Anybody Tow a Boat and WaveRunner to the lake?

[drober30]

I own a 2023 222SD and am thinking about buying a new WaveRunner, I just don't know if it will be more of a chore than it will be fun.

Some thoughts are:

Cons:

• I would have to have the wife tow it to the lake in a separate vehicle.
• It becomes two vessels we have to launch at a ramp.
• Would only buy one ( Having two is so much better...lol)

Pros:

• WaveRunners are awesome and would be so much fun!

Anybody own both and have to trailer both every time they want to use them?

 

[jthackman]

it's a lot to deal with, unless you have a water-front dock or marina boat slip. trailering and launching/retrieving is better with 2 people, so need a big crew of drivers and captains for it to go smoothly. we had 2 waverunners on a dbl trailer when we got the yammie boat. wife can pull/back, but doesn't want to be captain of either. kids weren't that interested in the extra effort. so our skis only made it out one time once the boat came and we sold them first of next season.
you're also adding another launch fee, trailer registration, boat registration, insurance, gas tank, oil to change, battery to charge, trailer to park.....
i'd for sure get some if we had a lake house, but not if i have to trailer them.

 

[drober30]

it's a lot to deal with, unless you have a water-front dock or marina boat slip. trailering and launching/retrieving is better with 2 people, so need a big crew of drivers and captains for it to go smoothly. we had 2 waverunners on a dbl trailer when we got the yammie boat. wife can pull/back, but doesn't want to be captain of either. kids weren't that interested in the extra effort. so our skis only made it out one time once the boat came and we sold them first of next season.
you're also adding another launch fee, trailer registration, boat registration, insurance, gas tank, oil to change, battery to charge, trailer to park.....
i'd for sure get some if we had a lake house, but not if i have to trailer them.

Yep, thats what I was afraid of. I don't mind the extra expenses of owning one but I don't want it to be a more of a hassle than its worth. Maybe I could check into a marina where launching would not be high stress or they might offer an in/out service.

 

[Neutron]

I do it on occasion but my ramp is only 2.5 miles from my house. If we have many people we tow the 2 skis with the wifes truck and i take the boat. 2 people follow in the skis till we anchor and then any time someone wants to go for a blast they are ready to go. I anchor the skis together near the boat

 

[RNYCLV]

I own a 2023 222SD and am thinking about buying a new WaveRunner, I just don't know if it will be more of a chore than it will be fun.

Some thoughts are:

Cons:

• I would have to have the wife tow it to the lake in a separate vehicle.
• It becomes two vessels we have to launch at a ramp.
• Would only buy one ( Having two is so much better...lol)

Pros:

• WaveRunners are awesome and would be so much fun!

Anybody own both and have to trailer both every time they want to use them?

We have a guy at the lake that did a combo trailer...

Dual Purpose Combo Trailers - Shadow Trailers, Cypress CA

Custom Built Combo Trailers - Shadow Trailers in Cypress, CA These dual purpose combination trailers are built to haul multiple recreational vehicles.

shadowindustriesinc.com

 

[adrianp89]

I don't - but my buddy has two jet skis. We used to take both his skis and the boat. It gets old real quick. Everyone wants to hang on the boat. I couldn't tell you the last time his skis left the garage.... maybe 2 years?

 

[Ronnie]

I do it twice a year for weekend family camping trips. I use two tow vehicles to do it. It requires everything stated above, it’s a hassle but only twice a year so acceptable to me.

One alternative to consider is modifying the boat trailer to hold a Waverunner / PWC as well.

Here is a pic with an example of the same (two over the top and another mounted to the boat trailer’s tongue). Note that Current three person Waverunners weigh over 800 lbs. dry. Also they are 10’ to 11’ feet long, so mounting it sideways on the back of the boat trailer may not be possible/legal because the ski once mounted would be wider than the boat and trailer. Mounting it to the tongue may not be possible either because of the weight it would add.

 

[adrianp89]

I do it twice a year for weekend family camping trips. I use two tow vehicles to do it. It requires everything stated above, it’s a hassle but only twice a year so acceptable to me.

One alternative to consider is modifying the boat trailer to hold a Waverunner / PWC as well.

Here is a pic with an example of the same (two over the top and another mounted to the boat trailer’s tongue). Note that Current three person Waverunners weigh over 800 lbs. dry. Also they are 10’ to 11’ feet long, so mounting it sideways on the back of the boat trailer may not be possible/legal because the ski once mounted would be wider than the boat and trailer. Mounting it to the tongue may not be possible either because of the weight it would add.
View attachment 214782
View attachment 214783

I need to see a video of this unloading/loading.

 

[drober30]

I do it on occasion but my ramp is only 2.5 miles from my house. If we have many people we tow the 2 skis with the wifes truck and i take the boat. 2 people follow in the skis till we anchor and then any time someone wants to go for a blast they are ready to go. I anchor the skis together near the boat

Thats what I would like, to have the ski with the boat so we can go for a ride then return to anchored boat.

