Skiing Behind a Pontoon Boat Question
 

Those of you with any experience in pontoon boating, could you tell me if you can water ski behind them? I think I recall seeing people skiing behind them...:confused: If so do you need the giant V8 gas guzzler or can this be done with a 135 HP Merc cruiser?

I want the party boat and my wife wants to be able to water ski.

I'm looking at a 24 ft with 135 HP that is a good price!

Is there any basic rules (formula) on pontoon boats performance in regard to length vs horsepower = water ski capable????

Any body have any experience with this?

Thanks

Bob

Yes, depends on how fat the skier is, how loaded is the boat.

Had plenty of friends who would ski behind pontoon boats

I would think yes.... My dad swears they used to ski 4wide behind our old Chrysler Tri-hull with the 75hp(I think, I know its small) Johnson out board.... he said they were all small guys back then and it took a while to get up....


I've seen skiiers behind pontoon boats here... Its possible...

Well my son is a big dude @ 6'0/ 240 and getting taller by the second playing High school football...My wife is average size and girth.

Nobody obese....:eek:

Thanks

Is there anywhere near there you can rent one for a few hours? I seem to recall that the pontoon boats at the place we rented jetskis once were very similar to that configuration....

Sidney,

Here in So-Cal there are few lakes and dont know if any rent pontoon boats.. Good suggestion though. I was hoping someone would chime in with a "Oh we had a 24 footer with a 100 HP outboard that pulled skiers fine" Type thing..

Then I could guesstimate performance...

Have you ever been out on one? I haven't, I had a 18 ft jet boat with a Chevy 350 that was a good skier and a gas eater. I'm looking for a bigger boat now with better efficiency.

Bob

I've been out on quite a few pontoons.... Not a bad deal.... I much prefer a Deep V hull design though... Handles rough water better... Not a good party boat thought.... A pontoon can't be beat for a party barge....

I've been on a tube behind several pontoons... Never skiied though... But I've never skiied in general.... Which is blasphemy considering my dad owns 4 boats....

Depends what kind of skiing. You can ski young kids on a regular (2 log) toon with a 75hp motor all day long. The tritoons with lifting strakes are becoming more popular. I have a Manitou 22explode with a 150hp four stroke. It is a tritoon with lifting strakes. Can get 33 mph out of it. I am 6'1, 235lbs. No problem on doubles, have to kick a ski to slalom, but not enough power to really work it, ski will sink when cutting hard.

Have seen these toons with up to 300hp outboards. Will be upgrading to a 24' next year with at least 250hp outboard. Should get to around 40-42 mph.

I skied behind a friend's parents pontoon boat as a kid.... I recall feeling a bit embarassed being seen doing it. It was an outboard and it was too slow to slalom ski from (well did get up on one ski, but it was way too slow).

IMO, No it would take tooooo long for him to get on top of water if at all, no fun.... only way is to ski off the dock, maybe and if you fall?

I see those party boats on the river and have always thought...'Man thats the way to have fun" Got the BBQ smokin..the cold beer in the cooler..my daughter and wife laying out on the bow...my son and I jumpin in and out off the swim deck..making margaritas...

I dunno..it's been hot lately and doing some rivering sounds like fun....:)

Pros
They don't put out a tall wake
The tail will not slide around on fast wake crossing

Cons
Slow Starts
Your son at 240LB will be very slow on a slalom start
Not your best ski boat, can be done tho.
Not real fast or maneuverable

That sounds good to me..... you have to be smart when your a boating man..... make friends with "ski boat"guy and pontoon provides place for him to dock to, margaritas, food(grill)and space.... he provides skiing. Buy your own "BEST" ski eguipment that he will want to check out. If your kid skis a lot "offer" to pay for gas!

Enzo,

Yes, you present some good ideas...having a bud with a fast boat and me with my barge...heck what could be better?....:)

I have to think about this...Hummmm....????

Bob

Go Dawg can your son ski? If so he may be able to get up, but it will take a bit of upper body strength. If he will be learning to ski....you will drown him.

135hp is a lot of hp for a pontoon boat. I drove a 20' with 50 hp and it was a slug.

Peppy,

He doesn't know how to ski. But he has treeeemendous upper body strenght..9th grade and can bench 290 and near ~300 lbs (yes I'm braggin)..I laid a $100 dollars on his olympic bar when he was trying 300 lbs a couple weeks ago. Got half way up but no joy...he will... He will be in tenth grade this september.

Mama does know how to ski....

