Speaking from my experience at Lake of the Ozarks for a family boat I would go with a tritoon over a vhull.

Tritoon in rough water. If youre cruising straight into big waves and you slow down before hitting a trough chances are youre going to dip the pontoons nose below water and will take some of that water on board when it crashes over. The combination of both allows for the triton to slice through the choppy waters much more effectively than a pontoon. The boat gets a lot lift from the strakes and pontoon making it feel like you are just floating across the lake.

Tritoons also sit higher on the water which means there will be less of a chance of. At trolling or drifting speeds the deck is only 20 inches above the water and due to the length 24 ft plus they do not ride the wave. If youre boating on big water that can become rough you will find that the extra toon and the higher horsepower that comes with it makes a huge difference in stabilizing the boat.

Many of those also have hulls that are more modified tri-hull with low deadrise in their shape for on the hook stability which will kill you in the chop. Thus pontoons can do just fine in rough waters with a bit of common sense and preparedness. If youre cruising straight into big waves and you slow down before hitting a trough chances are youre going to dip the pontoons nose below water and will take some of that water on board when it crashes over the bow.

If your boat has a bilge be sure to pump it out with a bilge pump so that you can stay in higher water. Pontoons and especially tritoons are excellent in rough water. Anything that is too rough for my toon would be very uncomfortable in a deckboat.

Are Pontoon Boats Safe in Rough Waters. Tritoons do very well in rough water. Much better ride in rough water and can hold more people for a similar size boat.

Keeping your pontoon stable in rough waters To keep your pontoon safe in rough waters the key of course is to keep the pontoons above the water and avoid the risk of burying the nosecones. When you are navigating through a storm and rough waters you may notice that your boat is actually taking on water over the bow and along the sides. Pontoons are pretty stable boats when handled correctly.