First time Pontoon owner

[Marine 1371]

Hi everyone. Just bought a 2016 Bennington with a 70 hp Yamaha. Have had decks boats and cabin cruisers in the past. Any tips?

Thanks!

 

[lakeliving]

Congrats and enjoy it! Wind can add complexity when docking so go slow and practice your approach.

 

[2026 S20]

That's certainly good advice above. My wife & I are also new boat owners this year, and we have a boat lift, and when it is breezy, it can be hard to get between the posts (in particular the brackets at the bottom). Don't be afraid to back up and make multiple attempts to dock if that's what it takes. I have a scratch on my starboard side pontoon that was of my own doing.
Also, enjoy your time on the water with your family or friends. They are awesome for entertaining. My brother has a speed boat, I always said I'd never get a pontoon boat, but now I have, and think they are the best for a day on the water.

 

[Marine 1371]

Thanks for the comments! Haven't loaded it back on the trailer yet, I imagine its a little different than my previous boats

 

[lakeliving]

Get some tall loading guides that go on the outside of the trailer. Makes it so much easier.

 

[LaurencetheAdventurer]

And if you frequent windy days, or want the BEST - toon loading guides prevent the front from being blown off the trailer while loading, especially on deep water ramps. ON Windy ways, this allows me to approach the trailer from any angle, get a pontoon slightly into the trailer, then use that corner guide to spin the boat straight and slide it in, while my interior guides prevent the front end from being flown off the trailer.

 

[Marine 1371]

Those trailer guides look sweet, where dis you get them.

 

[LaurencetheAdventurer]

Those trailer guides look sweet, where dis you get them.

I saw something similar on an old trailer auto hitch design, did a bunch of research, then had them added to my trailer. The rear is just a few inches lower than the underside deck. The slop then allows for underside lights or winch, but more importantly the slanted horizontal guide sits right at water level +/- so the toons have no where to go but straight in - no matter the wind.

 

[FIRE UP]

And if you frequent windy days, or want the BEST - toon loading guides prevent the front from being blown off the trailer while loading, especially on deep water ramps. ON Windy ways, this allows me to approach the trailer from any angle, get a pontoon slightly into the trailer, then use that corner guide to spin the boat straight and slide it in, while my interior guides prevent the front end from being flown off the trailer.

Well Sir,
I'm not too sure I'd agree with the "Goal posts" as I call them for retrieving the pontoon/tri-toon back onto the trailer. Oh, I'm not saying they're bad, I'm just not agreeing they're the best. Yes, they work, in most situations. But not always. Case in point. We'd purchased our '14 RCL25 Benny with the Yamaha F-350 5.3L 350HP back just over 5 years ago. We took if for its maiden voyage on a Saturday on yours and our lake Havasu. BIG MISTAKE!!!! That is, to venture out on a weekend in that ZOO on a weekend. Annnnyway, after a few hours of attempting a pleasant time in the boat, we, like we've done with many of our other boats in the past, head into the boat ramp around 1:30-2:00 so we could beat the drunken idiots that pile up the ramps (all of them on the weekends) trying to load their boats.

Our normal procedure for this operation is, The CEO drops me off at the dock and I go retrieve the truck and trailer. Depending just what the situation is and how crowded the dock area is, she might just hover around in circles 'till I actually back the trailer into the water. Or, she might just remain at the dock. Our boat trailer came equipped with the "goal posts" (for lack of a better term than guides). This was the first boat trailer (out of six boats and trailers in our lifetime) that had those goal posts. I'd always wondered just how well they helped in loading the boat on the trailer. Well, this was our first experience with them. She, the CEO, has had plenty of experience on docking any of our boats back onto the trailers over the years. This was a bit intimidating to her because 1, it's a different boat, 2, it's not nearly as easy as loading a V-shaped hull boat on a trailer and 3, as is quite typical of Havasu, there's WIND gusts here and there.

Well, the trailer was in the water as far as I thought it needed to be. Those guides (goal posts) at least on ours, are constructed of a galvanized steel pipe, encompassed by some black ABS pipe with a yellow cap on the top. The ABS pipe "floats" as the trailer travels deeper into the water. That does two things. 1. it allows for the ABS pipe to remain at a decent height so the boat pilot can see them while the galvanized pipe, emerges deeper but, not all the way. Well, she was doing quite well in inching that boat up to the guides at a very, very slow forward speed. She'd almost touched the left one when all of a sudden, as can and frequently does happen in Havasu, a gust of wind appeared out of nowhere and, caused that barge to veer to the left hard, with no input from her. When it did that, that left pontoon veered right into that guide and bent it and bent it.