I will be the driver..

Thanks

Bob

Sorry. No such thing as a jet-powered boat that is a good skier (I'm very spoiled!).

Too slow out of the hole, and that awful "froth" behind the jet makes them miserable ski boats. (Did I mention that I've been spoiled by overpowered outboards?)

deck boat might be better??? anyone know YouTube - Hurricane Deck Boat

Dantilla,


You're right... it did have a hell of a wake behind it. You could blast the skiier too...:). I dont profess to know much about skiing...thats why I'm asking:). I was hoping I could get the party barge that was "Ski capable". then when its time to relax...teach my kids to fish off it too...

I do consider the physics..I could just add more power...and more power..We porsche turbo guys know how to do this.

Bob

no more 100$ bills.... buying the boat will get the girls in bikinis will get the olympic bar up, again and again:)

Dawg you will drag him across the lake and he will never get up.

My 2 cents it is easy to get discouraged skiing if the boat driver is no good. It is a lot harder to pull someone skiing than to learn to ski.

Good boat+good boat driver=skiing easy.

Imagine adding a 1000HP to a 1980 Lincoln Continental and well, u get the idea...

or this!http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1279574418.jpg

Yes, but they don't handle well. Look at the 3 hull boats if you are looking at adding some serious HP (it helps with the tracking)

Like many have said - I'd look for a deck boat - Hurricane/Godfrey

Look at the Fundeck

There's water skiing and then there's water skiing. If you like 25-28 MPH (which is a good recreational ski speed), you should be able to pull a skier behind a pontoon boat. The secret to getting up behind an underpowered boat is to stay crouched until the ski is planing. Then rise to ski position. Try to stand too soon and you'll bog the boat and not get up anyway.

I've skied behind 500 HP and got up in 5 yards. That is if my arms were still in their sockets. I never mastered a beach or dock launch. If I weighed 75 pounds, I might have done it.

I fell at Havasu doing closer to 40. That hurt and I never went out again. I was about 45 YO myself, so it was time.

Thanks guys,

I got some good insight here. I will look at the deckboat adds and see what I find. I do like party barges and the cool stuff you can float around with like beer cooler/margarita mixer/fridge/BBQ/Stereo/woman laying all over/ big Bimini top..... Oh and a John...

It does sound like fun....admit it!

I think this post needs some pictures.....SmileWavy

Bob

OK!
My 26' 100hp PB was used for mostly cruising the lake, but at close to full throttle could easily pull a skier. It was fun to just go down and have a glass of vino while it was tied to our dock. The local PCA club loved it when we had parties!


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1279583681.jpg

I only posted pic when I found put u were a turbo guy

It would be a struggle to get your son out of the water. It also will not be very fun to ski behind. For mixed use, I think you would be better suited looking at a 22-24ish foot I/O cruiser. You can still drop the anchor and have an enjoyable time floating around. However, it will be infinitely more fun when you decide to ski and tube during the other part of the day.

I agree, sorry to say it I know where your coming from but you've got kids and well, skiing is probable the main deal, either feel confident that you can pull off a " friend" deal or shuck the whole idea and step up. then you'll have to beach it, not so bad and used boats ar cheaper in this economy

HP and torque......you can ski behind a garbage scow.....

You will not be able to beach start, but you can definitely pull a skier. If you are a beginner, you may need to start on 2 skis, then drop one to slalom. With skill/practice you can get up on one with not much trouble. The biggest problem with a pontoon boat is, although you can be skiing- it is limited what you can do. There is no wake to work with. The biggest problem is the boat will not track well- when you cut on the ski you will actually pull the stern of the boat around laterally. So recreational skiing- just going through the water- yes. Aggressive skiing, skiing a course, etc- no.
I live in Winter Haven- the "water ski capital" of the world- but don't ski anymore. I see skiers behind pontoon boats every weekend out my window.
Gary

buy used, if you don't like it sell it... imagine what it will bring in a year and offer that, also I've made my BEST boat deals "OFF SEASON"..... In the OLD days boats didn't have much HP and we skied but we kicked one off(no fun) but made me appreciate when I bumped up. Face it you've got a 6.0 240lb kid and growing, thats 2 120lb kids behind a pontoon, if u get what I mean

Happy boating!http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1279598846.jpg

This thread is useless without (many) pictures>>>

http://www.thehulltruth.com/attachme...ture_2121b.jpg

http://www.thehulltruth.com/attachme...dsc_0103_1.jpg