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AR190 Tubing Capabilities

AR190inTexas

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Hi everyone. This is my first post (ever, anywhere...seriously, don't even have facebook). I am on the list for the next AR190, and I'm going to pick it up on Saturday. This will be my first boat. I have rented several times this year and we love it. I am a family of three and my 13 year old daughter likes tubing and knee boarding. I anticipate she will get into wake-boarding too. I understand the AR190 lacks power for some people, and I want to ask your opinion. I do not need to go fast in my opinion, but let me quantify that statement. If my top speed is 30 to 35 mph on most days, that would be great. I hope to be able to go 30-35 mph with 4 adults and 3 kids (my family of three an another family of 4) or 6 adults on those special adults only trips. I also hope to be able to tube 3 teenagers at about 30 mph with 4 adults in the boat. I also hope to be able to pull a wake-board with the same crew, but don't need to have a huge wave or go supper fast. That is the max performance I need. Will the AR190 do that?
 

hapyfishrmn

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Welcome to the forums.

Tubing at 30 mph seems really fast. Hitting the water at that speed is going to really hurt (even built tough teenagers). Low 20's would be suitable for most tubers in their teens.

AR190's having 1 engine does have its limits, but being able to go 30-35 in the scenarios you have posted seems reasonable given good water conditions. I'm doing the exact thing your suggesting with sightly younger children and it's working out great for us. AR190 could get low 40's on good condition at full throttle.
 

shnknapp

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I agree with @hapyfishrmn. 20mph is usually the ideal speed for tubing. On a tube it seems a lot faster and when getting whipped you can easily get close to 30mph. So if you are going 30mph, that easily get close to 40mph along the side. Recipe for disaster. If you go the AR route or any boat with a tower, remember that tubes should never be attached to the tower.

Good luck with your research.
 

AR190inTexas

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Well, you have both helped me big time I’m a few ways. You inspired me to watch some tubing safety videos, and I do feel I was going to fast. I would always slow down as they got outside the wake and were being wiped. But now I can get the boat I have been dreaming of and feel better at 20 mph. They will still get the fast fun in the whip but at a safer mph. I feel extra good that I can do 30+ with another family onboard. And, I’m sure I’ll go 25 a lot to save gas too. Lastly, I did not know I should not use tower for tube. Thanks for that as well.
 

shnknapp

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Well, you have both helped me big time I’m a few ways. You inspired me to watch some tubing safety videos, and I do feel I was going to fast. I would always slow down as they got outside the wake and were being wiped. But now I can get the boat I have been dreaming of and feel better at 20 mph. They will still get the fast fun in the whip but at a safer mph. I feel extra good that I can do 30+ with another family onboard. And, I’m sure I’ll go 25 a lot to save gas too. Lastly, I did not know I should not use tower for tube. Thanks for that as well.
Glad you got some good info. I'm all about the fun and speed but will always sacrifice that for the safety of friends and family. We are up in Minnesota and spend time on the St.Croix/Mississippi and see some crazy things.
 

marcham

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Tubing is usually 15-16 mph for us. Wake boarding is 15-20 mph depending on skill level and weight.

If you've never towed someone before, try to get some coaching. It can be really frustrating for a beginner if the driver is inexperienced. As for tubing, my suggestion would be to start with a 1 person tube and 70ft rope.
 

SUPERMAC

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my ar190 has pulled people around just fine with 3 full size adults and 4 rowdy kids. only thing you may have issues with is pulling large (big mable) style tubes with multiple riders. but once your moving and whatnot it should be fine. if your having doubts about it step up and get the ar195 or 210. get the best your budget can afford and your family will make use of.
 

d_coyne1984

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I suspect the 190 will really struggle to throw turns and maintain speed while pulling a 3-person tube. Even small tubes provide a lot of drag and impeller driven boats don't perform as well as prop boats with that kind of drag.
 

JonKTX

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Like others have said, the 190's ability to pull tubes and sling them on sharp turns is limited. I had 4 smaller teenagers tubing last weekend and pulled two tubes. In a straight line no problem, trying to fling them off (even one tube at a time) was not so good. Tubing is my biggest frustration with my 190, everything else about the boat is awesome.
 