Guess what, that ABS SNAPPED OFF like a piece of balsa wood and the rest of the ABS tubing dropped below the water line and what remained was the SHARP EDEGE of the top of the galvanized pipe. Guess what happened? Yep, you guessed it, a nice decent GOUGE in our new to us, 24 hours total, 2014 Bennington's left pontoon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You talk about being pissed off!!!!! This was our very first retrieval of this boat and damage was done! We'd never ever had anything like that happen, EVER in 25 years of boating with all our other boats. And we both have plenty of experience in launching and retrieving boats in all kinds of conditions.

Well, we finally got it back onto the trailer and licked our wounds and headed back to the barn. I was so pissed I couldn't even think on the way home. I'd repaired that ABS pipe and was ready for another day on the water at sometime in the close future. Well, we ventured out on another day and guess what happened, we did the same EXACT thing only on other side with the other guide and other outer pontoon!!!! This time it was a few wakes from your typical air heads that come into the ramp area too fast and caused some pretty fair wakes that obviously caused the boat to veer in the wrong direction right when we were inside the line of the two guides.

Well, needless to say, BOTH of those guides are off the trailer and are hanging and stored way up high so I don't have to look at them. I have since installed a few things to help and assist in retrieving the boat back onto the trailer. The first was shorter, plastic sleeved guides just off center of the trailer cross members which will guide the center toon onto the trailer. Those work pretty darn good. The second component I installed was to say the least a bit on the costly side. I installed the "Side shift" stern thruster.

I have to say, without a doubt, that's the BEST assistance in not only retrieving the boat back onto the trailer but also, to assist in docking or even when you're in a tight situation, like a cove or maybe the channel when it get's a bit over crowded like it does. Just a touch on that toggle will jossle the rear of the boat directly to the left or the right almost instantly. Or even just slow cruising the channel. I just touch that toggle and the boat keeps a dead-on straight heading with me even touching the steering wheel. And in just about any cove or places like Copper canyon or Steamboat, just a momentary touch of that toggle and that almost 26' boat just drifts right back into its straight head position. I love it.

As for retrieval of the boat onto the trailer. This part is waaaaaay cool. I back the trailer into the water to the appropriate depth. Then, I climb on the tongue of the trailer and sit on the top edge of the tail gate. She's approaching the trailer. If she's starting to drift one way or the other, I have a REMOTE for that Side Shift hanging around my neck. I simply push the appropriate button on that remote and I'm now controlling the rear of the boat FROM MY POSITION, on the tail gate of the truck!!! She's basically handling and steering the front of the boat and typically does quite well but on occasion, things happen as they do, and she needs a tiny bit of help from me in my remote location from the boat.

Side shift sells both stern and bow thrusters. I figured at the time of purchase, the stern thruster would be sufficient to most, if not all situations where additional help in boat stabilization/trajectory would be needed. I have since wish I'd have "sprung" for the whole package of stern and bow thrusters.

Incredibly sorry for this long post but I just wanted to get the point across about my experiences with those "guides" or goal posts as I call them. Again, yes, they do work, if all other factors are not necessarily influencing the boats trajectory back onto the trailer. The Side shift stern thruster, as stated was pretty darn costly but, I'd do it again in heartbeat based on just how valuable it's been in many, many situations. Not everyone can afford such an "enhancement" to aid in a boats ability to counter any slow movement issues. I had to think about long and hard.
Scott

 

[Jack M]

I read it in it's entirety.
My question is, how bad are your toons ? Is it cosmetic or need some work done ?

 

[FIRE UP]

I read it in it's entirety.
My question is, how bad are your toons ? Is it cosmetic or need some work done ?

Hey Jack M,
Well Sir, it's amazing that we have oh, maybe 350 pictures of the boat in just about every aspect possible. But, I can't find any definitive ones of the damage of the toons. As far as cosmetic or let's say "structural" damage, no, the damage was definitely cosmetic but somewhat deep cosmetic. When we decided to have the toons polished, the gent who initially did the polishing, sanded every inch of those toons for 3.5 days for 8 hours a day before, he eased into the polishing stages. He asked me about the damage to both toons and how much I wanted him to try and "sand out" those deep gouges. He stated he could eventually sand them out but it would put those sections the toons dangerously thin.

I told him he'd sanded enough even though they were still fairly visible. But, when he'd done the polishing, it actually blended the remainder of the gouges in quite well. They're still there but, it's one of those things that you have to look right at it (them) in order to see the remainder simply because the toons are basically mirrors.
Scott

P.S. In the pic below, if you can possibly zoom in, and zoom in fairly close, you can see the marks. In the reflection, you see pavement, some terrain with bush etc. and you see sky. The damage is in the "terrain" section of the reflection. It starts around a foot or two from the first weld, and continues until about 18" or so from the second weld. I know, know, if it's that hard to see, then it's minimal. Yes, it has been taken down to minimal. But it wasn't like that when it first happened. You could actually cut your fingers from the shards that were protruding from the gouge, it was that bad. I was totally amazed at how well the sanding and polishing did to alleviate at least 50% or 60% of the depth of those gouges.
Scott

