i have an 8 foot creek co pontoon. I've taken it down the river in the winter, and it was very stable. However, this was down the Siuslaw, and I'm not familiar with the Sandy or Clack, I imagine they are a bit more hardcore than the 'slaw. However, I absolutely love my pontoon. I have had it for about 5 years, and had no problems with it, until this year...and both pontoons ended up getting leaks. They're fixed now, hopefully. I will find out for sure in December lol. I gotta say though, I wish I had a 9 footer for river use, but I do fine with what I've got.