Tower or transom eye?

[yam18ar195]

I'm new to jet boating, always had a prop, however was wondering what part of these boats is better to use when towing a 3 person towable, the Tower...or transom eye? 2018 AR 195

 

[ripler]

Never tow a tube from the tower.

 

[zipper]

Transom eye, aka tie downs. Edit: Or stern tow point.

 

[buckbuck]

I always tow from the tower.

 

[El Burro Verde]

You’re not supposed to tow a tube from the tower. That’s why they have the tow point on the stern by the upper swim platform handle. You don’t need to use the tie down point. They have a dedicated tow point.

 

[biffdotorg]

I'm new to jet boating, always had a prop, however was wondering what part of these boats is better to use when towing a 3 person towable, the Tower...or transom eye? 2018 AR 195

You just opened up the most hotly debated topic next to steering fin brands and motor oils. Pop your corn, she's gonna be fun.

Long story short coming from a search of this site, you will find you should do what makes "you" comfortable. And understand that the warning stickers were literally put there for CYA purposes by Yamaha for Yamaha. In fact, we have shared a photo multiple times from Yamaha marketing of a Yamaha AR pulling a tube from the tower in their own brochure.

You will find, there are by far fewer members of the "oops I sucked up my rope club" in the crowd that tow from the tower. And there are an abnormal amount of folks in the lower tow point club that truly believe you can flip your 4000lb boat with a tube towed from the tower. (smile)

So again, you do you knowing there are equal numbers on here that have done both without issue.

 

[jimbobalu]

I've tried both and the kids prefer the tow point over the tower for inflatables, definitely the tower for boarding or skiing.

 

[buckbuck]

 

[anmut]

People tow from the tower. BUT, there's a sticker on your boat, and a warning in your manual, that says that's a REALLY bad idea. If I ever tow a tube, i use the eyelet on the transom and a booster ball to get the tube out further behind.

 

[anmut]

You just opened up the most hotly debated topic next to steering fin brands and motor oils. Pop your corn, she's gonna be fun.

Long story short coming from a search of this site, you will find you should do what makes "you" comfortable. And understand that the warning stickers were literally put there for CYA purposes by Yamaha for Yamaha. In fact, we have shared a photo multiple times from Yamaha marketing of a Yamaha AR pulling a tube from the tower in their own brochure.

You will find, there are by far fewer members of the "oops I sucked up my rope club" in the crowd that tow from the tower. And there are an abnormal amount of folks in the lower tow point club that truly believe you can flip your 4000lb boat with a tube towed from the tower. (smile)

So again, you do you knowing there are equal numbers on here that have done both without issue.

As an FYI, I can pull my boat when doing a hard cut on my wakeboard from the tower. I can feel the boat come towards me through the rope (non-stretch wakeboard coated rope) - and when driving a wakeboarder that cuts hard, I can feel the top of the boat move on that axis. It's creepy!

I would put forth that a submarining three person tube weighed down with a few hundred pounds of human, could surely flip a boat under the right circumstances.

 

[buckbuck]

The lawyers did not put a sticker on my boat but probably chose to do so on the later boats because of the pictures of fun many of us were having.

 

[buckbuck]

You are correct about submarining a 3 person tube. I have had it yank my boat partially over and it is scary. It changed my driving habits.

 

[yam18ar195]

Thank you for all of your input, I find the biggest challenge with towing with my jet boat is getting the perfect rope length due to the kids getting blasted from the jet wash if the rope is a standard 60ft. I made one about 72 ft with a tow ball pulling from the eye and that seems to be the best for people being towed and feels alright from the helm perspective. However, sometimes during take off the tow ball submarines and you can feel it pull on the boat, I have to accelerate to get the ball to pop back up.

 

[anmut]

Thank you for all of your input, I find the biggest challenge with towing with my jet boat is getting the perfect rope length due to the kids getting blasted from the jet wash if the rope is a standard 60ft. I made one about 72 ft with a tow ball pulling from the eye and that seems to be the best for people being towed and feels alright from the helm perspective. However, sometimes during take off the tow ball submarines and you can feel it pull on the boat, I have to accelerate to get the ball to pop back up.

Overinflate everything and, if you're towing a tube for more than 40 minutes, check and inflate again as necessary. They lose pressure, and underinflation is what causes the submarine effect.

 

[biffdotorg]

I would put forth that a submarining three person tube weighed down with a few hundred pounds of human, could surely flip a boat under the right circumstances.

Here is the explanation that most hear. Two major points to make. To “flip a boat” you would have to be moving at a good rate of speed. To sub a big tube, you have to be going slow. So those two things never align. A properly inflated tube being pulled by a boat on plane will never submerge. It only happens when going slow, or allowing it to get inside the wake and come off plane.

So yes, a subbed tube has some serious power, but it can never flip a boat. Physics should be very obvious on this point. But again, you do what you are comfortable with.

 

[AZMark]

I’ve never heard the concept of one flipping the boat before this.

I just don’t do it because it seems like a bad idea for the boat to put that much stress way up on the tower. Lots of leverage on the fiberglass that the tower is mounted to. One person on a small tube is probably not much more stress than a wakeboard but 3 people on a big tube is.

 

[buckbuck]

My experience has been an unusual set of circumstances that align to cause the boat to lean over. They include, a 3 person tube that had become underinflated since first putting it in the river, kids weight being towards the nose of the tube, the tube off to one side and not directly behind the boat, sitting at idle in choppy water. I hammered the throttles and the tube submerged but the engines just drove the boat over on its side. How far it leaned I am not sure but it was enough to scare me bad. We have made a number of adjustments since that event which has led to it never happening again.

 

[anmut]

Here is the explanation that most hear. Two major points to make. To “flip a boat” you would have to be moving at a good rate of speed. To sub a big tube, you have to be going slow. So those two things never align. A properly inflated tube being pulled by a boat on plane will never submerge. It only happens when going slow, or allowing it to get inside the wake and come off plane.

So yes, a subbed tube has some serious power, but it can never flip a boat. Physics should be very obvious on this point. But again, you do what you are comfortable with.

I would agree - your tower could probably be damaged before the boat flips. One would hope, at least.