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I have older kids(16&15), and also middle age (12&11) my 11yr old daughter doesn't want to ski or wake but loves to tube. I have a tower, do you hook the tow rope up there when you pull a tube? Or do you just use the middle hook on your transom? Which is best...and why. Thanks
I would use the pop up pylon on the bow side of the sunpad.
Most recommend not towing from the tower due to the stress it puts on it.
Recommended is pylon or the tow ring on the back.
I use my extended pylon (I don't have a tower), so that I can use my back seats (Comp TS6M). No issues, except when you pull from above like this, the tube does tend to fly a little easier, as air can get under it easier. My kids consider this a positive feature.
Although I've heard that you should not tow from a tower, I've been doing so for more than 15 years. When I use the middle hook on the transom there is too much drag of the tow rope in the rooster tail. My tower is something of a home-made job that has nowhere near the design and engineering of present-day towers and I've never had an issue. While driving the boat I feel no more strain from the drag of the tube than I do from a hard pull by a wakeboarder. I suppose it really depends on how confident you are in the strength of the mounts on your tower.
I really think it depends on what kind of tubing you're talking about. Aggressive tubing or casual tubing? Aggressive needs to be pulled from a ski pole or transom hook. Casual tubing can easily be pulled by most towers with a decent installation.
If you are really whipping the tubes around I would recommend only using the tow hook located on the back of the boat. If you are just pulling the kids slowly behind the boat you could probably get away with using the pylon. I would never pull a tube aggressively from the tower or an extended pylon.
People may say they are pulling just as hard when they are waterskiing or wakeboarding and I say "no way". If you think you are then just try and hold onto your ski rope handle while someone pulls and whips you on a tube. If you can hang on then you have super human strength.
There is a tremendous amount of stress on a boat while you pull tubes. Thats why a tubing rope is 3-4 times thicker than a waterski rope.
Just my two cents.
Aggressive tubing? Seriously? In any event I'd pull from down low on a pylon or transom tow ring. Definitely wouldn't pull from a tower or extended pylon.
Really what I'd do is get her on a kneeboard or sky ski. Plenty of skill and tricks and progression to be had on either. Rule on my boat is no tubes. I don't care waht your sport of choice is, but it needs to involve at least a mediocum of skill. Personally I kneeboard and wakeboard, and learning slalom. Jack of all trades, expert at none.
You're going to need some skill to go the full 8 seconds behind my boat. Anyone who thinks tubing (the aggressive style) doesn't require skill hasn't done much tubing. The rule on my boat is that we have to wear out the wakeboard and kneeboard before the tube comes out. I typically wait until my fuel light comes on before getting the tube out.Quote:
Originally Posted by cadunkle
If you call hanging on for dear life with all your strength, then I guess it takes skill to tube. Now that I'm looking down the barrel of 60 I won't tube anymore. I need to preserve what strength I have left for slalom skiing.
Thanks for all the replies, my boat doesn't have s center nylon any longer so I guess I will use the transom tow ring. When the floors were done the center pole was taken out and I didn't care to have installed back.
When my kids want to ride the tubes, we hook them to the lifting rings at either side of the transom. If you can lift the boat from them, they are probably strong enough for the tubes. There is some tow line drag from the rooster tail, but when the rope clears it- hang on! I do insist on riding boards, and skiis before the tubes come out also!
I have a large flat bottomed tube, and when I make an right turn with a rider, to move them to the left side of the wake, accelerate and then make as agressive turn to the left to bring the tube along the left side, the tube will catch air underneath as it comes off the wake, and fly off the water as it moves to become abeam the boat. You have to then get on the power to stay with the tube, as it wants to go faster than the boat and create slack in the rope. The tube maintains a steep angle of attack, showinging its bottom, but flys completely off the water by a foot or so at the lowest point. If you are skillful with the throttle, you can keep it airborne, but prevent it from blowing over, and then reduce power to carefully set it back down on the water after a second or two of flight. You have to be careful not to slow the tube down too much on landing, or the weight shifts forward on deacceleration and the rider can fall off the front when it sits back down on the water. My daughter and her friends just love it when I do this to them, and it looks pretty impressive I must say. I can fly two kids, but it flies much easier with one. I think the enabler of this flight is the extended pylon. Pulling from closer to the water will prevent the nose of the tube from rising as much, and it will not fly.