Pontoon boats are one of the most versatile watercraft you’ll find. They’re excellent for a range of water activities which makes them perfect for families and large groups. Can you ski behind a pontoon boat? Yes, you can ski at the back of most pontoon boats, but your engine ought to be 70 horsepower at a minimum.
Choosing Your Pontoon Boat Motor
Just like pontoon boats, boat engines come in all sizes and capacities. However, a smaller engine may be suitable, if powering the boat itself is your only concern. But if you plan on using your pontoon to water ski or wakeboard, your engine choice needs to include speed considerations for safety.
Twin toons, or pontoon boats with two pontoons, generally give the stylish pull with engines between 50 and 90 horsepower. These engines are capable of pets up to 26 mph. Tri-toons have added structural stability due to the third pontoon. These pontoons can handle motors starting at 150 horsepower and ranging over 350 horsepower, performing in pets at 40 mph.
Can You Ski Behind A Pontoon Boat
Pontoon boats that have anything lower than a 70 horsepower engine are impeccably suited for cruising or fumbling, but not water skiing. This is because an average adult weighs between 130 and 220 pounds, and it takes at least 70 horsepower to induce enough speed and acceleration, especially during the launch.
Any lower horsepower, and you’ll drag your skier for miles before they get up. In reality, you can only do some introductory skiing with a minimally powered boat because it lacks the oomph to do any more than keep you afloat.
Still, or if you want to do some aggressive water skiing, also you’ll need a boat with at least 90 horsepower if you want to have a group of people on your boat. With a 90-horsepower engine, you can indeed begin to enjoy some slalom skiing. This seems to be the sweet spot for skiing behind a pontoon boat.
Now, if you really want to get serious and ski as you mean it, also your boat should have an engine rated at 115 horsepower. This position of horsepower is enough to get you up snappily, anyhow of how numerous people are on the boat.
It also gives you the option to ski with advanced pets if you’re looking to jump the wake and catch some air. You’ll find that 115 horsepower will give you the greatest inflexibility to acclimate your skiing to the local conditions and offer you some challenging excitement.
Of course, these horsepower numbers may vary depending on the number of people you have onboard, the size of your pontoon boat, or the weight of the skier being pulled. The only way to know for sure is to take your boat out and see what it can do.
How Fast Do You Need To Go
Generally, your pontoon boat would need to be going at least 16mph before you can ski behind it. At this speed, you’re nearly going too sluggishly to do anything intriguing or grueling. A large skier would still be half under and half on top of the water.
Here are the speeds I’ve found to work well for other skiing activities;
Slalom water skiing requires that your boat is moving at a speed of 25 to 34mph.Tubing and wakeboarding don’t require as much speed as slalom water skiing so you would be fine at a speed of 16 to 25 mph.
Two skiers behind a pontoon boat would need your boat to be going at a speed between 20 and 34mph.
Remember, these are only rules of thumb. Some skiers like to ski hard and fast. Others like to sit back and take in the scenery. Be a good captain( and host), and adjust your speed consequently.
How Much Horsepower Does A Pontoon Boat Need To Pull A Skier
Water skiing is a prevalent boating activity and can be done on one ski, two skis, or barefoot. For a safe time, the tow needs to be strong enough to pull the skier and lift the skis above the water.
Numerous factors come into play: the person’s weight and height, wind speeds, wave height, and boat construction, as well as engine speed. In general, skiing with two skis needs a speed of around 25 mph, and a mono-ski needs a little more pull at 25 to 30 mph.
Barefoot skiing takes the most speed because of the smaller surface area of the soles compared to skis. To reach the right pull and lift, barefoot skiing requires speeds around 40 mph. Wakeboarding, another common water sport among water skiers, can be done at slower speeds around 15 to 20 mph.
Both twin-toons and tri-toons equipped with motors make a safe choice for water skiing and other water sports. With the capability to reach pets between 25 and 50 mph, pontoons are further than over for the challenge. Remember to wear your safety vest and watch for obstructions in the water. Load up your skis and let your pontoon pull you to adventure.
Limitations To Water Skiing With A Pontoon Boat
There are two major limitations to using a pontoon boat for water sports like skiing and wakeboarding
The Wake Has Less Shape
The boat isn’t as maneuverable. Serious wakeboarders and water sports enthusiasts do not like the shape of the wake behind a pontoon boat.
Where a traditional V-hull boat has a more humped shape, a pontoon boat makes a wake from the prop and two small wakes for the pontoons. This makes for a surprisingly wide wake with the lower of a hump in the center. That makes it tough to catch any air behind a pontoon boat no matter your speed. You will get a little jump but not as important.
The Maneuverability Of The Boat
Pontoon boats have a wide turning radius. generally, it’s just about right for water sports, but some people really like to whip the boat around wildly, so for those people, a pontoon boat is not a good choice.
When it comes right down to it, choose a traditional ski boat if all you want to do is water sports like tubing and skiing.
