I made one out of a 8' by 12' tarp from walmart three years ago and still use it. It absolutely puts the breaks on my boat. 8 foot lead lines on the corners that meet at a big swivel. It works like a champ and will slow my boat to .5 mph in 15 to 20 mph wind.

+1

If you use too short of a rope your socks will be in the current created by your 'toonsand they won't be nearly as effective. I've got two 48" socks with 12' of rope on each ant the will slow my 22' pontoon down real good even with the Bimini top up. Got us down to .4-.5mph in 20+mph winds.

What ever you use tie the rope to the boat before you throw it in the water!

Definitely a wise tip, I've had to replace three socks within a year due to my carelessness of not tying it down properly, I now use a heavy duty clip that I snap onto my boat cleats, when I purchased another sock the other day I found these plastic floats for $1.50, not sure if the sock will drag it down but the float was cheap and better than not using one at all, i also use cast net ropes because they are plenty long to adjust the footage as needed and I know we all have extra of those laying around from our damaged nets, just a tip from someone who learned thru unfortunate mishaps.

Dont you get ticked off if someone ask a question on n diy project and some money bags replay that if you can not afford to buy this item you should re think your hobby. Well mister money bags i do not own a 2016 model bass boat or the latest in fishing gear, i got an old boat, do all my glass work and motor work myself and i enjoy been on the lake. Maybe next time you see my old tri hull and 1983 motor your 2016 motor [censored] out do not ask for a tow rather use all your vast resources and pay for a tow. Sorry rant over.

You just gave me a great laugh!!!!

Lol I dont really get to upset. Everyone has a opinion, but my opinion on DIY is that if you see it in a store its because somebody made it. And if somebody else made it there is no reason I cant do the same. My boat is a 20' pontoon my brother and I are sharing all we gave was 400 and a gun. It would not run or shift into reverse and the ignition switch was bad. I made a new throttle and a shifter and replaced the ignition with switches and made a new safety cutoff for it and even installed a spring on the throttle and a shock so that if for some reason the safety cutoff fails the boat will kill itself after 45 seconds of running with no hands on the throttle lever. Total cost so far including buying the broke down boat is $417 and everything is working. Everything was made and designed by me. I have the machinery to make just about anything (I am a knife maker) so I am a firm believer in doing it myself and doing it better. But in a lot of cases I do agree people are just better off spending the money

I have a 20 ft pontoon and use those academy 36 inch ones on my toon and they do a descent job especially since pontoon are like kites on any wind over 15mph. I use 3 of them with 10-12 ft of rope. I will invest in a 90+inch one from bp if I don't score a new boat before which I will go completely to a power drift set up. So far my ugly toon has saved my checkbook for at least another year

I faintly remember a fella who use to ride a toon a lot who had a trampoline setup and fear made him buy a cc...

It ain't the finish size dude, it's the angle of the dangle. Use a long rope.

The easiest & cheapest is a 5 gallon bucket... I have drift socks that i used to use regular. There have been times I forgot my socks and always have plenty of buckets in the boat for some reason I will say this you don't need to cut drill or do anything to the buckets tie a rope on and let her go.... I have used 2 buckets at the same time a lot of times I have a 20/72 with a 115 Optimax....but I saved and purchased an I-pilot easiest control drift there is IMO......Nothing wrong with buckets at all I put out 1 and usually stay from .4 to .9 on my drift

Drag chains are cheap if not free.