Rope strength type for towing SX 190 behind houseboat

[jollyroger]

Going to Lake Powell at end of June and will be towing our SX 190 behind the houseboat. Looking for recommendations on the type of rope, mostly around tensile strength. I have a 50' rope, 1/4" with a tensile strength of 1,050 pounds. Wondering if I should move up to the 3/4" anchor type rope with a tensile strength of 3,500 pounds or the biggie 1/2" with 5,500 pounds. May also look at a 100' rope as 50' may be a little short.

Finally, yes I am going to clamp off the hose where water can get up into too, forgot the name but have the hose marked.

 

[Andy S]

I don't know the size or tensile strength but I have towed several boats 21 - 24' with a have duty tube rope without issue. I would think anything 1/2" or bigger would be sufficient and since the house boat won't put off much of wake, I would think 50' would be fine.

 

[Scuba_ref]

I'm curious as to how the boat will track while being towed? Instinctually I feel that it may meander hither and yon!

 

[Bruce]

Why not tie your SX190 directly to one side of the houseboat?

 

[RiverRat]

I would imagine it will stay straight behind as long as you're under power. I've pulled my old I/O behind a houseboat up the Mississippi many times, had the lower unit all the way up so virtually no rudder effect and it tracked right along behind.

 

[sysinu]

Why not tie your SX190 directly to one side of the houseboat?

This would ride horribly for the boat and houseboat (not to mention really bad rubbing). Would cause the houseboat to pull to one side really bad and ruin fuel economy.

 

[sysinu]

Going to Lake Powell at end of June and will be towing our SX 190 behind the houseboat. Looking for recommendations on the type of rope, mostly around tensile strength. I have a 50' rope, 1/4" with a tensile strength of 1,050 pounds. Wondering if I should move up to the 3/4" anchor type rope with a tensile strength of 3,500 pounds or the biggie 1/2" with 5,500 pounds. May also look at a 100' rope as 50' may be a little short.

Finally, yes I am going to clamp off the hose where water can get up into too, forgot the name but have the hose marked.

Is this your first time? Let me know if you want to bounce some questions like this off of me, I can give you my number.

You want 1/2" or better and you want 50' or more. We use 3/4" line, but that's just because we always have a 50' line of 3/4" on the boat. Remember that about 8' is going to get used up in your bowline knot off your bow eye and then 3' gets used on the cleat hitch... so you want the 50'.

Words of advice. DO NOT TOW THROUGH THE CUT (if you're Wahweap side)! . Sorry for yelling. It's just not worth it, a tour boat goes through there or you get some wind and next thing you know, your boat is riding the wall and there is nothing you can do about it.

 

[sysinu]

Also... sorry for the wall of text here... Unless you're planning on going WOT with the houseboat, I doubt you need to clamp off your lines. I never have, and we usually tow at about 7-8 MPH. (3K RPM on dual merc's for a 65' houseboat)

 

[Addicted]

I have spent three separate weeks at Lake Shasta with a houseboat and my Yamaha. I found that it was much easier to tie the boat to the back rear corner of the houseboat. While driving the houseboat, you don't even notice it is there. No issue with tracking at all. I used 6 large round fenders and encountered no rub rash either.

I towed the first day or two and found it to be a much bigger pain in the ass.

 

[sysinu]

I have spent three separate weeks at Lake Shasta with a houseboat and my Yamaha. I found that it was much easier to tie the boat to the back rear corner of the houseboat. While driving the houseboat, you don't even notice it is there. No issue with tracking at all. I used 6 large round fenders and encountered no rub rash either.

I towed the first day or two and found it to be a much bigger pain in the ass.

Interesting... I have never seen a boat towed that way and I have been houseboating on Lake Powell for quite a while. I'll ask the marina pilot what he thinks about it in on Friday.

 

[jollyroger]

Sysinu, (and everyone) thanks for the advice. We are renting out of Bullfrog so no Cut to worry about. It would be great to bounce some ideas back and forth at some point; whatever is the best way to Bounce, let me know.

I have not been to Powell for about 17 years; it will be the first time for the wife and kids. The first time I went was probably about 1980 when I was muuuuch younger. We rented, I think it was a 32' houseboat out of Hite for a week. One of the trips in the early 80's we made it as far south as Padre Bay and back to probably Bullfrog. Those trips were a blast

As long as the wind does not blow too bad the first day while we get the hang of the houseboat then camped, and anchored into shore, it will all will be great.

 

[Murf'n'surf]

Interesting... I have never seen a boat towed that way and I have been houseboating on Lake Powell for quite a while. I'll ask the marina pilot what he thinks about it in on Friday.

This is called a hip tow. I have hip towed many vessels that were not able to run under their own power. As a side note, please don't try to hip tow with your jet boats.....you need a prop!! Hip towing is a great idea when in narrow channels, areas with lots of traffic or constant stop and go. Conditions need to be calm to avoid chaffing and unwanted damage.

Sounds like most of your travels will not contain any of those so I would set the boat 70' behind the houseboat and not worry about it. Pull it in and hip tow if and when needed.

