Pontoon Raft Off Cruises

[Bamby]

There is one popular pontoon boating pastime utilized in our area that I don't think seen or has ever been discussed here or any other forum I visited for that matter. One thing I'm sure off though is the fact that some of my most memorial memories of my time on the water has been tied off to my friends on a slow float sharing a good time and resources. Here is a poor picture of a small one on our river.

Pontoon Boat Raft Off.jpg (202.29 KiB) Viewed 1686 times

Seeing three or four pontoon boats tied off together is actually pretty common in my boating area but I've seen pontoon boat flotillas involving many, many more. Is this pastime actually uncommon or is it just rarely discussed.. Damn I thing I'm suffering from a bad case of boat withdraw..

[lakerunner]

When we lived at Tenkiller this was our usual group of toons. Have had as many as 12 tied together

[Bamby]

Yea, but that is "anchored" and rafted off something that is seldom done in our boating area we have a "Sandbar" for socials such as that. What I'm referring to is actual under power slow cruising up or down or around whatever river or lake you happen to boat in. We've had a least a dozen boats tied off ourselves as we slowly made our way to some destination on the water. It's really neat to both be a part of or even watch as a flotilla of pontoon boats makes it's way.

In one memorial flotilla at least a dozen pontoon boats were making their way to a party being held on the river just after dark. We could see and watch them from a afar from the banks at the party. They made they're way just downriver from the party dock and did a beautiful semicircle turn and landed beautifully on the end of the dock perfect for tie-off. It was actually something to see, and a lot of additional folks to associate with at one rather nice "birthday party".

[ArkieBoater]

Here is something copied off another boating forum I frequent, very good advise here.



First. Your days as the asshole with a video camera and beads will likely live on. Your days as a drunk should end. Just because your buddy "never gets stopped"...you will.



Biggest thing I can tell you is, learn to drive your boat before your buddies decide you need to take them out.



Make sure you do not buy your marine accessories at Walmart. If Walmart sells a fender like yours then they are not big enough. If you want to be on the party scene...you need bigger fenders than you think...at least 8-10" in diameter minimum and they are not cheap.



You need better dock lines than a cut up ski rope. Make sure you have plenty. (like 6).



You need an anchor. Buy a good Danforth, not what fits in your tiny ski locker up front. A 12lb-14lb will hold a small runabout...no problem. You should have the anchor hooked to 100' of nylon and about 10' of chain.



If you are tying up with a group. Ask, don't assume they want you there.



Have all of your lines (bow, stern and a spring) already to go BEFORE you approach the guy you are rafting up with...same goes with your new oversized fenders...have at least 3 out BEFORE YOU PULL UP. Bad things happen when you are not prepared before you pull up and the guy on the boat next to you with a 10 pack headstart to the day will punch you when you scratch the decal on the side of his beloved '87 Baja.



Your anchor?....Should you ? Yes. not enough people do.

Pay out at least 5:1....7:1 is even better....meaning 10' of water, you need to let out 50-70' of line for it to set and hold properly. So is there a trick to doing this? Damn right. You need to drop an anchor a lot sooner than you think.



Do you want your stern or bow facing the beach? Most will go stern to....reason is the boat faces the wave traffic and the stern is in more shallow water so that you can step on/off more easily. You will need a second anchor to make this one work...buy a small Danforth and all nylon rode for the beach anchor.



Seriously....start practicing now.



Don't let your "friends" :



drink all your beer



dictate your schedule (your boat, your rules)



run your boat for you...if it's not safe...it's your ass on the line...tell them to "sit their drunk asses down".



Have fun. But that is all likely over now that it's your boat.



Not sure if any of this advice pertains to your situation, but it is good advice. I see a lot of people that " just show up" and expect everyone else to help them raft up. It is a lot of fun, when done

properly, and you will minimize damage to your boat and the other boats with at least 2 , probably 3 fenders out......

[Drago]

Looks like something we have been trying to find folks to do on our lake without any success. I've seen a very few folks doing it here but have not wanted to intrude on their fun.

[crspang]

We've done that on several occasions. Our most notable trip is when we raft up and go from the Santee lakes to charleston, SC. It really is an enjoyable time.