I do remember a pontoon boat we used for a race committee boat that had threaded collars welded on the aft end of each tank and the plugs were fitted with a Schrader valve so we could keep 2-3# pressure on the tanks. Of course we could also siphon water out using a garden hose.
Jim, I have seen many pontoon boats running on the river that seem to have the same angle as yours so it may well be the nature of the beast when shorter than ~30'.
For those familiar with the Lake Wobegon epic there are many adventures with a pontoon boat but none I find quite so memorable as the one with the Lutheran ministers, a cruise and a barbeque pit.

You might fit Schrader valves and pressurize the tubes slightly if you are combating a leak or just wanting to verify you don't have one.

The 70HP 4 stroke is no lightweight either. A 50HP two stroke might actually perform better in this scenario.

quote:

Originally posted by Moonbeam-Express:

While we're on the subject, boats do not turn like an automobile. In a car you turn off the rear wheels as they (typically) don't turn. We all know that when you turn a large RV, the rear wheels will often track inside the front wheel turning radius. A boat, because there is nothing to pin it down with friction, always turns off the center of the boat (assuming no thrusters). This means when you turn, the front and rear are equally offset from the center-line. Many people will abort a docking only to turn too sharp away and have the aft of the boat smack into the dock with force. Think about these dynamics when driving your boat and you will start to have an intuitive understanding of the handling.

Corey,
Great explanation of the difference in how a car turns & how a boat turns. I can see these things in my mind but explaining in words would be impossible.


Tere

quote:

Originally posted by Dana: I'll take a pic tomorrow if I get a chance.

Dana,
Would like to see this pic when you get the chance.
I like the idea of my driving wheels out of the water or on ddry pavement instead of in the water or on wet pavement. I don't think my wheels would ever get to the water because my rear over hang is about 8' & the trailer hitch to the boat is another 5'. But I would be on a hill(the ramp) & I'd hate to get stuck. i may go practice on a monday or tuesday when there wouldn't be a lot of people around.
Tere

quote:

Originally posted by bill h:
Is that the right trailer?

Bill,
Why do you ask?

We think the weight of boat is to heavy @ back but trailer is rated for 3240lbs. Trailer 1000lbs, boat 1800lbs, motor 378lbs., & misc 100lbs.

This trailer was modified to fit a pontoon. We bought out another couples share of boat after they moved to FL. We now share w/other couple who brought boat down from Ohio where it sat for a while. They bought it for a song & this was the trailer that it was sold with. The wheels are smaller than the trailer calls for since the pontoon boards were added the bigger tires would have rubbed. These rub but only when it hits a big bump. I'm going to raise the trailer about 1/2" with some spacers on the u-bolts.
Tere

quote:

Originally posted by Moonbeam-Express: I'm not sure adding that 700lbs of center pontoon will do the trick, but who knows? Start by getting a marina to prop your boat for proper RPMs.

Corey,
The pontoon water glide only weighs 130lbs.
Tere

quote:

Originally posted by Jim and Tere:

quote:

Originally posted by bill h:
Is that the right trailer?

Bill,
Why do you ask?

It just looks a little skimpy. My boat trailer experience involves long distances and high temps, so I might be a little fussy.

quote:

Corey,
The pontoon water glide only weighs 130lbs.
Tere

"Additional 684 pounds of floatation using
Coast Guard approved polyurethane foam is
injected into the Glide."

I think I read this wrong in their ad. It must mean the floatation added gives 684 lbs of buoyancy.

I am a little leery of non-professional trailer adaptations. Actually, some factory packages are really skimpy. Bayliner comes to mind. Their trailers were very light.

A woman bought a Bayliner in Bakersfield as a present for her husband. She towed it up to Lake Isabella and put it in the water to drive it over to their lake house and tie it up at the dock so her husband would get a nice surprise. She put it in the water, and started out. It was slow and sluggish.


She tied it up at the dock at the launch place and called the dealer. (This was before cell phones worked up there) The dealer asked her for mph and rpm figures. She went out again and took notes, returned, and called the dealer. He said, "I'll be right up."

When he arrived, they walked down to the dock and went for a ride. He soon said, "Something is seriously amiss. We'll have to pull it out and take it back to the shop. When we get back, I'll hold the boat while you go get the trailer."

She said, "Trailer?"

Bill, was she blonde? see www.snopes.com/humor/jokes/isabella.asp

quote:

Originally posted by Dick Dubbs:
Bill, was she blonde? see www.snopes.com/humor/jokes/isabella.asp

I heard the story from a co-worker whose family had owned property on Lake Isabella since forever. I did accuse him of joshin' me, but he offered to show me the boat next time I visited. I assumed it was true, but never asked for corroboration whenever I was up there.

I did ask if she was blonde, but don't remember the answer.

The story came up during a conversion regarding how we had to watch out for Bayliners. They were usually a first boat for the owner, and were often driven dangerously. Not fast, mind you, just cluelessly.

In so cal, if I sensed a guy wanted to start bragging or playing one-upmanship, I told him my boat was Bayliner. I also used to spin tall tales about my Bayliner that had the V6 replaced with a 383 small block with aluminum heads and a B&M blower. Woofers knew how light a Bayliner was and lived in fear that my Bayliner was faster than their whatever. The truth is, I helped a guy with such a project, and it planed so high that the deep vee of the hull was unstable at speed. It would do a little yaw, then a Dutch roll, and get really scary. We turned it upside down and built up a delta pad at the rear, but it didn't help enough. He finally put the package in a California Performance gull wing hull and had the fastest small block on the river. Later, he put in a Pontiac Big Block and let everyone think it was the same engine. They look very similar. That boat was as light as a potato chip and as fast as a rocket. I was going to buy it, and Susan saw me sitting in it on its trailer and said, "You look silly in that little boat." She wouldn't even climb up to sit in it.

So, there went my chance to have a really super fast boat.

End of thread drift.

quote:

It would do a little yaw, then a Dutch roll, and get really scary

....hit a little swell, come down nose first.....
....instant submarine!

quote:

Originally posted by Dick Dubbs:
....hit a little swell, come down nose first.....
....instant submarine!

I did that with a Glastron GT 160.



You can see that with that long bow and swoopy windshield, spearing a big swell would allow you to test the foam flotation.

It was pretty good.

This was/is our first foray into the boating world, although Tere grew up on the river and drove her Dad's boats. After a summer, I think we've come to a few conclusions:
We really like the water
We like a boat that can hold our kids and
grandkids on (up to 9 people)
We want to go faster, fast enough to water ski
We don't want to spend a ton of money
Therefore, I've been researching deck boats and think we should go in that direction with about a 24' boat with a V-8 arond 230 hp. I've seen some about '98 or '00 in the 10K to 15K range that we could do. Maybe we should sell the pontoon boat and then go in that direction.
Jim

quote:

Maybe we should sell the pontoon boat and then go in that direction.
Jim

ooooooh! "Whatever floats your boat"