 

[LaurencetheAdventurer]

Thank you Scott! OK - you have me here - I have watched that side shift product for a few years - everyone that has it LOVES it. Agree, once you are going in - might as well get both stern & bow! I did not realize there was a remote - BONUS! I do stand by the center guides - they keep the front end from Blowing off the trailer, especially on deeper ramps. Agree, I have broken a couple of those ABS pipes (user error), but the pipe underneath mine don't have sharp edges and are actually painted. Then, I also don't worry much about the toons - my dock is terrible and I have several battle scars - certainly your bright and shinny toons are very sexy! Headed up this weekend, finally! Crazy year.....

 

[FIRE UP]

Thank you Scott! OK - you have me here - I have watched that side shift product for a few years - everyone that has it LOVES it. Agree, once you are going in - might as well get both stern & bow! I did not realize there was a remote - BONUS! I do stand by the center guides - they keep the front end from Blowing off the trailer, especially on deeper ramps. Agree, I have broken a couple of those ABS pipes (user error), but the pipe underneath mine don't have sharp edges and are actually painted. Then, I also don't worry much about the toons - my dock is terrible and I have several battle scars - certainly your bright and shinny toons are very sexy! Headed up this weekend, finally! Crazy year.....

Hey Laurence,
My post was surely not to downplay those guides. There's a zillion boat trailers outfitted with them and if I were to guess, I'd say that way more than the majority of boaters who have/use those type guides are quite happy. And I do really like their intent for sure. And you and I both know there's multiple ways to build "guides" for pontoon/tri-toon boat trailers. A buddy of mine had full length carpeted 2" x 6"s on edge about 2.5' - 3' high that guided the center toon and that worked quite well. Once that center toon was anywhere near inside those two 2" x 6"s, that boat had no choice but to lock-on to dead center all the rest of the way in to the bump stops.

And yes, I goofed up (imagine that!!!!) when I ordered the Side shift stern thruster. I should have bit the bullet and sprung for both. While that stern thruster is fantastic in 98% of its effectiveness and operation, it's the 2% that can be a tad bit frustrating. And that is, when you hit the toggle for the rear to swing in whatever direction you're aiming for, since the boat is not on PAVEMENT, the front end automatically pivots in the opposite direction! For instance, if I'm approaching a dock, say the one at the marina in prep for putting it back on the trailer, I'm aiming at the dock at about 1 mph and about a 30 degree angle to the dock. If I hit that toggle to swing the back of the boat to the left so I can parallel park the boat, the front end will automatically aim away from the dock.

It's by far not the end of the world. You learn to live with its quirks. If I had both bow and stern units, I could throw that boat into neutral as I approached the dock and just park it with the two thrusters. And, in reverse, If we were leaving the dock after I'd parked the truck and trailer, I could simply crab walk that boat away from the dock for as far as I deemed necessary and, then toggle those two thrusters in opposite directions and basically spin that large barge completely 180 degrees in its own length without touching the throttle and shifter. And when it comes time to line up for heading onto the trailer, I (or the CEO) could approach that trailer at any angle we wanted, and with a couple touches on each toggle, it would automatically align that boat dead-on with the trailer and never use the throttle or shifter. Yes, there's plenty of value in having and using both the stern and bow thrusters. It's only MONEY!
Scott

 

[FIRE UP]

Marine 1371,
With all this talk about trailer guides, "goal posts" and other various methods of properly retrieving a boat onto a trailer, we seemed to have veered off the runway track of your asking for "tips". A pontoon or "tri-toon" (for the most part, very similar in operational tactics) is in many cases, is a bit different in operational characteristics. A boat, ANY boat, floats in the water, correct? A pontoon or tri-toon has tendency to float on top of the water and as such, it has tendency to be more susceptible natural and man-made influences like wakes and wind. Your basic V-hulled boat can be influenced by gusts of wind but not too harshly, depending.

Whereas, a pontoon/tri-toon can easily be influenced by even the slightest wind/gust(s). So, if you're in a tighter cove or, a tight situation at the boat ramp where lots of boats are loading and unloading onto and off of trailers, and the wind picks up, things can get out of hand phenomenally quickly. This kind of situation can and often does happen and while all boats are tough to be quickly manipulated in tight scenarios, a pontoon/tri-toon is even harder. This is not to discourage you, just to let you know about its characteristics. Practice, practice, practice in handling her in tighter situations so you'll be at least somewhat prepared.

They are in mine and the CEO's opinion, one of the best type of boats to have, even with their idiosyncrasies for general boating, entertaining, roominess, and more. Neither one of us agree we'd never go back to a V-hulled boat. If for some reason we feel this boat has worn out its appealing traits, we're done with boating.
Scott

 

[Marine 1371]

Thank you, much appreciated!

