Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Well, I have been told by many people and read it on here about large lakes, busy weekends, and very large boats make for a very choppy water. This last weekend we were at Grand Lake in Oklahoma and the day of the 4th, the water was very choppy and I could not get enough speed to ever use my lifting strakes. I just tried my best to keep her going in the direction I needed to get to. Once out of the main lake and into Duck Creek cove it wasn't so bad. I guess Pontoons just aren't the best for rough lakes. The next day it was just so-so and some areas I could cruise just fine but other areas it was rough enough that it would slow down due to the waves and I couldn't keep it on plane. It also sounded like the prop would come out of the water once in a while. Is there any suggestions or aftermarket products that would help in these situations? My engine is almost as low as it can go...have one more bolt hole I could lower it. Would underskinning really help??

Rough water and big waves are a given on holidays. Sometimes one needs to just slow down. Toons give a smoother ride than most in choppy water. Your prop blowout occurred when you went over a big wave and lifted toon high enough to let prop ventilate.

Grand lake is one of the worse for BIG boats and BIG waves.

[quote="Cobra427cable"] I guess Pontoons just aren't the best for rough lakes.

If you think it was rough out there on your pontoon, be glad you weren't in a conventional v-hull rig. We took our boat out the weekend of the 4th, but opted to stay off the water on the 4th just because of that very reason you talked about, alot of boats, rough waters and of course, more than the usual amount of drunks on the lake.