tubing

[bronze_10]

Being new to all of this i have a rather simple question. We are gonna pick up a few tubes to pull our kids on.. looking at some of the videos and looking at some of the tubes on line it seems pulling a tube behind a jet boat would require more line than a standard prop driven boat. How long of a tow line is normal to keep from being drilled by the high speed wash from the jets?

 

[Craig]

We add two 10ft sections to a 60ft tube rope for a total of 80 ft. According to my kids (I'm always the driver) this is the length to get them out of the jetwash.

 

[MrMoose]

We add two 10ft sections to a 60ft tube rope for a total of 80 ft. According to my kids (I'm always the driver) this is the length to get them out of the jetwash.

Great question and great answer... I take delivery on my AR240 tomorrow and my kids are begging to get out on the water.

 

[Ronnie]

I think you should start with a standard length line and adjust from there. Lengthening the tow rope not only keeps the tubers out of the jet wash it also puts them and the tube that much farther from you.

If you are new to this low speed control may still be challenging. Finally, as a jet boat owner operator you should know / be warned to always monitor and minimize, If possible, the location and number of lines in the water. They are not a jet boat's friends.

One alternative is to add a booster ball to the center of the tow rope. What I've noticed is that it is not the jet wash that gets the tubers it is the spray from the rope as it slaps the water. You can also handle this the old fashioned way and swing the tube out to either side of the boat's wake.

 

[KXCam22]

I find that 75' is the optimum tubing rope length. A std 60' with 15' added. Cam.

 

[Craig]

Great question and great answer... I take delivery on my AR240 tomorrow and my kids are begging to get out on the water.

Prior to the rope extensions our kids wore swim goggles for the first few trips but they didn't care much for it.

 

[Scuba_ref]

I find that 75' is the optimum tubing rope length. A std 60' with 15' added. Cam.

@KXCam22 what is that in meters? Seriously though, where is everyone getting these extensions? Home made?

 

[bronze_10]

@KXCam22 that was going to be my next question..

 

[jcyamaharider]

I must be odd, I have no trouble with a standard length rope. No jet spray what so ever back there. Then again we just do strightline and a few turns. The kids don't like to fall off.

 

[biffdotorg]

Our kids like the spray unless it's a cold day. It's part of the experience for them. So 60' ropes from the tower shortens it up a bit more. No need for balls and less chance of losing track of the ropes when towing from the tower.

The girls just discovered the fun of running multiple tubes this past season. One tube was a blast, but two tubes slamming each other across the wake is even better. I get the feeling our girls tube faster and rougher than anyone around, as their friends get scared quick when the come visit.

 

[Scuba_ref]

... I get the feeling our girls tube faster and rougher than anyone around, as their friends get scared quick when the come visit.

Two of my four girls are the same way, while the other two are quite a bit more reserved on the tube!

 

[scokill]

Our kids like the spray unless it's a cold day. It's part of the experience for them. So 60' ropes from the tower shortens it up a bit more. No need for balls and less chance of losing track of the ropes when towing from the tower.

The girls just discovered the fun of running multiple tubes this past season. One tube was a blast, but two tubes slamming each other across the wake is even better. I get the feeling our girls tube faster and rougher than anyone around, as their friends get scared quick when the come visit.

We pull some Gs from side to side and my son likes to flip, roll, and hold on, but I'm not too sure of the safety of 2 tubes. We've had bump heads and cuts just on one.

 

[biffdotorg]

We pull some Gs from side to side and my son likes to flip, roll, and hold on, but I'm not too sure of the safety of 2 tubes. We've had bump heads and cuts just on one.

I hear ya there. It's all fun and games till one comes up with a bloody lip or crying. Give them a break on the boat, and they are back at it.

I will have to dig for a youtube video I saw of like 3-4 single person tubes behind a ski boat leapfrogging each other. It was amazing as they would fully jump, or roll right over each other.

Ours are 2-3 person tubes and real flat to the water. They wouldn't be the best for rolling. Here are some old photos, we have matching tubes now, so they have equal stability. Good times! I hope it warms up for the weekend. We had snow and frost warnings this week alone!!!

 

[subysti]

@biffdotorg you really shouldn't be towing tubes from the tower. I've seen boats get pulled over doing that. Look on youtube. The tower points too high and can leverage the boat over in turns.

 

[biffdotorg]

After as many years as we have been towing from the tower, I always have a little giggle when someone quotes the warning sticker and realize that is coming from someone that doesn't understand that the benefits outweigh the possible issues. Flipping the boat, are you kidding me? These boats range from 20-24' in length and 2500-4000lbs. If that happened on youtube, someone was doing something really stupid, or their tow point is different than ours. Or it was some jackhole with a tower on a boat that should have never had a tower. Like a 16ft speedster.

Please don't take my tone the wrong way, as I always appreciate constructive criticism. But I know the limitations of our boat quite well. We would cavitate, or the rear end would loosen up before we ever got even close to that thing tipping. The dumbest thing we ever towed was a 4-person tube with 4 adult males on it from our tower. I will admit that was really stupid and should have never happened. And at that point, the boat cavitated before anything worse ever happened, like cracking up the gelcoat where the tower mounts to the boat.

So respectfully, towing from the tower is very safe with a pair of tubes and sub-100lb girls. I'm not the least bit worried after all these years of doing just that.