Aug 09, 2026

Can You Ski Behind a Pontoon Boat? (The Definitive Answer)

Can you waterski behind a pontoon boat? Absolutely. I do it a few times a week.

Can you ski behind every pontoon boat? No, definitely not.

Water Skiing Behind a Pontoon Boat

Your Boat Engine's Horsepower

The biggest question when choosing a pontoon boat for skiing or towing a tube behind is the horsepower of the engine.

The following are three very hasty generalizations about what horsepower engine you'll need on a pontoon boat for skiing. Each boat performs very differently, so do not take these as the gospel truth, but it should provide a good general idea for newbies.

Some factors that would dramatically change this equation are things like a tritoon that usually goes a bit faster, boats over 22' or an unusually heavy boat with a top deck. You get the idea.

If your boat has a 70hp engine, you'll probably be able to do very basic skiing and towing on tubes. If you really do some work and install something like a Water Glide, you'll probably be able to water ski just fine as long as the load is light or medium.

If your pontoon boat has a 90hp engine, you'll be able to water ski just fine. If the boat is loaded with more than 5 or 6 people, you'll feel the sluggishness and you'll be at the lower speeds necessary for skiing.

If your pontoon boat has a 115hp engine, you'll likely be able to tow tubes or ski even with a full boat. It won't be as much of fun as with only 4 or 5 people, but you'll be fine.

Okay, so it's established that you absolutely positively can ski behind most pontoon boats as long as you have a reasonable amount of horsepower driving the boat.

How Fast Do You Need to Go?

The question remains: how fast do you really need to go to successfully ski behind a pontoon boat?

Waterskiing with two skis: 21 to 26 mph is pretty normal (34 to 42 kilometers). For kid waterskiers, it could be even slower.

Tubing: 16 to 25 miles per hour (26 to 42 kilometers per hour). With a 115hp engine on a 22' pontoon boat, it's easy to make most adults fly off the tube within 60 seconds. It's tougher than a fast traditional V-hull ski boat, but you'll get a crazy enough ride to entertain just about anyone on a tube.

Wakeboarding, slalom, and kneeboarding: 16 to 26 mph (26 to 41 kph). Most wakeboarders prefer slightly slower speeds.

Taking those numbers above into account, most pontoon boats can easily achieve the speeds necessary for skiing or towing a tube.

Limitations to Water Skiing with a Pontoon Boat

There are two major limitations to using a pontoon boat for water sports like skiing and wakeboarding:

The wake has less shape.
The boat is not as maneuverable. Serious wakeboarders and water sports enthusiasts don't like the wake's shape behind a pontoon boat.

Where a traditional V-hull boat has a more humped shape, a pontoon boat makes a wake from the prop and two small wakes for the metal pontoons. This makes for an unusually wide wake with less of a hump in the center, making it tough to catch any air behind a pontoon boat no matter your speed. You'll get a little jump but not as much.

Next up is the maneuverability of the boat. Pontoon boats have a wide turning radius. Usually, it's just about right for water sports, but some people really like to whip the boat around wildly. For those people, a pontoon boat isn't a good choice.

When it comes right down to it, choose a traditional ski boat if all you want to do is water sports like tubing and skiing.

But, if you want to do water sports AND fishing AND cruising AND have a ton of people on comfy vinyl sofas, it's impossible to beat the versatility of a pontoon boat.

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