Our South Bay's in the water ..... a docking observation!

[Jim in Alabama]

We took delivery on our boat two weeks ago, just in time for a freezing northern front. We've not had much boating weather but took it out today to do the first "full throttle for 3 minutes" part of the break-in routine.

The boat rides and handles really good, lake was really choppy and I was surprised at well it handled it. And it digs in and makes tight turns better than I expected. With me and a half tank of gas it did 31 mph into the wind and 33 with the wind, and that's plenty fast for me, 3,500 rpms is 16-18 mph, perfect for us.

Had a 10-12 mph wind and almost waited til I had a first mate to help with docking but testosterone won out. I learned something .... docking a pontoon boat single handed in the wind is HARD!! I finally got it done but sure glad I had a boat hook.

[BLUE by you]

I agree...this is my 1st toon and I'm amazed on how much of a kite it is in the wind. Enjoy the South Bay!!! Post some pics!

[Bryden24shp]

You'll get used to it and do it like a pro after awhile.

[NonHyphenAmerican]

I have a bow mounted trolling motor that works great as a Bow Thruster when docking the boat on windy days.

Which in Kansas is frequent.

With my 22 footer, I've discovered that any time the winds are 15 mph and higher, it's not as pleasant and is a real bear to dock.

Below 15 and it's no problem to enjoy the day.

[evinrude2stroke]

I had a 2006 18fter that I mastered for 10 years. Last summer I bought a new 2016 20fter, I guess maybe it's the added length or the higher fencing but it's a b*tch to dock...forget about it on windy days. Its basically embarrassing.

[BobG]

After at least 100 dockings, in all conditions (including moonless nights, and horrible cross-winds), I'm finally getting the hang of it. When we're tied up in our slip, and I see somebody coming in, and the wind is up, I always grab my boat hook, to be there for an assist. The Admiral says I'm a good boy-scout. I just know how much of a help it is when somebody is there to help ME into my slip!

[mpilot]

If you think it's fun to dock a pontoon in a wind, imagine docking this in a nice stiff cross breeze. I had practice driving a friend's houseboat the last couple of years which helped. Basically I look for a slip when we go to a restaurant or somewhere on the lake with plenty of margin for error and line it up to let the wind blow me into the dock rather than fighting it. The fun part is in our marina we have an end slip with another boat 2 feet in front of us so there is basically zero margin for error. Those rare times the wind is blowing us away from the dock it's all I can do to get the nose on the dock and pull it in by hand. Coming from V-hull's it was a learning curve both in the way that a pontoon catches the wind but also how it responds to throttle controls around the dock.

For those new boaters I suggest getting a friend and spending a little bit of time doing touch and go's from different angles at a dock when you first get the boat to see how it handles.

[Mucho Gusto]

I had an open bow v bottom boat for 20 years prior to switching to a Tritoon. Definitely took a little time to get used to, but I'm pretty good now. Our lake is infamous for crosswinds at the ramp, but I (knock on wood) usually get it the first time. Our trailer is made well and the guide post help tremendously. Have never had to winch, just a simple powerload. These toons are definitely like parachutes, but the one piece of advice is that is much easier to load with the Biminis closed.

[JohnO]

[quote="Jim in Alabama"] I learned something .... docking a pontoon boat single handed in the wind is HARD!! I finally got it done but sure glad I had a boat hook.[/quote]

The first day I put the boat in the slip we had a 30MPH cross wind with gusts of 40. I had a slip between the two piers with only about 20 feet of extra space beyond the length of my boat.

It took me on the boat, my father in law and 4 other people on the dock to get the stupid thing into the slip. I pulled close enough where they could grab it and we muscled it in.

I was thinking "Oh No! I just wasted 3K on a slip that I can't get in to"

The next day I came out and did 8 hours of docking practice. IN the slip, back out to the big water, and back into the slip. and repeat. and repeat, and repeat.

After that I had it down pretty good. I've got a 10' wide slip and put some small bumpers on the corners. Usually I can just line up and let the wind move mw crosswise into proper position (It really is remarkably easy once you get the hang of it) and if it's exceptionally nasty out I put one of my tubes against the bumper and use that as a pivot to guide me in.

7 years now and NO scratches (except one that I got the first year) on my boat from docking.

Get out and get some practice in. You can do it.

[Bamaman]

I drive my boat into the wind before turning into my boathouse in a cross wind. No coasting works in windy conditions.

I also power load and unload my boat. It's really easy when coming in to a boat trailer to get the front end tied up and the boat go 90 degrees on you.

[Jim in Alabama]

I knew I wasn't the only one!! I know it'll get better with practice. I've owned fishing boats all my adult life, aluminum deep Vs were tricky too but much lighter and I didn't mind banging 'em into stuff!

We're building a wet slip this summer which will be better but for now our current situation is a challenge. Our dock faces east, 35' long with a flag on the south side ..... so the boat has to be on the north side. When the wind kicks up here it's generally coming in from southeast. I can't baby it straight in, wind takes the stern away. I've not been brave enough yet to power it in and hit the brakes ... or approach from the northeast and turn it in. My plan is to drop a couple of bouys and practice that move in open water. Hopefully I can get through this without banging things up too bad!

[Jim in Alabama]

...... but in the meantime I won't be taking it out solo again when the winds are kicked up!

[mpilot]

The thing I've noticed about a pontoon is that you can give it a little gas in reverse with the wheel locked out and it will go the direction of the wheel more than backwards. You can come in hot, cut the wheel hard after dropping out of gear and slam it in reverse and it goes where you steer it. It is also nice to be able to turn circles backwards in both directions when my vhull stern drive couldn't do that well.

I will say a friend got a side shift unit for his houseboat and will probably get one for his pontoon at some point and it's nice to have. It's not something you need everyday but nice to have in your back pocket. On the houseboat with twins you can walk the boat almost dead sideways even in a moderate win. On the pontoons I've seen it helps to bring the front around and then you tuck it out of the way. When he puts it in I'll be sure to review for everyone. We all run either half or full enclosures in the late fall, winter, and early spring so it's even harder to dock than a normal pontoon and he will get the use out of it.