Question for the towable guys/gals

[thepiratemorgan]

Just picked up a SX192 a couple of weeks ago. Boat is at dealer currently because it was a private sale and needed a dealer inspection to transfer the Y.E.S. extended warranty and my "Big Mable" two person (well mine is "Big Brawler" from Overtons) just came this past Saturday.
My question is for the 19 footers ...do you trailer with Big Mable/Brawler inflated and somehow on the boat with or without trailer cover? Do you inflate on the water? (In the tow vehicle is not an option for me, Toyota Sienna)
And what about underway and not using it? Do you just tow it on a short leash? Or secure it to the swim platform?
Thanks for any advice.

 

[mraz72]

Congrats on the boat, you're going to love it.

I wet slip so my experience might be different. I have basically the same tube, I have the super Mable which I believe holds three or four, but whatever it's large. I would inflate it at the dock prior to takeoff and strap it to the swim platform instead of just towing it. After use, you can deflate then stow or just strap it back to the swim platform and head back to shore, then deflate on land.

If you have a 12V air pump, you can inflate after you are underway, but I chose to use shore power and my 110v pump to inflate on shore.

As far as towing, I tow without and canvas covers because I don't want the extra wear and tear, just make sure to secure everything. If it is raining I covered the boat and then tow.

 

[Julian]

• No way I'd trailer with an inflated tube in the boat.
• I do the same as Michael (also have a slip with lift) and inflate my big tube at the dock as my AC inflator is way more powerful than my DC one.
• I will tow it out of the marina pulled up on the back of the boat with someone holding it (some day I'll put in a small retractable cleat in the back part of the cabin to tie down the tube to)
• If you tow it behind the boat with no riders it might flip if you go fast (I've had that happen).

 

[mrmeaniemeateaterman]

I have the 3 person big brawler from Overtons. It's F'ing huge! I call it "The Nemesis" as it is a huge pain in the ass, heavy as can be, always in the way, but kids love it, so I suck it up. I keep it stored in ski locker deflated until ready to use. When we get to middle of lake/river I wrestle it out and inflate with 12V pump. When not in use it has gone on top of bimini (not while moving, but just to get out of way). If underway and kids not on it we drag it up on swim platform and someone holds it. But can't go too fast as it act like a sail. But this usually just for moving between no wake zones, because if we are going fast, they are on it. I have also put it up on bow upside down during surprise rain storms as it makes an excellent impromptu rain shelter. At end of day I deflate it before we get to dock, fold it up properly, and just sit in on the floor. Once boat on trailer, I put it in back of my truck (I have a topper), then I reinflate it once I get home (shop vac works quick to reinflate if reverse the hose so it "blows") and let it dry out very thoroughly. Then once completely dry, deflate it (with shop vac), fold it up properly,and put it on shelf ready to go again for next trip where it will get crammed into ski locker just to do it all over again. Make sure you never put it up wet. It will get nasty, slimy, moldy and stink. And no matter how much clorox you spray it with you won't get the stains off. Also make sure inner tube doesn't get all twisted up inside it. Have to fold it up very carefully and unfold in same order, otherwise that inner bladder gets all twisted around and trying to get it back is a headache.

I have strapped it to boat (uncovered) and towed 55mph with it on there, but it just stresses me out too much with it like that. If going a mile or 2, maybe, but you can tell there is A LOT of stress on tube/ropes at that speed. Not worth the stress so I just deflate/reinflate an extra time. Probably takes less time than strapping it down anyway.

Ultimately I think we all have our own little "processes" on how we deal with these things. Just go have fun and see what works best for you.

 

[thepiratemorgan]

Yeah, I guess I would err on the side of caution and stow inflated under the trailer cover if it's possible. Not one for lawsuits or rely on my boy scout knots to secure otherwise. I have limited opportunity to inflate at the launch, if any 110v at all. Thank you all so far for the suggestions / hints...I'm not ashamed to ask.

 

[Julian]

I'm not ashamed to ask

That is what the forum is for!

There are a number of good 12v inflators...some people have even gone to the extent of installing them on their boats. https://jetboaters.net/faq/how-to-install-a-tube-inflator-hookup-on-the-swim-platform.77/

There are also threads on which pumps are best...