Sugarcharged

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Hi everyone. This is my first post (ever, anywhere...seriously, don't even have facebook). I am on the list for the next AR190, and I'm going to pick it up on Saturday. This will be my first boat. I have rented several times this year and we love it. I am a family of three and my 13 year old daughter likes tubing and knee boarding. I anticipate she will get into wake-boarding too. I understand the AR190 lacks power for some people, and I want to ask your opinion. I do not need to go fast in my opinion, but let me quantify that statement. If my top speed is 30 to 35 mph on most days, that would be great. I hope to be able to go 30-35 mph with 4 adults and 3 kids (my family of three an another family of 4) or 6 adults on those special adults only trips. I also hope to be able to tube 3 teenagers at about 30 mph with 4 adults in the boat. I also hope to be able to pull a wake-board with the same crew, but don't need to have a huge wave or go supper fast. That is the max performance I need. Will the AR190 do that?
I'm also in the market for next year and considering the AR190 / AR195 / AR210. Having said that, you should never underestimate the willpower of a 11 year old boy (or girl), hehe. This is my (just turned 11 in June) boy wakeboarding this weekend behind a 90 HP Crest pontoon. We will sell the pontoon after Labor Day weekend and buy a speed boat with a tower next Season. Wakeboarding speed has been 15 to 17 mph. We also tube with the pontoon and the max. speed of the pontoon is 22 mph, it's adequate and fun. Probably mid 20's would be more fun?Not sure, as others mentioned, safety in mind regarding too much speed on tubing. The pontoon struggles on the turns dropping to 17 mph.
 

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Yamahaul

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we took our boat out for the first time this weekend. turning was tough with 2 people on a big bubba. hard to sling them and seem to bog down if i turned really hard. once i got the hang of it with a little wiggle and wider turns i was able to sling them fast enough with increasing throttle in the last half of the turn. anything over 22 seemed really fast. bottom hook for towing for sure. good luck
 

biffdotorg

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Having the ability to get to a fast speed, and maintaining a slower speed with a load are two different things.

I think many 190 owners have already chimed in, but those boats will get up and move, but maintaining a slower speed with a load while keeping the boat on plane is difficult sometimes due to lack of low end torque. That's why some of the owners tube at faster speeds, as the boat can physically stay on plane.

Our girls have been "semi-pro" tubing, as they call it, for 10 years. They literally will tube till the day they get married. Their current boyfriends laugh at how competitive they get tubing. Their ideal tubing speed is 23mph. They call it out every time, as they think I am going faster or slower. 23 allows my boat to plane out perfectly, with twin 2-person tubes (sorry, our boat model doesn't apply to this conversation) But anything slower, like in the teens and the boat bogs a bit, and anything faster than 23 and you get some serious whip and spray.

When I get both tubes outside the wake at that speed, they get awesome speed in the whip, and the boat has plenty of throttle left to recover slack if needed. As far as towing off the tower, I will leave that well beaten dead horse alone. Do what you feel safe with. And don't be that joker on the facebook groups that posted the photo of his tower towpoint folded over with the caption "don't tow tubes from the tower" when it was obvious that he hit a bridge and filled in huge scrapes with a sharpie. That was a troll post from point one.

Good luck, you should be fine with a 190!
 

AR190inTexas

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Thank you all for the kind and informative information. I went ahead with purchasing the AR190 and we love it. I’m very happy with the performance, and I can give the kids hours and hours of tube riding adventure. The boat does great, and we all are having a blast as I perfect the art of wiping them around at safe speeds and using different techniques to quickly and safely cross the wake and get a little air. I never have to go completely full throttle even with a four person tube.

I love my purchase and thank you all for your contribution to my decision! :)
 

Sugarcharged

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Thank you all for the kind and informative information. I went ahead with purchasing the AR190 and we love it. I’m very happy with the performance, and I can give the kids hours and hours of tube riding adventure. The boat does great, and we all are having a blast as I perfect the art of wiping them around at safe speeds and using different techniques to quickly and safely cross the wake and get a little air. I never have to go completely full throttle even with a four person tube.

I love my purchase and thank you all for your contribution to my decision! :)
Quick question and great feedback you gave here, thanks for that. How's the spray from the jet boat while tubing. I've heard some people complaining and it seems not to be an issue with others and some folks in between with a cord extension. Can you give some feedback since tubing will be a significant part of our boat utilization? I'm concerned with the spray from the jet regarding tubing.
 

Yamahaul

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it is a minor problem for us. I have a ball for the middle we will try this weekend. we tow a big bubba 2 person.
 

Jerlane

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Quick question and great feedback you gave here, thanks for that. How's the spray from the jet boat while tubing. I've heard some people complaining and it seems not to be an issue with others and some folks in between with a cord extension. Can you give some feedback since tubing will be a significant part of our boat utilization? I'm concerned with the spray from the jet regarding tubing.
We were having spray issues and just got a bungee extension and that was enough to get the tubes back and out of the spray.
 

