Pontoon Boating

My family wants to rent a pontoon boat at a lake and take the kids out, but neither myself or my husband have ever driven a boat of any kind. Any obvious dangers or problems to anticipate? Thanx!

No experience needed, just common sense. Drive very slowly at the docks, and cut your power long before you near something, you can throw her in reverse to slow your speed, as needed. Give the powerless boats right of way, and stay away from swimmers. Make the kids wear vests---its the law. If you are not familiar with the shore, stay out a ways because of submerged rocks, trees. Make sure you tie off really good if you park anywhere, and that the anchor is tied to the boat...no joke, I almost had to buy and expensive anchor that wasn't tied to the boat, I caught it in the nick of time.

2007-06-30 00:00:32 by hodgesclan@verizon.net

The 2011 model years marks Manitou's 25th year of business. To celebrate this milestone Manitou is offering the finest boat in the pontoon ...

If so, how old do you have to be to get a boating license? Thanks.
Sorry I forgot to put this in before but this is in NY.

yes

New York requires a Boater Education Card for boaters, and not a boating license. The regulatory authority for the card is New York State Parks.

Persons above the age of 14 are allowed to operate a personal watercraft if they possess the above mentioned certificate. Until the year 2009, boaters of the age 10-13 are allowed to operate personal watercrafts with some restrictions. Persons between 10-18 years of age are allowed to operate motorboats if they possess the safety certificate. Persons under the age of 10 are allowed to operate motorboats (excluding personal watercrafts) if they are under the supervision of someone above the age of 18 or someone between the age of 10-18 who has completed the Boaters Safety Education course and holds a certificate.

for more info go to this web site

http://www.dmv.com/ny/new-york/boating-l icense

2010-09-01 19:15:07 by Bu

Price: $17.90 $0.01

Never owned a boat before but looking to buy one of these neat little craft. Anyone know anything about boat registration for an un-powered craft or fees or other laws in the state of Nebraska? Not planning on getting a trolling motor (yet)

Also has anyone played around with one of these before? Are they any fun?

do a google to find out boating laws in your state. In most places (such as here in Oregon) as long as you don't use a motor (including a trolling motor) you don't have to register it.

yes, i have one and they are a lot of fun and great exercise. You won't beleive how fast you can get hauling on one of those- but it DOES require some practice and skill- you have to dip your oars exactly the same on both sides, or you will quickly start spinning. Also, you will need some float tube fins- once you put the oars away, the fins will help keep you from spinning as you fish.

They draft very little and you can go a lot of places you can't in a boat or a float tube where your lower half is in the water.

out of the water, they are not the lightest, though, so if you can't use a boat ramp, consider buying one with one of the fold up wheels- these are great.

You'll have a blast- one more thing- if you are using it for still water only, you can use just about any model you like- but if using it on moving water, not all models are suitable- if using on rivers, needs to have the pontoons made out of the commercial raft style material, and the pontoons need an upcurved rise to them so if you go over a sheld the tips don't dive under the water. I've seen one of these flip when a guy took one into a hole, and the tips dove and the back churn pushed the tips back under him, and he went over. He was okay but needed to be rescued. Remember there is no seatbelt and you MUST wear a life vest, I recommend the low profile kayaker type- better freedom of movement for casting and rowing.

Good luck and have fun

2008-04-28 19:11:23 by Boboftheplains

Price: $9.95 $9.95

My pontoon boat needs a jump to get started. I have a motor cycle battery charger. The kind that you plug into an electric scocket in your home. Will it work on the boat. Thanks for any info on the matter.

If your motorcycle battery is 12 volt, the charger will work. Check the fluid level in the battery first, add distilled water to cover the plates if any are exposed. Then be sure to connect it to the battery first then plug it into the wall socket. When done, unplug it from the wall socket, then disconnect it from the battery.

2008-05-13 14:50:25 by sombody

We live on a 400 acre lake and want to purchase a pontoon boat. There are so many makes and models, I would appreciate your candid responses. Also, do you have a potty place on the boat? THANKS!

Bennington makes a good boat...solid construction, heavy/quality flooring, durable marine carpeting, thick/heavy gauge pontoons, nice level of finish, all hardware is nice quality, etc.
I've had my 23' for about four seasons now and have had zero problems.

2009-07-14 11:42:44 by Lakemail