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I need pontoon loading advice

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lukebeegle

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Hello,


I just went from a 24 ft to a 30 ft pontoon.  The launch I use is pretty steep.  We are having a tough time loading.  We will have the front dead on and the back is still floating and drifts on top of the bunk rails.  I would love some advice on guides, rails something for my trailer or otherwise to make getting out of the water after a long day a little bit less stressful.  Thanks in advance!
 
Couple things........


It could be that you have the trailer too far in the water. Position the trailer where your tubes are all making contact w/the bunks and then  winch your boat up the rest of the way .


If you do have the front making contact and the winch strap is attached and the rear is still floating......whoever is driving the trailer/boat up the ramp.......pull up slow and have another person on the ramp at the rear of the boat holding the rope attached to a cleat and they are positioning the boat on the bunks as the driver slowly pulls the boat out of the water. If the boat is not on the trailer correctly just back down the ramp and reposition it. You'll get it. The more you do it the easier it gets!
 
BigKahuna said:
Couple things........


It could be that you have the trailer too far in the water. Position the trailer where your tubes are all making contact w/the bunks and then  winch your boat up the rest of the way .


If you do have the front making contact and the winch strap is attached and the rear is still floating......whoever is driving the trailer/boat up the ramp.......pull up slow and have another person on the ramp at the rear of the boat holding the rope attached to a cleat and they are positioning the boat on the bunks as the driver slowly pulls the boat out of the water. If the boat is not on the trailer correctly just back down the ramp and reposition it. You'll get it. The more you do it the easier it gets!
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+1, this should solve your issues.  The winch is your friend, don't be afraid to use it.  BigKahuna nailed it with his suggestion.  Good luck next time at the landing lukebeegle!
 
The above suggestions are right on. We had a pontoon for 14 years and loading was a breeze, we had it down to a science no matter what the weather was. The tritune has been a challenge to get the loading process as smooth as with the pontoon. Not sure why? I have tried both tactics, deep trailer and shallow trailer. I'm leaning more to a shallow trailer as being the easiest. I back the trailer deep enough to wet the bunks ( helps the tunes to slide on the carpet) and then pull out so a little more than half the bunks are out of water this gives the boat captain a big target,  once all three tunes are solid on the bunks, the boat captain maintains slight forward thrust as I slowly back under boat. Seams to work pretty well. This technique takes coordination between both operators.
 
Thank you all...  I really appreciate the advice.  I think the main issue is how steep the launch is.  We can be on the bunks tight at the front of the trailer and the back still is floating and doesn't sit down into the bunks.  I think using the rope might be the best bet, along with some type of guides.  I don't have any guides near the back of the trailer... 


Thanks again,  Luke
 
You're welcome! Practice and it'll be second nature in no time. Let us know how you're progressing when you have the chance. 


Where do you boat and what kind of boat do you have?!?
 
I boat on Raystown lake in PA.  We have a Sun Tracker Party Hut 30.  Just got it 2 weeks ago.  The wife does the loading I back the trailer in.  She was really good on our last one, but the extra 6 feet seem to be causing us grief. 
 
lukebeegle said:
Thanks again,  Luke
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 Steep launch is problematic but BigKahuna's advice is spot on.  I experienced a steep launch last summer and people thought I was nuts pulling my 22SCWX out, (perhaps).  I wet the bunks as suggested and pulled forward so 3 feet of bunk was out of the water. Got the boat on the bunks and attached the winch strap and wound it forward to the stops.  I had a rope on the rear cleat and as I pulled forward I would stop every few feet so my wife could recentre the boat.  You had to move fairly swiftly once the pontoon was at the stops so as the boat wouldn't drift making it difficult to recentre.  
 
lukebeegle said:
I boat on Raystown lake in PA.  We have a Sun Tracker Party Hut 30.  Just got it 2 weeks ago.  The wife does the loading I back the trailer in.  She was really good on our last one, but the extra 6 feet seem to be causing us grief. 
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Wow, that's one large toon you have there. Personally, I can't imagine trailering something that big around. Good luck and enjoy...
 