 

[thepiratemorgan]

Yep .... This may be my only option. Thanks for the link!!

 

[Scottintexas]

how far from the house to the ramp, is it interstate or city streets ?

I have a "super Slice" 5 person disk tube, it's BIG, I inflate it at the house and pull it into the cabin and tie it down to the interior grab handles, this along with having the windshield closed and closet door open reduce most all of the wind resistance to the tube while towing the boat on the highway, usually I use a docking rope and three half hitches to secure it to itself although I've recently thought about putting a knot on the first handle just as a fail safe,

when launching I secure it with an extra docking line hanging from the tower just so it's standing on the swim deck, that way you can easily push it to one side of the boat or the other,

while underway, speeding to the "fun Zone", definitely don't think you'll be able to hang it even five fee off the back, as Julian said it will flip and whip and you don't want any part of that,

I've found a short piece of 1 foot string wrapped around the tow strap and then looped on the tow hook so it's just sitting on the swim platform will keep it stable even at full speed, while wakeboarding or other fun at less than 20mph I'll just take that same string and loop in on a rear docking cleat so it's somewhat out of the way,

 

[Julian]

This thread might be helpful:

https://jetboaters.net/threads/super-mable-inflatable-tips.9719/

 

[Sbrown]

I just bought a 3-person Super Mable.......what a pain in the ass! It's huge, heavy and unwieldy, difficult to inflate, difficult to deflate. But my wife and kids absolutely LOVE IT! So I deal with it, Sorta glad to hear I'm not the only one having to deal with it, though. Definitely going to put some of these tips to great use, so thanks from me, too.

 

[biffdotorg]

We actually have tube tie down straps. They are made of webbing and clips. You are then able to clip the tube to the swimdeck out of the way. On a yamaha you may need to use the rear cleats as there are no handles.

A 12v low pressure/high volume pump is like $10 shipped on amazon too. Then you can be "that guy" on the sandbar filling toys.

 

[2kwik4u]

I trailer with my tube inflated. I blew it up once when we first bought it and haven't deflated it since.

Mine is a two person from Bass Pro.

When on the trailer, the tube is between the captains chair UPSIDE DOWN with the "back" stuffed down into the floor, turned so the "back" of the tube is against the captains chair. I then "stuff" the tow end down past the window on the port side. I trailer with the shipping cover on, and it easily fits under the cover, no problem.

When on the water, the tube is hooked to the tow eye as close as I can get it to the tow attach point. The rope is then looped through a cleat (in case it gets bounced off the tow eye underway - which has never happened), and the remainder of the rope is tossed into the rear storage area with the lid closed over it. Works very well, except that the platform is obscured. Usually not a big deal. Here is a picture of our last tube on our last boat. Not a great example, but you can see how close I have it tethered to the boat.


I'll try to take pictures of the different "phases" of how this works out the next time we have the boat on the water with the tube.

With all that said, I'm |...| that close to installing an extension cord on my 12V inflator and figuring out how to deflate this thing, as we're finding the 6yr old doesn't like going by himself, and we rarely have enough people on board to have a driver, spotter, and 2 riders. If I could find a way to easily inflate/deflate the tube, then I'll probably just do that. Loading/unloading/moving that big thing is a PIA unless it really gets used.

 

[thepiratemorgan]

My house to launch is 20 miles max interspersed with highway speeds and in town roads.
A ton of great info and thoughts here already, I have homework to do!

 

[2kwik4u]

My house to launch is 20 miles max interspersed with highway speeds and in town roads.
A ton of great info and thoughts here already, I have homework to do!

I'm about 60 miles either direction (excluding the Ohio River). Both are interstate speed tows. As far as I can tell so long as the cover is on the boat, no real need to worry about whats under it to some extent.

Had a return trip from the lake last year with the tube in the above configuration. Had a REALLY grouchy 7yr old and matching in-laws, so the speed on the return trip was closer to 75-80 the whole way to try and shorten my pain as much as possible. Cover and tube survived with no adverse effects that I could tell.

