Nosedive!

[Clowntoon]

Hi. Hoping I can get some help on a nosedive.
We were on Lake George when a storm rolled in so we were speeding to shore when our pontoon took a nosedive. We all jumped back and engine was cut so we came out of it without a major problem.
We did realize that the front ladder was left unfolded down by the last guy out of the water before we took off for land.
Could the ladder have caused that dive or is it more likely the weight distribution and chop?
Thank you! I look forward to your thoughts.

 

[harringtondav]

Hi. Hoping I can get some help on a nosedive.
We were on Lake George when a storm rolled in so we were speeding to shore when our pontoon took a nosedive. We all jumped back and engine was cut so we came out of it without a major problem.
We did realize that the front ladder was left unfolded down by the last guy out of the water before we took off for land.
Could the ladder have caused that dive or is it more likely the weight distribution and chop?
Thank you! I look forward to your thoughts.

The ladder probably caused drag which would have pulled the bow down some. But with too many people sitting forward it probably tipped the scale.

A few weeks ago I saw a pontoon start to submarine in calm water at the starboard corner. Simple weight distribution was the problem. This was was a shorter pontoon loaded to capacity with a beefy guy on that corner. They moved back and all was well.

 

[HotTommy]

The good news is that two of the things on your list are easily fixed. The bad news is that many nose dives come from traveling faster than flotation from the logs can react. ... Think of it this way. When a conventional boat is moving fast and planing above the water, most of the lift keeping the boat out of the water is provided not by the bouyancy of the boat displacing water, but by the surface action of the bottom of the boat interacting with the surface of the water. Many (most?) pontoon boats do not plane and are lifted solely by the bouyancy of water displaced by the logs. As the front of the boat encounters a wave, the logs do not begin providing additiional lift until the water level rises around the log. After that happens there is a time lag before the added upward lift can move the boat upward a significant distance. Therefore, if you encounter a large wave moving fast, the boat will not likely rise quickly enough to keep the wave from breaking above the deck. ... The solution is to anticipate large waves early enough to slow down, or cross then at an angle that effectively makes them pass your boat more slowly.

 

[Clowntoon]

Thanks Tommy. Makes sense. Everyone thinks it’s the guys fault for leaving the ladder down. Sounds like weight and speed more likely.

 

[JGator]

Hi. Hoping I can get some help on a nosedive.
We were on Lake George when a storm rolled in so we were speeding to shore when our pontoon took a nosedive. We all jumped back and engine was cut so we came out of it without a major problem.
We did realize that the front ladder was left unfolded down by the last guy out of the water before we took off for land.
Could the ladder have caused that dive or is it more likely the weight distribution and chop?
Thank you! I look forward to your thoughts.

Hi, is this the same Lake George on the St John's river?

 

[Sea Rider]

For me was all about a correct deck weight distribution, chop and the speed the toon was running at. That's why is mandatory to know well in advance how your boat will react to a bad deck load distribution in different boating scenarios to be aware of them...

Happy Boating​