We have steep and deep boat ramps on our lake.  And with big water comes big waves and wind--thus making it difficult to load a pontoon boat.


I like the lengthwise carpeted bolster boards inside the toons.  And I like the front of the board to be low and the rear of the board to be a couple of feet higher.  That way a boat will be guided in straight and the bolsters touching the whole length of the boat.


My bolster boards are parallel and low on both ends.  And they're too far from the inside of the toons--need adjusting.  There again, I only put the boat on the trailer 1x per year for maintenance most years.  If I trailered it all the time, I'd have'em adjusted right.
 
@BigKahuna,  went pretty well today.  Got it loaded and off the water in about 5 minutes on the first try.  I winched it up on tight as advised and then I used ropes to center the back as I had my wife pull slowly out of the water.  Thanks to all for the great advice.  I still think a am going to end up getting some guides, but was much better today.  Thanks, again!
 
Excellent! Thanks for the update. The more you guys do it..........It'll be a piece of cake!
 
I am the one that pulls it on the trailer (wife).  We seem to have gotten much better these last few loads.  Once I have the front up correctly and we see the back end drifting, I turn my motor the opposite direction of the float and just give it enough boost to get it straightened out on the back side.  Husband pulls up and we are set to go.  


I think the more we do it, the better we are going to get.  We are quite new.  The first few times I did it, I was a nervous wreck with more experienced boaters at the dock and those waiting to put in / out of water watching.  And our kids know not to say a word while momma is trailering!  


I got it in one shot the last two times, so I feel we are getting better.  The turn at the end to help the drifting has been a game changer for us.
 
Brad&CarrieSS said:
I am the one that pulls it on the trailer (wife).  We seem to have gotten much better these last few loads.  Once I have the front up correctly and we see the back end drifting, I turn my motor the opposite direction of the float and just give it enough boost to get it straightened out on the back side.  Husband pulls up and we are set to go.  


I think the more we do it, the better we are going to get.  We are quite new.  The first few times I did it, I was a nervous wreck with more experienced boaters at the dock and those waiting to put in / out of water watching.  And our kids know not to say a word while momma is trailering!  


I got it in one shot the last two times, so I feel we are getting better.  The turn at the end to help the drifting has been a game changer for us.
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Kudos to you. My wife wouldn't touch anything on the helm, including me!
 
Had the same problem at DeepCreek lake, very windy, added trailer guides and problem solved. best to add them with boat on trailer so they can be adjusted properly.
 
Brad&CarrieSS said:
 The first few times I did it, I was a nervous wreck with more experienced boaters at the dock and those waiting to put in / out of water watching.
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The best thing you can do is ignore the onlookers. No one can give you any grief for taking your time and getting it done. Good for you for trying and working to get better.
 
I'm with prd3hnt. Take your time to get the job done right and safely. The only thing I get peeved about is when someone gets the boat almost into the water, stops, and then starts loading their junk from the tow vehicle to the boat, or in reverse, when they unload the boat as soon as they get the boat on the trailer.


Always do loading and unloading in a zone that is not blocking the boat ramp for others. Just my $.02.
 
Spoiledrotten said:
I'm with prd3hnt. Take your time to get the job done right and safely. The only thing I get peeved about is when someone gets the boat almost into the water, stops, and then starts loading their junk from the tow vehicle to the boat, or in reverse, when they unload the boat as soon as they get the boat on the trailer.


Always do loading and unloading in a zone that is not blocking the boat ramp for others. Just my $.02.
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Agree 100%. In Virginia at our old marina the owner made damn sure that the ramp ran smooth and nobody loaded/unloaded at the ramp. Seen him chew many people out and get them moving.....
 
myv10 said:
Had the same problem at DeepCreek lake, very windy, added trailer guides and problem solved. best to add them with boat on trailer so they can be adjusted properly.
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Hey myv10... what trailer guides did you end up getting?
 
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