Tubing "Accidents"

[Shookie]

Haven't seen a thread on here to show videos of big wipeouts on tubes, ski's, etc......I have a few of these but wanted to share a nice crash from Lake Jocassee a couple weeks ago. Friend shot this on his phone so it's a bit shaky..... Enjoy!

 

[Yambers]

Any issues pulling tubes from the tower? I usually pull from the lower hook and it causes the rope rides in the wake, or causes the towable to submarine. I dont really want to add one of those "bobbers", but I dont want to stress the tower. it is a 2020 242S.

 

[HangOutdoors]

No issues from pulling with tower, its all I do ....... BUT...... You probably don't want to open that can of worms around here Search the boards on the topic, many heated threads.

 

[anmut]

No issues from pulling with tower, its all I do ....... BUT...... You probably don't want to open that can of worms around here Search the boards on the topic, many heated threads.

 

[Shookie]

Any issues pulling tubes from the tower? I usually pull from the lower hook and it causes the rope rides in the wake, or causes the towable to submarine. I dont really want to add one of those "bobbers", but I dont want to stress the tower. it is a 2020 242S.

I always pull from the tower. The hook on the stern is useless IMO. The rope drags in the water and doesn't stay on there very well. I've tried before..... You also get some vertical lift so the tube tends to come out of the water a bit more. The kids love it!

In that video, there were 500-550 pounds in the tube and no issues. I wouldn't worry about the tower at all.

 

[biffdotorg]

The best video I saw share recently was the amount of force that is actually put on the tow point when pulling a tube, boarder, skier etc, and they were all well below 200lbs if not below 100lbs. So the eye opener was the towers were rated from 350-400lbs of tow force. That shut up a few on facebook, but then the naysayers were talking ideal conditions etc.

The best were the ones that started ranting about the tube subbing, and it would roll the boat. And folks just shot back that if it's subbing, you have the tube under inflated, or only when going slow. Which is true. And at a slow/sub speed, no damage will ever happen. There just isn't enough force. So yes, those threads are total dead horse beating. We all do what we are comfortable with.

 

[Yambers]

I always pull from the tower. The hook on the stern is useless IMO. The rope drags in the water and doesn't stay on there very well. I've tried before..... You also get some vertical lift so the tube tends to come out of the water a bit more. The kids love it!

In that video, there were 500-550 pounds in the tube and no issues. I wouldn't worry about the tower at all.

Gonna have to try tower towing. I need a longer rope though. Probably buy a 15-20 ft extension to get everyone out of the spray.

 

[anmut]

The best video I saw share recently was the amount of force that is actually put on the tow point when pulling a tube, boarder, skier etc, and they were all well below 200lbs if not below 100lbs. So the eye opener was the towers were rated from 350-400lbs of tow force. That shut up a few on facebook, but then the naysayers were talking ideal conditions etc.

The best were the ones that started ranting about the tube subbing, and it would roll the boat. And folks just shot back that if it's subbing, you have the tube under inflated, or only when going slow. Which is true. And at a slow/sub speed, no damage will ever happen. There just isn't enough force. So yes, those threads are total dead horse beating. We all do what we are comfortable with.

I guess, for me, why pull a tube to begin with?!

 

[HangOutdoors]

I guess, for me, why pull a tube to begin with?!

It gets very tiring. I am very sore after a full day outing driving the boat only and pulling the damn tube around

 

[biffdotorg]

I guess, for me, why pull a tube to begin with?!

Legal child abuse. Our girls won't stop till someone is crying or bleeding. "hello, social services, yeah, my dad just kicked my A$$ on a ski tube"

 

[Yambers]

Legal child abuse. Our girls won't stop till someone is crying or bleeding. "hello, social services, yeah, my dad just kicked my A$$ on a ski tube"

I think my wife likes it more than the kids. Cant get her off the tube, even after submarining, being dragged, banging heads with our son. She just keeps on going. A real trooper, that one is.

 

[Can0n11]

I always pull from the tower. The hook on the stern is useless IMO. The rope drags in the water and doesn't stay on there very well. I've tried before..... You also get some vertical lift so the tube tends to come out of the water a bit more. The kids love it!

In that video, there were 500-550 pounds in the tube and no issues. I wouldn't worry about the tower at all.

