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Embarrassing Question: Can an alligator climb aboard a pontoon boat while the boat is out on the wat

Eagle 1

Eagle 1

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Although my wife and I are planning to retire on Lake Norman in North Carolina, some of the southern lakes are also beautiful.  But whenever we look at the maps of southern lakes and consider retiring at a more southern lake, alligators come to mind.  And so I was wondering what happens when a pontoon boater boats on Lake Tarpon, for instance, or any other lake with alligators in it.  When one comes to rest and turns off the engine in the middle of the lake, can an alligator climb onto the pontoon boat?  My first reaction when I thought of this was, "No, that can't happen.  The pontoons raise the deck too high off the water.  And my future Benny will be a tri-toon and I expect it might be even higher off the water."  Still, the question nags at me and so I thought I'd ask my fellow Benny owners if they've ever experienced an alligator looking for a way to climb onto their pontoon boat to eat the passengers.  
 
By the way, what does "PAD" really stand for?  ("Pontoon Addiction?" or "Pontoon And DeckBoat?")  Please forgive my ignorance.
 
Can't help you with the alligator question (we don't have them on Lake Norman). PAD= Pull a Derrick. He's had 3 new boats in 4 years.    :D
 
3 new boats in 4 years?  WOW!  I must have missed that blog.  But "Way-to-go Derrick!"
 
I'd say its pretty doubtful. I think a gator is almost as afraid of you as you are of them.

I really don't believe they would jump that high, not that they can't, but they won't.

Plus if you have the doors closed, no worries .......... If you do get in a bind, call Swamp Man .... Lol !!!!!

Yeah, and PAD is contagious. There's a couple people on the site that have contracted it .......

There's no cure, just goes into remission till the next model year ......
 
I just went on youtube and entered "Alligator climbs onto a boat"  and low and behold I found a video entitled "Alligator tries to climb into airboat".  Watch the video, especial between 40 and 47 seconds, (46 seconds is the most scary).  I do not believe that my future pontoon boat deck will be as high as the railing on this man's boat.  So if the alligator can reach this postion on a boat with a high rail, then perhaps he could also climb into a pontoon boat as well.  Of course, I would never take a pontoon boat to wherever this scene was filmed and I surely would never tempt alligators by feeding them.  But I think Lake Marion has alligators and I wonder if such an event could ever happen on Lake Marion.

 
What that guy is doing in the video is totally illegal. Feeding gators can get you in a whole lot of trouble here in Florida. We have gators here but they are more afraid of us than we are of them. I just went kayaking last week in an area that has large gators and the gators dove under the water when they saw us coming. I would not worry about a gator climbing in your pontoon.
 
Yeah, I watched a show recently that showed people feeding the gators. Game commission caught them, sadly, the gator had to be destroyed. The game officer said, once they feed them, they expect it so it endangers future visitors to the gators habitat. Maybe they should just shoot the people and feed them to the gator first, so at least it enjoys a "last meal". Humans can be pretty stupid ...... SMH ....
 
     I lived most of my life in Florida, born there, as was my great grandfather and great grandmother and those in between. We all fished and boated in alligator infested waters all our lives, and it is extremely rare to hear of an aggressive alligator. When you consider the number of people now living there, and visiting there, and the number of boats there, well, the odds are pretty slim that it would happen. They don't naturally want to be around people, and if they do you just motor away.

     Alligators are predominately nocturnal, and do most of their feeding at night. They either sun themselves and sleep on a bank, or look for something to eat occasionally during the day. Boats don't look like food. The main reason an alligator becomes fearless of people is food. Feeding an alligator is illegal, and it is just like feeding a bear, a wolf, or any other wild animal. Stupid. The odds of an alligator attempting to climb onto your pontoon boat, assuming you're not feeding it, is so remote that it is just not worth considering. I had more problems with water moccasins trying to get into my canoe when I fished some swampy lakes and small ponds, but few people would want to venture into such areas in a boat with 4-5 inches of freeboard. Alligators and moccasins spend almost all their time near shore where there is cover, and it is easier to corner prey. The odds of getting struck by lightening are many, many times greater than an alligator trying to climb onto your pontoon boat.
 
