getting out of the water

[davey25]

Question...i have a pontoon boat that does approx 20 mph, will it be easier to pull a waterskier or wakeboarder, dont have to do any crazy tricks just looking to get my wife up she likes to slalom. What about the rope. does a stretchless rope pull a person easier out of the water?...what it all comes down to is my limited capabilities of my boat...

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: getting out of the water

Well, pulling up a wakeboarder is probably the easiest, followed by a skier on a pair of skis. Your wife *might* be able to get up on a slalom deep water start, but it'd be far easier just to get up on two and drop one. 20mph is awful slow for slalom skiing though, most run well above 25mph (I prefer 28-30 for recreational slalom).

 

[oldjeep]

Re: getting out of the water

I can't imagine slalom at 20MPH even if you could get up. You would have nothing to push against in the turns, the water is too soft at that speed.

 

[skibrain]

Re: getting out of the water

Rope is not a factor. Limited capabilities of your boat.
If 20 mph is your top speed, I really doubt you have enough power to pull up either a wakeboard or skier.

No way on slalom.

 

[oldjeep]

Re: getting out of the water

Rope is not a factor. Limited capabilities of your boat.
If 20 mph is your top speed, I really doubt you have enough power to pull up either a wakeboard or skier.

No way on slalom.

You can get a wakeboard up behind a rowboat

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: getting out of the water

Rope is not a factor. Limited capabilities of your boat.
If 20 mph is your top speed, I really doubt you have enough power to pull up either a wakeboard or skier.

No way on slalom.

Kind of depends on skier weight. You can probably pull 105lbs women and kids up on skis, and possibly slalom (not a deep water start). However, slalom would be a chore to stay up on and certainly wouldn't allow you to cut/turn. I've seen plenty of kids and tiny women skiing behind pontoons at ~20mph, but never witnessed a slalom skier.

 

[davey25]

Re: getting out of the water

so the consensus would be the wakeboard to have the most fun possible?

 

[oldjeep]

Re: getting out of the water

so the consensus would be the wakeboard to have the most fun possible?

I don't know how much fun it will be since a pontoon doesn't really throw much wake, but you should at least be able to get up on it.

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: getting out of the water

I don't know how much fun it will be since a pontoon doesn't really throw much wake, but you should at least be able to get up on it.

Agreed. I don't know what you mean by "fun". Personally I think if you can get up on two skis, it's more fun than wakeboarding with no wake, but that's just me. What about a tube?

 

[HarryHarley]

Re: getting out of the water

Try all versions described, ya just never know until you try. Half the fun is in the experimentation. Let us know what worked for you.

 

[skibrain]

Re: getting out of the water

When we've been limited by low HP on a pontoon or small boat we've had fun with a home-made aquaplane. This one is about 32" wide by 66" long. It planes at about 6 mph with my little 6 yr old (at the time) son 11-12 mph for adults.

Might be something to try.

 

[h20skiluvr]

Re: getting out of the water

I like skibrain's idea best, although you may have to ask him to borrow it! In all seriousness though, I used to pull my son on his wakeboard at about 20-25mph- he was about 130lbs then. I've seen men ski on two behind a pontoon, but slalom is probably not happening. I'd recommend the wakeboard to skis. Have fun and get out there, play around with it and see what works best!