 

[DVW]

This thread has turned into a side shift promotion. Will add my two cents on boat landing on a trailer without side shift. I have broken the PVC tubes and bent the uprights. More likely to happen with steep ramps. Less likely to happen with experience. All boats under the right conditions have rear side shifters. Many of us have side shifted the stern while beaching a boat. With the bow beached the stern can be shifted to the side when propeller thrust is turned to the side. The same skill can be used to keep the boat centered on the uprights. Once the bow is landed on the trailer bunks the stern can be shifted in the same manner. The boat can then be lined up with the trailer. On a windy day the trailer should not be too deep in the water. The bow should run up on the bunks shortly after it passes between the uprights. This will not be a extreme power launch. Just enough power to advance a short distance while keeping the boat centered within the uprights. Communication and coordination with vehicle driver is key. When the boat stops advancing the vehicle driver slowly advances another increment while the boat driver controls stern position side to side. Practice boat side shift with the boat beached. Practice first focusing forward and then look back to focus rearward. Do this because it is easy to get turned around when you look backwards. Hope this is helpful.

 

[FIRE UP]

This thread has turned into a side shift promotion. Will add my two cents on boat landing on a trailer without side shift. I have broken the PVC tubes and bent the uprights. More likely to happen with steep ramps. Less likely to happen with experience. All boats under the right conditions have rear side shifters. Many of us have side shifted the stern while beaching a boat. With the bow beached the stern can be shifted to the side when propeller thrust is turned to the side. The same skill can be used to keep the boat centered on the uprights. Once the bow is landed on the trailer bunks the stern can be shifted in the same manner. The boat can then be lined up with the trailer. On a windy day the trailer should not be too deep in the water. The bow should run up on the bunks shortly after it passes between the uprights. This will not be a extreme power launch. Just enough power to advance a short distance while keeping the boat centered within the uprights. Communication and coordination with vehicle driver is key. When the boat stops advancing the vehicle driver slowly advances another increment while the boat driver controls stern position side to side. Practice boat side shift with the boat beached. Practice first focusing forward and then look back to focus rearward. Do this because it is easy to get turned around when you look backwards. Hope this is helpful.

Weeeeelllll I wouldn't say this thread is PROMOTING side shift thrusters, not at all. The Side Shift thruster is but ONE of many ways to augment control of boat, specifically a pontoon/tri-toon in MANY slow or NO speed conditions. And without a doubt, those who have bit the bullet and installed one, specifically the stern unit, ALL wish they'd have done it light years before they did. "All boats under the right conditions have side shifters" Huh???????? As far as I can determine, you're talking about the PROP!!!!!!!!! OF COURSE the prop will propel the stern of the boat to either side, depending which way the steering wheel is turned and to how much. But, due to the dynamics, design and limitations to ALL stern drives and outboards, you can only turn an outdrive or outboard so much to control side to side movement. But, at the same time, because of those limitations, that prop is STILL propelling the boat FORWARD somewhat, it's a given. With the Side Shift Stern Thruster, there is NO forward movement at all.

Don't get me wrong, most of your points are valid and work to some degree. Skill does play a part in all this, no doubt about it. But, BUT, wind and even slight breezes can and often do wreak havoc on even the most experienced boaters when slow approaching a trailer. I've had it happen numerous times as well as I've witnessed very experienced (50 year boaters) also FIGHT to put their toon boats onto a trailer. And that's a mildly shallow boat ramp. "On a windy day the trailer should not be too deep in the water" Well, on ANY day, the trailer should not be too deep in the water. It doesn't have to be a windy day. Boat ramp steepness, and the depth of the trailer in the water surely have influences on just when the boat first touches the bunks. Even if you're dead on straight when this "touch down" occurs, we have often experienced wind gusts and or wakes from other boats either entering the water or entering their trailer TOO fast and since only the front of the boat is touching the bunks, the rear can drift to one side or the other. And using the PROP to try and guide the rear of the boat may, or may not work because as stated, you can't turn sharp enough for pure sideways movement and therefore, you'll be also thrusting the boat somewhat forward too.

And is and or when that happens, you can propel yourself right off the bunks, even though it might be mild throttle. Then, THEN, you have to re-approach. I've seen this soooooo many times. I have watched a good friend, who's been a boater for decades, get incredibly frustrated after multi-attempts at docking his 28' tri-toon onto the trailer. He's had multiple V-bottom boats which he could dock onto the trailer in his sleep but a pontoon or tri-toon is a whooooole different animal. He's had side goal posts, center toon guides and more added to his trailer but, it still can be a bear at times. Yes, experience, luck and NO WIND and no wakes, can provide a very pleasant trailer/boat retrieval without an issue. And that can happen quite often. But, if any other influence suddenly appears, all bets are off.
Scott