Pontoon, Canoe or Rowboat?
 

My cousin bought a new pontoon trailer. They got the kind you drive
the pontoons onto. They said with the scissors type they found going
around corners, the pontoons would scrape on the road sometimes. The
downside is that the ramps around here are bad news. You back up on
cement, then it ends. When people load their huge power boats, they
seem to use the motor to put it back on the trailer. That washes the
dirt and gravel away behind that cement. Then you you back into it,
down goes the trailer suddenly.

When I was pulling a 24' Wellcraft with an F-250, that happened to me
and the whole rig just kept going. I thought I was going into the
drink for sure. Couldn't pull the trailer out again, partly because
the ramps gather so much moss. Had to have a farmer pull me out with
his tractor.

So I would wonder about launching a pontoon, getting enough water to
float the thing, even with rollers. From the reading I have been
doing, it seems like a pontoon is the best bet, and to put it on a
permanent mooring location and only trailer it there in the Spring to
put it in once. We live right on a large lake with river access to
about 92 miles of navigable water, so we wouldn't likely get bored
quickly.

On Fri, 15 Dec 2006 03:14:22 GMT, "Tom G"
wrote:


"Chris Lamb" wrote in message
...
We are a couple in our mid 60's trying to decide which boat to get to
enjoy the many lakes and rivers here in Wisconsin. Seems to be pros
and cons to either a pontoon, canoe or rowboat. Benefit for us of a
pontoon is being able to get up and walk around sometimes. Arthritic
bones get stiff. Also the idea of a porta potti is appealing. But we
have a vehicle that can only tow 1800#. Wonder if there is any
collective wisdom out there about what the best way to go might be.
We don't want to water ski, just be ON the water, enjoy the sights, do
some fishing. Taking others along is very low on the list.

The suggestion of a small pontoon boat is excellent. Being 65 and stiff and
clumsy, myself, I can definitely not suggest the canoe. Just sold one after
trying it out once. My 24 ft pontoon is great but I wouldn't suggest it for
trailering. Have to enlist my son and grandson to help me put it in, in the
Spring and out in the Fall. I would definitely look at a "drive on" trailer
for that small pontoon boat. My trailer with the wheels between the floats
is hard to load and wanders all over the road when pulling. Neighbor has a
big pontoon boat with drive on trailer and he pulls it behind his motor home
all over the country without problems. Luckily I only have about 300 yds to
go from the house to the local park ramp. The rest of the Summer it parks
in front of the house at the dock. As for rowboats, I find that when the
boat tips as I get in or out, I tend to lose my balance and likely as not,
end up lying on the floor of the boat...luckily haven't gone over the side
yet.

Tom G.