pulling a skier

[ron nh]

hey all, do you guys think an 18 footer with 90hp, tri-toon with underskin & strakes will pull a skier? I don't know exact top speed as I have not bought yet. I think it should get skier up just not sure if it would be fast enough to enjoy.thanks

[RcgTexas]

I would be surprised if it wouldn't! speed would be determined by load and weight of skier, but I think it would be adequate.
just

[Blessed]

hey all, do you guys think an 18 footer with 90hp, tri-toon with underskin & strakes will pull a skier? I don't know exact top speed as I have not bought yet. I think it should get skier up just not sure if it would be fast enough to enjoy.thanks

Everything I've been reading suggests 20 - 24 mph is ideal speed for water skiing... we have a 90hp on a two tube toon without strakes and it runs mid 20's pretty easy according to the GPS pulling a three person tube with one abult on it... you shouldn't have a problem pulling a skier with your boat...

What type of boat is it...? Home built? Factory? Does it have a ski / tow bar on it?

[jimrs]

It also depends on the person on the ski's. You might be able to get a peson of under 120 lbs up and keep him up but I kinda doubt it. Try a tube and see how it slows down when you turn the wheel. Also without a tube it still slows down if you turn too sharp like you will do with a skier. This then makes the boat too slow to stay up on skis.

[ron nh]

The boat is stock,manufacturer is apex. Its is not my boat yet so like I said I don't know exact mph, I guess a better question is how fast does it need to be to ski? I'd be surprised if the boat couldn't do 30mph.People have hit 18mph w/40hp without tri-toon,strakes and underskin.with 50 more hp you'd think it would do 30. so far I have one"I doubt it will" and one"I doubt it won't" anyone else? thanks guys.

[teecro]

The boat is stock,manufacturer is apex. Its is not my boat yet so like I said I don't know exact mph, I guess a better question is how fast does it need to be to ski? I'd be surprised if the boat couldn't do 30mph.People have hit 18mph w/40hp without tri-toon,strakes and underskin.with 50 more hp you'd think it would do 30. so far I have one"I doubt it will" and one"I doubt it won't" anyone else? thanks guys.

I don't know where your getting 18mph w/40hp from as my brand new 18-ft pontoon with a 60 is not doing anywhere near 30mph at best it's breaking 20/21mph.... Pontoons are simply not made for pulling skiers and while some are surely fast enough for it that is not what they are made for. Granted with a 90hp you've got plenty of HP for hauling a bigger load and/or dragging a couple of tubes around and likely one skier but it may not be a lot of fun for them if they are not able to do much cutting or pulling on the rope.

[crookedlaker]

I have a Harris cruiser 20' with a 90 merc
two pontoons and no strakes or underskinning
with four on board we run about 26 mph
i can pull my son in law on two skis, no problem getting up but I have to run full throttle to get him at a
decent skiing speed. It works for us as he is the only one that skis and and only about once every other week or so
he is about 190 lbs


Mike

[ron nh]

It's must be props or other circumstances for mph. people i talk to at dealers and the lakes have widely varying speeds even for the same boats with same set-ups.Ive only had bow riders and bass boats so toons are hard for me to figure out.I am not looking for a ski boat but for 1 or 2 thousand more why not have the option? thanks again.

[sunedog]

As a point of reference, my first pontoon was a 1965 Sylvan 24 footer with 19 inch tubes and a 70 HP Tohatsu. I could get up on a single wooden slalom ski. Had to hold my breath a while, but I could ski behind it. I weighed about 165 lbs. So it doesn't take much to pull a skier.

[rdeterman]

90hp on a 18ft tritoon should pull a skier no problem. You may have to run it wide open to get the ideal skiing speed but its a smaller boat so that helps.

[Bamaman]

I'm sorry, but I've never seen a 18' triton boat with strakes. I cannot help but think it'd be a rough riding, funny handling hull.

We live on a large lake, and we seldom even see 20' pontoons since longer more seaworthy boats are not that much more expensive.

Boats are always compromises of sorts. A Ski Nautique pulls skiers great, but room is limited and you cannot put 8 people in one. A flat bottom jon boat with 40 hp will also pull a skier, but it doesn't pull them well.

Pontoon boats in their inherent design are displacement hulls. Strakes fool those hulls into acting more like planing boats by getting the nosecones out of the water. Pontoon boats' strong suit is room--for carrying people. Efficient running and fast speeds needed for water sports are their weaknesses.

If you're wanting to pull skiers and tow tubers, go with a 22' or 24' tritoon boat (with lifting strakes) and a 150 hp or larger motor. Or, go find yourself a good older Ski Nautique--like the one I've got sitting in my yard.

[STEVEBRENDA]

Our 125 will pull a skier with two skies just fine. A slalom skier is a different story as they pull harder and also need to go faster for much fun. Might be okay for people under 150 pounds.

[dodger]

Also you might want to consider adding some extra length to the ski rope to avoid the turbulence caused by the tritoon. We added 15 ft and it really helped to get you a bit further from the spray. Yes the water is still hard, but not boiling. Plus, when you go out the sides and if the water is calm, you kinda float out there with that extra length. A slower response when cutting in and out. Kinda fun really.

[ron nh]

Apex marine makes an 18' tritoon with strakes. I have not been on one so I can't vouch for the ride.actually they also make A 16 footer with the same toon set up.As I stated earlier I don't want A ski boat,but,If the boat can pull a skier thats a plus. Thanks for all the answers I thought that set up should be capable,not great,but capable.sounds like most agree.