That hook is great for a safety harness when releasing larger fish off the swim deck

 

[Scuba_ref]

I guess, for me, why pull a tube to begin with?!

Because it is so much easier than pushing a tube!

 

[Julian]

I don't have photos of it, but I took a coworker out last year with his kids, we skied, boarded and then tubed. The teen boys are travel hockey players and were a bear to launch .... but I did launch them nicely. Then my coworker says...."my turn....bet you can't get me off it!!!".
I reply "seriously....you don't want to throw that gauntlet down!"
He replies "give it your best shot "

I thought I'd killed him.

I did a bunch of circle backs onto an ever growing mass of large waves, swung him perfectly out to the side, launched him of the first wave, then he landed perfectly onto the start of a 2nd larger wave and he was easily 15' in the air.

He got back into the boat with difficulty and to this day is pretty sure I broke some of his ribs.

I've never launched anyone as hard and as high as that before, and won't do it again! But we do both laugh about it now!

Here is a selection of modest launches:

 

[Shookie]

Good pics Julian. I'll get a couple more videos posted soon... Gotta do some editing first.

My son and his friends (14-15 years old) thought they were the cats ass and I bet them they couldn't stay on the tube for a minute. I won that bet multiple times!

 

[drewkaree]

@Julian are those phone pics, or a GoPro? I picked up a knock off GoPro, but it sucks for capturing anything with movement as it's too jittery. My wife is absolutely horrible at taking pictures, so I'm trying to find a solution for pics. She's too putzy and futzy with the phone, and in my case, I'm too cheap for a GoPro.

 

[Shookie]

@Julian are those phone pics, or a GoPro? I picked up a knock off GoPro, but it sucks for capturing anything with movement as it's too jittery. My wife is absolutely horrible at taking pictures, so I'm trying to find a solution for pics. She's too putzy and futzy with the phone, and in my case, I'm too cheap for a GoPro.

What version of GoPro do you have? I have a Hero 4 that is at least 5 years old and it works great. I mount it to the tower and can either shoot video to the front or rear. I'll post some rear facing tubing vids later. I was in Panama City for a meet up 2 weeks ago and shot some video with it. Take a look..

 

[Ronnie]

It’s not an accident if it’s intentional, that’s just what I, the driver, says if someone gets hurt. pulling people around on a balloon attached to a high powered boat with a string is serious business, or in legal terms Boating generally is an inherently dangerous activity. I’ve pulled friends out of the water afterwards because they could not do so themselves. I had to tell my cousin her son got hurt tubing and I’ve taken my friend to the e-room after a boating trip that ended badly for him (his fault thankfully as he was a an assistant DIstrict Attorney or Public Defender at the time). Now I’m a lot more careful to ease off the throttle just before people get thrown off the tube at high speeds.

That said, it’s also the best way to entertain the most people, on the tube(s) and in the boat, at the same time.

I’ve towed multiple tubes from the stern tow point as well as the tower many times and never experienced any issues. I prefer not to tow from the tower because, although the forward swept towers look good, they allow the tow rope to swing over the rear cockpit and in my case puts pressure on the Bimini top extension and/or the straps supporting it.

We have a wake board (probably on our sixth), two zups, a knee board, an old school pair of skis and currently 3 three person (but most can hold 4 and one 6) and 1 single person tube. Only the tubes have been used so far this year and they get the most use every year.

 

[Julian]

@Julian are those phone pics, or a GoPro? I picked up a knock off GoPro, but it sucks for capturing anything with movement as it's too jittery. My wife is absolutely horrible at taking pictures, so I'm trying to find a solution for pics. She's too putzy and futzy with the phone, and in my case, I'm too cheap for a GoPro.

Those are a Canon DSLR - can't recall the model (its a older)...might be a D70.

I bring it along and tell the operator....just hold the shutter release down.....then I go through 3000 photos to find keepers!

What I'm probably going to move to next is video on a camera with a zoom or tele photo capability. Then just pull screen shots (and video of course) from the video as 4k resolution is fine for online use.

 

[Shookie]

Some crashes from last summer.... all of these are from a tower mounted GoPro except the last one. My wife got that one her phone and my daughter will never stop giving her dad an earful about it.....