Has anyone used a noodle to prevent sucking in a rope?

[haknslash]

We haven't busted out our new tube yet for the season but after reading about people sucking up ropes while tubing it got me thinking of ways to prevent the rope from hanging around the pump. Would adding a noodle or two by the tow hook and adding a knot to keep them from sliding down the rope work? Sometimes I won't have an extra body in the boat to watch a rope so what have you solo tow captains come up with to help keep the rope away?

 

[scokill]

I've seen it and it should work other than what has happened to us when we suck up a rope...typically when I forgot I was idling in reverse. It won't help in that situation if you get enough slack around the engines. We haven't done it in at least 6 years.

 

[Julian]

Yup...been done before by a few people. Won't prevent a rope being sucked up, but will likely reduce the chance some. I've sucked up one...10+ years ago...now I'm just really really careful about not backing up with a rope in the water unless I have a competant and intelligent adult watching and pulling in the rope. Otherwise...I stay in forward while tubing, and make darn sure I don't cross the rope. If in doubt I quickly shut down.

 

[haknslash]

What about sitting in neutral? I've never pulled a tube before with a jet and doing it solo with the wife and daughter on the tube I'm just trying to think of a way to minimize the stress level of sucking it up lol. That horrible picture of the member on here with a cracked hull from the rope busting it has haunted me.

 

[scokill]

What about sitting in neutral? I've never pulled a tube before with a jet and doing it solo with the wife and daughter on the tube I'm just trying to think of a way to minimize the stress level of sucking it up lol. That horrible picture of the member on here with a cracked hull from the rope busting it has haunted me.

To me you are either going forward or engine off when ropes are involved. The only way to suck up a rope moving forward is to run over it. I err on the side of cutting the engines if there is every a question or slightest doubt of knowing exactly where the rope is.

 

[Scuba_ref]

Always forward with wide turns!

 

[KXCam22]

The noodles work for me. I have one on every rope but the surf rope. Cam.

Ps with tubing the jet has the ability to turn tight enough to snap the smaller ski ropes. . A full throttle start with a 180 turn will do it. Too much gforce on the tube. I snapped 2 before I figured out my error.

 

[Eric Ballard]

I tried a noodle and the kids complained the water spray was worse. I guess it depends on where you place the noodle. Maybe put several boat fenders along the rope like a pool lane divider LOL. They even make a storage rack that you can mount to the swim deck. Guaranteed to not suck a rope into the jet.

 

[KXCam22]

I place my noodles so that the rope floats about 3' behind the platform. It is not usually in the water when underway. Cam.

 

[Joe Hellaby]

It's legal down there to tow someone without a dedicated spotter?

We've tried the noodles, they help, but they're a pain in the ass. The one time last year that we sucked up a rope, was when I was being towed and my friend who was driving kept the engines running while I was getting ready and the rope went underneath the boat while idling.

We always kill the engines in between riders and such, but down south that might be a problem with the engine getting too warm. The only times I've really notice the heat soak between lots of tubing and shutting the engines off right away when picking up the rider after they fell off

 

[justason]

It's legal down there to tow someone without a dedicated spotter?

We've tried the noodles, they help, but they're a pain in the ass. The one time last year that we sucked up a rope, was when I was being towed and my friend who was driving kept the engines running while I was getting ready and the rope went underneath the boat while idling.

We always kill the engines in between riders and such, but down south that might be a problem with the engine getting too warm. The only times I've really notice the heat soak between lots of tubing and shutting the engines off right away when picking up the rider after they fell off

yessir. this was a surprise to me when i moved to NC from NH. no spotter required. I believe a mirror is required however.....

 

[haknslash]

It's legal down there to tow someone without a dedicated spotter?

Yup it's legal here without a spotter so long as you have a wide view mirror. You hit the nail with why I was asking about idle/neutral. The cooling is what concerns me as I don't usually like to just shut the engine off after pushing it hard. On my turbo cars I always used a turbo timer to allow the turbo to cool down when I shut off my car.

 

[Mike sanders]

I have a yamaha noodle or what ever it is Line float. Haven't used it yet

 

[HARY5150]

I sucked up a tow rope the other day, the engine automatically shut down, I had to cut it out off of the shaft. This definitely could have been avoided, but my wife misunderstood what I was saying about having the tube away from the jets when starting the engine. She pushed them to the side of the boat and of course the rope was being pulled under the boat in the way of the intake. Unfortunately the best way to keep this from happening is having a well informed spotter on the back conducting the activities. The noodle sounds great, but I could see where it would be a pain in the ass. You would be better off having the rider just pushing off of the back of the boat and letting out the rope themselves until fully extended. This to could also have potential negative repercussions and that is why it is required to have a spotter at all times.

 

[Scottintexas]

just be vigilant, if I don't have a spotter or my spotter does not have the capacity to monitor the rope I will just coil it on the back deck and let it feed out while I idle away, in the 20 seconds it takes to get underway it rarely lets enough line out or goes under the boat,