Towing Skiers, Boarders & Toys Helpful pontooning hints from the staff of the Pontoon Boat Guide.

If you and your family are into watersports, simply choose the appropriate engine for your pontoon boat and get out there! Pontoons can pull the younger children on tubes and a variety of fun riders and pods; and, with an added ski tow bar, they can tow older kids and adults on kneeboards, wakeboards and waterskis. The ski pylon sticks up above the pontoon’s fence for a high connection, which serious watersports enthusiasts prefer. And the pontoon’s elevated helm station gives the driver excellent 360-degree visibility, an important feature for towing watersports toys as well as skiers and boarders.

The sturdy, wide-step boarding ladder will make it effortless to get into and out of the water — this design is much easier to use than that aboard most watersports boats. Getting into and out of tubes or sit-on tow-behinds like “banana boats” is also easier with a pontoon boat, thanks to its high deck. You won’t have to do the awkward gymnastics required for mounting such toys from the water!

When the day’s adventures are over, there is plenty of storage space on board for all the skis, kneeboards and tow-behind toys. You can stow boards and skis under the sunpad, strap inflatable tubes to the sun deck and stow ski jackets under the lounge seats.

If you’re interested in enhancing your pontoon’s performance, consider adding high-performance lifting strakes, which allow the boat’s aluminum pontoons to lift higher in the water, reduce drag and, for pontoon boats 22-plus feet in length, increase top-end speed. You can also select a center log with aluminum spray shield; this allows for higher-horsepower outboards, increased carrying capacity, a smoother ride and improved handling.

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