of parking. Free!

Chestermere charges $40 per launch. Never tried it there. But if you are a resident there you pay $50 (or maybe more) for the year and you can use it however many times you want.

Ghost Lake has 2 public launch ramps. One by the marina (narrower) and the other wider one on the other side of the highway (which is wide enough for 3 trailers at once). I found people there very rude. Even if you take 5 mins to launch your boat (by yourself) they would come down yelling at you to move away for them to launch theirs... maybe its just this one guy. I haven't been there for a while since its so tough to catch any fish in that lake. But its the closest lake from Cowtown that is free.

Hope this helps!!

Happy Boating!

Sushi

[sjw]

Thank you ALL very much for the PFD advice, and Sushi for such a comprehensive list of launches!

Since it's just a cheap little aluminum I don't mind beaching at McGregor. I can launch/retrieve by myself with the trailer, but yesterday when the weather turned, and there were 10+ trailers lined up at the boat launch, I just took the motor off/tank out, and me and a friend carried it from the water onto the trailer and drove off, all before a single boat had been successfully retrieved. Pretty strong winds out there made things difficult for those guys.

I did pick up a $25 keyhole, just to get me through the weekend legally. I have a good one for myself, and hopefully the 'regulars' that come out will get their own. If not, guess what you're getting for Christmas this year.

I did receive my first boat-warming gift. Some nice vinyl lettering:

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs152.ash2/40959_467452255309_540090309_6960820_6998088_n.jpg

Thanks again for all the helpful information, and the warm welcome!

[DarkAisling]

I did receive my first boat-warming gift. Some nice vinyl lettering:


:lol: Now that is awesome!