New pontoon owner-towing tubes

[Tee]

 I am a proud new  owner of a new  21 Ft Ssrx. 4 Stroke, 90 hp Yamaha outboard motor.  Just learning the ropes, no pun intended.  Looking for options for towing tubed behind the pontoon...2 person tube.  I have the ropes and tow harness, but looking for your experience for best way to tie to the boat.  Tee

 

[BigKahuna]

Do you have a ski pylon or ski tow bar on your boat?!?

 

[BigKahuna]

 

[Indian_Lake_Bum]

We had a tow harness for our old boat but never used it.......tubing behind a 50 on a 22' boat just never happened.  The new boat has a 150 and a factory ski tow bar that works very well for the big mable and yankee coupe towables.


Found this online and looks to be pretty slick even though it's home made.

Tow harness we have.

Have you tried it off the u-bolts yet?  Biggest issue I could see is to get the tow harness away from the motor and prop when letting out the tow rope.

 

[kaydano]

Air Head makes a tow rope with a 4 foot section of bungee.  Absorbs shocks. Better for boat, tube, rope and riders.  $25.  Red and yellow.

 

[Bamaman]

I like the tow harness above for tubers.  They keep the tow rope low to the water and the nose of the tube down.


I often see those towing tubes with Ski Nautiques and tow bars with the rope tied off up high.  The nose of the tube will often buck up when a big wave is hit.  Tubes just do better with the rope closer to the surface of the water.


And I never tow a tube with a marginal hollow nylon rope.  We had a neighbor on a tube with a broken rope, and she broadsided a fixed steel pier.  The young lady is not the same person that she once was.  We've seen more than one serious injury in our neighborhood because of rope failures.

 

[BulldogsCadillac]

Just as a quick note to all those fellow tower owners, NEVER tow a tube from your tower tow point. It is not made for that. Frankly neither are wake/tow boats towers for that either. That is what the pylon and tow bars are for.

 

[Jack M]

Just as a quick note to all those fellow tower owners, NEVER tow a tube from your tower tow point. It is not made for that. Frankly neither are wake/tow boats towers for that either. That is what the pylon and tow bars are for.

Include the Arch with Derricks statement .

 

[CTays]

Make sure you have a good tow rope. The ropes with the bungee section are my favorite also. A nylon rope snapping under tow can cause quite the welt on the side of the face if it snaps back and hits you.

 

[Link]

Make sure you have a good tow rope. The ropes with the bungee section are my favorite also. A nylon rope snapping under tow can cause quite the welt on the side of the face if it snaps back and hits you.

That's why those of you that have kids are lucky, you can use them to shield your self

 

[Dr D]

The internet is full of advice on how to tow tubes and other towables. However most of it seems to be incorrect, at least for a Bennington. A lot of reviews say not to use the tow bar for tubes, only for skiing because of the extra drag from the large surface area of tubes -- this is incorrect.

Bottom line is use the Tow Bar !!!

I asked Bennington the direct question "should one use the tow bar or the Transom eyehooks for towing tubes", Here is the reply:

"The ski tow bar was designed to pull skiers and tubes. The eyelets were not and if used in this manner could cause structural damage. Please let me know if you have questions. Thanks,


Mandalynn Tardi

Warranty Administrator"