New Pontoon Owner--Trailering Question

[ryanslady]

In the time we have been shopping for a pontoon, I have been reading the posts on this forum and everyone on here seems to give really good advise so here goes....

We just picked up our new ponton on Friday. 20ft Sweetwater with a 90hp Honda 4 stroke motor. We will be taking it on our first trip Monday.

My question: The guy at the dealership said to trim the motor down level when trailering it because it was better on the motor. A friend of ours said to trim it up when trailering to avoid damaging the prop/lower unit. Who is correct? It does have the transom holder on it so we are not sure who is right. Our last boat was a 21ft open bow with an ib/ob motor so we did not have this problem before. Since we will be towing the boat over 2 1/2 hours, we want to do it right.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[badmoonrising]

Welcome ! Personally and just to put my mind at ease, I raise my motor up when towing. If you do this AND use a transom saver, it's not at all bad on the motor, boat or trim system hydraulics.

There's a boat ramp near us that if you don't raise the motor, the skeg scrapes the asphalt because it's so uneven. Not a good thing...

[Snider4]

Same as BMR, and congrats!

[texaspontoon]

I trim my motor up about 1' or enough to give me good clearence. I think that unless you drive down bumpy roads you will be fine in almost any position. I usually only trailer about 10 miles round trip, so alot of it depends on how far you go and what the roads are like. If you are really doing some bumpy roads, a transom saver would be a great idea to invest in.

Congrats on the new boat, I would love to see pictures of not only the boat, but include some of you and family/friends enoying the boat, with your scenery in the back ground! (It is cool to contrast the pictures of like Lake Havasu with that of people in upper Michigan. For me it is kind of like enjoying your area with my own boat by proxy through you!

Enjoy and use the boat often! Count to 10 if you bump and scratch something, it wont stay new forever!

[ROLAND]

In the time we have been shopping for a pontoon, I have been reading the posts on this forum and everyone on here seems to give really good advise so here goes....

We just picked up our new ponton on Friday. 20ft Sweetwater with a 90hp Honda 4 stroke motor. We will be taking it on our first trip Monday.

My question: The guy at the dealership said to trim the motor down level when trailering it because it was better on the motor. A friend of ours said to trim it up when trailering to avoid damaging the prop/lower unit. Who is correct? It does have the transom holder on it so we are not sure who is right. Our last boat was a 21ft open bow with an ib/ob motor so we did not have this problem before. Since we will be towing the boat over 2 1/2 hours, we want to do it right.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Ryanslady, first off, congrats on the new boat. I'm sure you and your family will have tons of fun on it this summer and for many years to come. With regard to your question about trailering... I have a 20 foot bennington with a 75 horse Yamaha on the back. I asked my dealer this very same question you asked, and they told me when trailering, always trim the motor all the way down. When I read your post tonight, I went and got my owners manual which is for both 75 and 90 horse power yamahas.... according to manual, you should always trailer your boat with the motor trimmed all the way down. it goes on to say that if for any reason you may have a problem with road clearance, then to use a lifting device such as a transom saver... Most toons sit up high enough clearance isn't a problem, obviously bass rigs and the like need to use transom savers.... just my 2 cents worth. hope it helps.

[rancherlee]

like others have stated , you want at least 12" of clearance between the pavement and skeg/prop. Remember that your trailer is nothing more than a big long lever and your axle(s) are the fulcrum, If the ball hitch goes up the back end goes down and puts your skeg/prop ALOT closer to the pavement so be careful pulling into steep boat ramps and driveways.

[badmoonrising]

Yeah most pontoon trailers do have clearance on a flat road, however hanging at the marina quite a bit I see all kinds of things, lots of trailers being towed uneven and parking lots and ramsp that allow the skeg to hit concrete

Speed bumps are one thing that like to damage skegs

[HandymanHerb]

Mines so high off the ground I never had a problem with it hitting so I leave it all the way down at all times except in real low water them I trim up and let my prop guard jet me through it .

[Snider4]

"Enjoy and use the boat often! Count to 10 if you bump and scratch something, it wont stay new forever!"

Good advice, I just dented my first toon after 5 years of owning it and it sucks!

[bruuuuce]

I have a prop on the shelf and a bent skeg that came from towing with the motor down. I was pulling out of a boat ramp parking lot, never had used a transom saver on the boat always towed with it down as instructed. Pulled out of this new ramp and as I was pulling out I said this is gonna be close, and yep it was close alright. Dinged up the prop and slightly bent the skeg, now I always trim up and use a transom saver.

[mike]

I use a piece of pvc pipe that I lower my motor down on, never had a problem yet...

[rsmith]

our dealer told us to trim the motor down on the way for towing. I asked about a transom saver and they said no need with the motor down and the strength of the transom. I do however trim up some for launching and taking out of the water.

I should look and measure next time, but I recall being surprised at how much clearance I had between the ground and the motor unit.

[ROLAND]

our dealer told us to trim the motor down on the way for towing. I asked about a transom saver and they said no need with the motor down and the strength of the transom. I do however trim up some for launching and taking out of the water.

Same here... trimmed up going down and back up the launch, trimmed all the way down on the road.

[Russ]

If I leave mine trimmed all the way down, it's too low for me to not think or worry about it. I trim mine up and use a transom saver to support the weight.