Put your jet boat in forward so there is less drag and set the steering wheel straight so it tracks nicely behind the houseboat.

 

[sysinu]

Sysinu, (and everyone) thanks for the advice. We are renting out of Bullfrog so no Cut to worry about. It would be great to bounce some ideas back and forth at some point; whatever is the best way to Bounce, let me know.

I have not been to Powell for about 17 years; it will be the first time for the wife and kids. The first time I went was probably about 1980 when I was muuuuch younger. We rented, I think it was a 32' houseboat out of Hite for a week. One of the trips in the early 80's we made it as far south as Padre Bay and back to probably Bullfrog. Those trips were a blast

As long as the wind does not blow too bad the first day while we get the hang of the houseboat then camped, and anchored into shore, it will all will be great.

We will be down on the south end of the lake Thursday until the 4th of June.

Remember the basics:

• Bury the anchors deep (like 4' deep) and use the houseboat engine power to set the anchors.
• Depending on your crew size, you might want to bring extra shovels (round mouth's, in particular).
• Dump water on the anchor holes before setting the anchors.
• Runoff will be high. Lake-powell-water-data hasn't updated since last Thursday, but it was showing 1/3' lake elevation increase per day at the time. With how wet it has been, I suspect this will go up.
• Due to high runoff. Have vice grips in your boat. A small pair... so you can yank small twigs out of the cleanouts.
• Due to high runoff... bury your anchors REALLY high if you're going to stay anchored for more than a couple days. DO NOT LET YOUR ANCHORS BURY!!! Again, sorry for yelling . What a miserable mess that is to get your anchors out once they submerge. Unless you tie a rope around the crown/stock to pull the anchor up (think tug of war to get that thing up), all you will be doing is relentlessly fighting with sand and silt as every shovel full you take out gets filled in.
• Anchor aft facing southwest if you can (or in a sheltered cove). Winds at LP primarily are out of the south and toward the north. For the south and of the lake, they are usually out of the southwest toward the northeast (so you want to have your houseboat anchored parallel of that vector).
• Remember that getting your anchor lines to the stern is easiest by either running them (and securing them so there is no way they can get into the prop) in the slip, but if you can't do that, then remember to use a couple people and the upper deck of the houseboat (don't try climbing along the side of the houseboat ).
• Winds are worst in the evening after 3PM and with as much weather as we have been getting I would be surprised if these next few weeks don't have quite a bit.
• If you're renting, go to the dock really early if you can or maybe even a day early. They are going to make you take a training class that eats up a lot of time.
• Possibly bring a small piece of carpet and some shore anchors+rope. I don't like beaching my boat bow-in anymore than the next guy... but Lake Powell weather can get bad in a hurry. I personally don't like putting my wake boat on the aft of the houseboat (as it gets in the way of the slide) and I don't trust doing two Prusik knots or Klemheist Knots (with carabiners to make it easier) on the outside anchor line... I should trust this, but for some reason, I don't.
• Navionics is your friend... download the lake map before going out.
• Bring a spotlight
• Be sure to have a VHF on your boat and make sure it's charged (what a nightmare that can be if you have AT&T on that lake)

For me, once I get anchored, I breathe a sigh of relief.

 

[jasoraso]

For those that have towed the Yamaha - I have a question:

Do you think it is good to put the throttles in "Forward" to open the gates and allow water to free flow (as much as possible) through the impeller housing? Will that reduce pressure in the housing, and reduce likelihood of pressure building up the water lines into the engine?

Every houseboat I've been on at Lake Powell has had plenty of extra lines suitable for towing.

When you get under way, have someone monitor the Yamaha - there often is an ideal length depending on the speed of the houseboat, and the houseboats wake. There is a horror story out there of someone that towed through the main channel (down by Wahweap) and the length of the tow rope put the boat being towed at a bad spot relative to the houseboat's wake - I think the boat was "surfing" down a swell. Between that and the rough water in the channel (tour boat came by?), the boat being towed filled with water and sank while being towed.

 

[sysinu]

For those that have towed the Yamaha - I have a question:

Do you think it is good to put the throttles in "Forward" to open the gates and allow water to free flow (as much as possible) through the impeller housing? Will that reduce pressure in the housing, and reduce likelihood of pressure building up the water lines into the engine?

Every houseboat I've been on at Lake Powell has had plenty of extra lines suitable for towing.

When you get under way, have someone monitor the Yamaha - there often is an ideal length depending on the speed of the houseboat, and the houseboats wake. There is a horror story out there of someone that towed through the main channel (down by Wahweap) and the length of the tow rope put the boat being towed at a bad spot relative to the houseboat's wake - I think the boat was "surfing" down a swell. Between that and the rough water in the channel (tour boat came by?), the boat being towed filled with water and sank while being towed.

I heard of this as well, terrifying.

I will be having my wife put it into fwd this week and see if it makes a difference. I think it will make a marginal difference, but it will be really difficult to tell, considering the relative mass of the vessel that is doing the towing. We have always towed the ski and fishing boats behind the houseboat (and then the jet ski's etc behind the fishing boat because it's less water resistance than the Yamaha)... Never thought to try anything different.