2kwik4u

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@AR190inTexas

First off. Welcome aboard and congrats on your first internet community posts. I've been an online forum user for the better part of 20 years, and this is hands down one of the best forums on the internet IMO. So Welcome!

Now, I'm late to the party, but do have an AR190, and LOTS of experience with "lower powered" boats.

We often tube with 4 adults and 4 kids (all kids under 10). It's not cramped, but it's snug. Our AR190 handles it just fine. There are two keys to having a good experience in this setup. First is a FULL tube. I mean FULL with air. Make sure it is VERY well inflated. The more air you have in the tube the better it glides on the water. Seriously, this can make or break your experience tubing IMO. I run what I guestimate to be about 1-2psi in the tube. It's more than you can get with just a handheld "blower", I put a few pump from the iSUP board pump into the tube. That firmness REALLY helps. The second is to change your technique a bit. The jet bleeds speed in the turns, but hooks and accelerates in the straights, and LIGHT turns. SO, turn in hard at about 22-24mph, bleed down to 18-20mph, and then accelerate back out in a straight line. This will pull the tube outside the wake, once out it will try to head back to center. Repeat the process but the other direction, and you can get them whipped around pretty good. This is a LARGE change from how I drove my I/O boat while tubing. It's not bad, just different.

When doing watersports like wakeboarding, or wakeskating, I like about 18-20mph. This speed is EXCEPTIONALLY hard to control. It's right at the point the boat wants to drop off plane. Plenty of power to keep it there, just VERY hard to modulate the throttle. Add power to stay on plane, and it rockets off to 25+mph, reduce just a little and you're dropping off plane again. It's trickey for even the most seasoned pilots. Ridesteady will cure that, but you can get some good practice in without it. I'm on season 4 without it, and I'm 99% certain I'm going to pick it up if they do a group buy in the off season. The absolute hardest I have "worked" my boat was with myself, and 6 teenagers in the boat, and one doing a deep water start on the wakeskate. Boat took awhile to plane, even with having 4 teenagers in the bow to keep it from rising up. It did it, but a dedicated tow boat would have done better. I've done that ONCE in 4 seasons with this boat, so it's not a huge ordeal for me. He still went from never seeing a wakeskate before, to riding acceptably in about 10-12 tries. He now rides his own behind his parents 60hp pontoon and loves it.

For just cruising around, the 190 has plenty of power. You can run in the mid 30's with a "full load" of people. The biggest detractor of speed is where people are sitting. Had 6 adults, all in the cockpit, and a GIANT yeti cooler on the upper swim deck and hit 40mph. On the way back, we ditched the Yeti and two adults. 2 ladies up front, and 2 men in the cockpit, I could barely hit 36mph. Bow weight absolutely KILLS the speed. Just keep that in mind. Had the wife in the back with just me piloting, bimini stowed, and anchor in the stern storage last weekend. Hit 45mph without really trying. Weight distribution is key to top speed on a small and lightly powered boat. So long as you aren't trying to drag race anyone, you'll be plenty happy, at least I know I am.

Overall I think the 190's represent some of the best VALUE you can get from a Yamaha. They are cheap to purchase, maintain, operate, and tow. They get you and your family on the water in MANY places with a good looking, safe, and well functioning boat. There aren't a ton of features or bells and whistles, but instead represent a very "just as much as you need" boat. We love ours and will be keeping it for the forseeable future.
 

biffdotorg

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I never have to go completely full throttle even with a four person tube.

:)
You always have to save a little throttle. Either for safety reaction, or for when the youngest one gets cocky and starts riding no-handed as they are acting bored with my driving. That's an instant full throttle boost to their butts!
 

AR190inTexas

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I have nothing to add except to add another validation point to the above great comments. The kids sometimes ask me to put them outside the wake if the water is choppy and they are getting more spray than they would on calmer waters. I too am going to purchase a booster ball for the middle of the rope to help a little. But mostly, they like to cut back and forth on the wake and that takes care of that. No spray complaints when they are going back and forth. I have absolutely been able to improve my driving to maximize the tubing thrills. I found the above technique offered by
2kwik4u through trial and error, so follow those instruction and everyone will enjoy. Also, keep a little in throttle like biffdotorg
said. It is a great way to add a little thrill when they are outside the wake and you want to whip them extra good back across.
 
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