5 Essential Tips for Trailering a Pontoon Boat

#1: Don't trailer in high winds
We've all made the mistake of staying out on the water a little too long and not getting out of the lake when nasty weather comes. One of the first times I was out in my brand new G3 Pontoon boat, I saw a storm approaching but took a few extra spins on the lake before heading for the dock--thinking I could beat the storm. I learned the hard way that pontoon boats turn into huge sails when the winds are up.
The large fencing around the boat makes it difficult to navigate against the wind. In the end, it took 6 men to push the boat into position and get it on the trailer.
#2: Get a dock hook
A dock hook is a long telescoping rod with a hook on the end that boaters can use to grab dock cleats and pull the back end of the boat into position when the wind is pushing against you. A dock hook is not expensive on Amazon, and can save you a lot of headache.#3: Don't pull the trailer in too deep
One of the biggest problems I had when learning to trailer my toon was pulling the trailer in too deep into the water. When you do this, the boat is still floating, so even if you pull straight onto the trailer, the winds push the back of the boat off to the side since the back is still floating.
Just pull the trailer in deep enough that the tops of the wheel wells are barely under and you'll have much better results. The best method I've found is to pull the trailer back until the wheel wells are wet, and bring up the front of the boat. Then, have the driver of the truck go slightly deeper, and you can then drive the boat the rest of the way up the trailer.