Thank you Clark and Gail.  That was extremely informative, and very reassuring.  You obviously understand alligators much better than I ever will.  That being said, my wife and I will still be glad to retire further north to Lake Norman, North Carolina where I can hear all about the habits of alligators from a safe distance.  By the way,  I wish you well with your future pontoon boat.  I am also getting a 2014 Benny with an SPS 200 tri-toon package and an F 150 Yamaha, elevated Helm and 4 step ladder and HD rub rail.  Our panels will be bronze with a blue accent however.  I've not been to Balsam, NC.   What lake will you be boating at?
 
Usually Fontana, but I also go to several other reservoirs: Douglas, just north of us in TN; Lake James just east of us; and Glenville slightly to the south. Very few natural lakes in NC, and none that I know of in the western half. Tough learning to fish these reservoirs though. James is around 200 ft deep, Glenville, though shallower, is the highest lake east of the Mississippi, and Fontana is 485 ft deep with 45 degree shorelines and is the deepest in the east. Growing up in FL the average depth was 10 ft! I do fish other lakes too,  just not as often as these. They are all different, that's for sure. Your pontoon sounds like a similar setup, I'm sure you can't wait either.
 
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I just got back from FL (Harris chain of lakes in Tavares) and there were gators up in the marina. As soon as we got close they would dip under. We ran into a guy with a benny at the dock and he said he grew up there and has never had a problem. He said they swim in the lakes and there are no issues. He did advise that you need to be careful during their mating season though.
 
Can you bow hunt them where you are at I have always wanted to go shoot some of the big alligator gar and and alligator. We have a bar here that serves gator balls and strips really good! I would bet you could make gator jerky also.
 
When we started to look at places to retire years ago we started looking at Florida. But when my wife found out about the alligators...................she was like Oh H--- NO! She just wouldn't be able to ski much less swim in the water that she knew had alligators in it..................I'm willing to bet that if an alligator wanted to get into a pontoon boat regardless of how high it is.............it would be able to..............
 
From an alligator website

Q: Can alligators jump out of the water?
A: Yes, alligators have extremely strong tails that help them swim. The tail acts as a propeller on the alligator and enables the magnificent animal to reach heights equal to its body length out of the water.

but it also does say that 99% of attacks are from provoking and feeding them. I think you're okay, don't get me wrong, pretty sure it would freak the crap out of me the first few times!! Haha
 
Yeah, Derrick, I think I might "soil myself" as well.  LOL
 
lakeliving said:
I just got back from FL (Harris chain of lakes in Tavares) and there were gators up in the marina. As soon as we got close they would dip under. We ran into a guy with a benny at the dock and he said he grew up there and has never had a problem. He said they swim in the lakes and there are no issues. He did advise that you need to be careful during their mating season though.
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Wow. Before that post, I had only ever been worried about being killed by an alligator. Now I have to worry about mating season too???
 
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I thank you all (Carl & Suzi, SemperFi, Looney Toon, Clark & Gail, Andy & Kristina, calamus, Daril, Derrick, and kaydano--I hope I didn't forget anyone) for your input, your advice and your humor and for reassuring me that such an event will never happen even if I do retire to a lake in Florida.  But, while all that is reassuring, I think I'll keep a safe distance away and retire further north to Lake Norman anyway.  But I still appreciate all your input.  
 
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I live on the intercoastal waterway (Merritt Island, Florida) Im a native.. I get out and wade in the banana and indian rivers all the time throwing my cast net for finger mullet (best bait for redfish). I see gators when Im out wading,  I just have someone on the boat keep an eye on them.  Only once has a gator done anything other than move further away if I was moving in their direction. The one time the gator initially went under and resurfaced a few yards close.  He was still a good 30 yards off. I don't think he knew I was there at first.. When he resurfaced and saw/ heard the noise I was making throwing the cast net he went under again and popped up about 50 yards away.. I think the odds of a gator crawling on your boat are about the same as Obama giving up on trying to take my guns.. :lol:
 
Truthfully, I'd have more fear of a Brown Recluse spider bite or a water moccasin than a alligator. At least you can typically see the gator, read up on the spider for something scary ..... But it looks like NC is safe .... For now .....
 
wadeslife said:
I think the odds of a gator crawling on your boat are about the same as Obama giving up on trying to take my guns.. :lol:
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Now that's funny !!!! True, but funny !!
 
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