We have a guy at the lake that did a combo trailer...

Dual Purpose Combo Trailers - Shadow Trailers, Cypress CA

Custom Built Combo Trailers - Shadow Trailers in Cypress, CA These dual purpose combination trailers are built to haul multiple recreational vehicles.

shadowindustriesinc.com

View attachment 214781View attachment 214784

Thats pretty cool!

 

[RNYCLV]

Thats what I would lik, to have the ski with the boat so we can go for a ride then return to anchored boat.


Thats pretty cool!

It is neat, the one is a single ski in front of the boat with an angular entrance for the ski which is cool.

 

[Cleveland Steamer]

I have a boat and jet ski that we tow to the lake. However, I have two daughters to help. I’ll tow the boat and one of my daughters tow the ski. I still have to launch the boat and let one kid take over the boat while I back the ski into the water. It’s definitely a chore but I do it for the satisfaction of my kids. I wouldn’t do it if it weren’t for my kids.

 

[Ronnie]

I need to see a video of this unloading/loading.

No video but I caught the guy as he was loading. He had already recovered the boat and less loading the big skis on top. When he went to recover the small standup onto the trailer tongue rack, he had the rear of the trailer floating and drifting to the dock. I think they ended up pulling the boat and other skis further up the ramp to stop the float and drift before muscling the smaller ski into its spot on the trailer.
Here are some more pics.



Overall, I thought it was cool but way too much work for me, alone or with my wife. In those situations We are either taking the boat or the skis but not both.

 

[BlkGS]

I don't - but my buddy has two jet skis. We used to take both his skis and the boat. It gets old real quick. Everyone wants to hang on the boat. I couldn't tell you the last time his skis left the garage.... maybe 2 years?

For a time I was this buddy. I had the key skis, and my buddy had a pontoon. It was a great setup for the sandbar, someone rides the jet ski out, then you get to hang out on the boat and people take the jet ski out to blast around like an asshole. In our case, the sandbar was like 15 minutes away by pontoon, or under 5 by jet ski.

They're great companion vehicles. But as my boat buddy told me, they're gateway drugs to boats, and he was very much right.

That said, as the others have noted, of you're gonna be both boat and jetskis guy, it's a ton of work to be taking on, and unless you have a teenager that wants the ski and you trust to tow it, you're gonna do it a couple times, have a bad experience, and then end up with a jet ski in the garage.

 

[adrianp89]

For a time I was this buddy. I had the key skis, and my buddy had a pontoon. It was a great setup for the sandbar, someone rides the jet ski out, then you get to hang out on the boat and people take the jet ski out to blast around like an asshole. In our case, the sandbar was like 15 minutes away by pontoon, or under 5 by jet ski.

They're great companion vehicles. But as my boat buddy told me, they're gateway drugs to boats, and he was very much right.

That said, as the others have noted, of you're gonna be both boat and jetskis guy, it's a ton of work to be taking on, and unless you have a teenager that wants the ski and you trust to tow it, you're gonna do it a couple times, have a bad experience, and then end up with a jet ski in the garage.

We have done this at the sandbar too, it may be important to think of no wake zones. At our sandbar it's a 15 minute no wake zone until you can ride.....sucks on a ski.

 

[BlkGS]

We have done this at the sandbar too, it may be important to think of no wake zones. At our sandbar it's a 15 minute no wake zone until you can ride.....sucks on a ski.

Yeah that's a 15 minute rollover zone on a ski, lol. Our lake only had a handful of no wake zones that were near the banks of the lake

 

[steveinmd]

We have both but only take one at a time. Typically only take the ski when it's just the wife and I. We use the ski to explore and find new areas to take the boat. Found some cool places to take the boat.

 

[JBehrens]

I started with two jet skis and ran those for years before buying the boat, since the boat we almost only use the jet skis at Lake Powell with the houseboat. On occasion the skis will go on a normal trip with them but that is only when there is a bunch of people that can confidently handle the skis on their own including the towing. Even then, some places we like to tie up don't have a beach for the skis and we have to tie them to the boat (not a big deal just something to work with) and the biggest drawback to the skis is we like to stay out late at night and the skis always have to be trailered before then so extra trips back to the marina (about 7-10miles one way). Jet skis are great, I got a ton of fun trips out of mine before the boat, if you are thinking about it find a cheap VX on craigslist and try it out for a season, you can always sell it with little loss. Sometimes jet ski only missions can be fun too.

 

[I_squared_r]

I did this for a while. I ended up selling the jet ski because those older skis always need something and only I know how to ride them. The ski was reinforced for surf riding so it probably was another 325lbs on the tongue. Definitely is a little too much weight for the pathfinder.. Better to get something heavy duty.

 

[Shir9406]

I have both… wife tows jet ski, I tow boat… we use both pretty much the same.. but for different reasons … if I want to go to the lake and wife doesn’t.. I take the ski… if we both go… we take boat… week long vacations we take both… it’s a win win.. and honestly not that much of a hassle