I'll try to get out in the garage and take some pictures of how I do it tonight. Need to start working on tube inflate/deflate procedures so I can try it the way most folks do it anyway

 

[96Pirate]

I have the 3 person mable and the thing is just huge. Can’t imagine what the 4 person would be like. I trailer it deflated Mostly due to its size. I have the 23 footer and the thing is just so hard to strap down anywhere. The 2 person might be small enough to fit on your 19 footer. Not sure.

We have a 12v pump that does a great job while on the water. It takes about 2-3 minutes to pump up. Once pumped I try to get the kids to do all the tubing they want to do for the day 1st. Then when they are done with that I deflate so that we can do the other sports...wakeboarding, surfing. I have not found a great way to keep it inflated while we do those activities. If we are cruising we are normally tubing. About 50% of the time I will need to reinflate the tube because the kids want to do more tubing after surfing, etc. Or we do it the reverse order and surf and wakeboard 1st and then tube the rest of the day.

 

[96Pirate]

I should say that my biggest gripe is the length of the cords on some of the inflators. Mine I think is 6’ or 8’. Because of the size of the tube I need to inflate on the swim deck. Occasionally while inflating the plug will pull out of the dash mounted receptacle. I plan to either relocate another receptacle somewhere near the back of the cabin or more than likely wire in a longer plug but for right now it can be a pain.

 

[2kwik4u]

I should say that my biggest gripe is the length of the cords on some of the inflators. Mine I think is 6’ or 8’. Because of the size of the tube I need to inflate on the swim deck. Occasionally while inflating the plug will pull out of the dash mounted receptacle. I plan to either relocate another receptacle somewhere near the back of the cabin or more than likely wire in a longer plug but for right now it can be a pain.

If I can get my deflator to reduce the size of the tube so that it is easily (or at least somewhat manageable) stored then I'll be doing this mod. I have the same issue with the cord on my inflator, and is one of the reasons I'm hesitant to inflate/deflate on the water.

https://jetboaters.net/threads/built-in-air-pump.6717/

 

[thepiratemorgan]

I'm about 60 miles either direction (excluding the Ohio River). Both are interstate speed tows. As far as I can tell so long as the cover is on the boat, no real need to worry about whats under it to some extent.

Had a return trip from the lake last year with the tube in the above configuration. Had a REALLY grouchy 7yr old and matching in-laws, so the speed on the return trip was closer to 75-80 the whole way to try and shorten my pain as much as possible. Cover and tube survived with no adverse effects that I could tell.

I'll try to get out in the garage and take some pictures of how I do it tonight. Need to start working on tube inflate/deflate procedures so I can try it the way most folks do it anyway

I'll keep an eye out for those pics.... Thank you!

 

[96Pirate]

Lol...I remember seeing this mod way back. Great mod, just not sure I want/need to go that far. Simplest would be to add a longer plug to mine. Doing something more elaborate is not going to speed up or make the process any better I don’t think. Just a cleaner look maybe.

FWIW...I can get my tube deflated and rolled up into about the same size as the box it came in. It stows easily under the bow center cushion.

 

[2kwik4u]

Lol...I remember seeing this mod way back. Great mod, just not sure I want/need to go that far. Simplest would be to add a longer plug to mine. Doing something more elaborate is not going to speed up or make the process any better I don’t think. Just a cleaner look maybe.

FWIW...I can get my tube deflated and rolled up into about the same size as the box it came in. It stows easily under the bow center cushion.

WOW, no way I could get mine under the bow center cushion on a 19ft. I barely get my anchor in there.

I've been under serious reorganization this season to get things where they are accessible when needed with doing the least amount of disturbance to already sitting occupants. For instance, the bumpers and lines for docking are now in the ski locker so that nobody has to get up/move when we're coming into dock. Got a new cooler that fits UNDER the passenger lounge seat so we can just slide it out when a frosty beverage is needed. I'm thinking I might be able to stuff the tube down and under the seat behind the captains chair. It's plenty deep, and it goes far enough towards the stern there that I might be able to make that work. Another option is in the ski locker towards the forward "overhang" area. My board, and bumpers are the only thing that lives in there right now. Might make sense to put the tube there.