Signed the papers for our new 2013 22SLX, Yam 115, picked up a rope, pump, and tube and took her out.
Silly question:
Eyeballed the rope length and ended up using much less than there was available. The kids seemed to do fine, but I was wondering if there was a general rule of thumb for rope length when tubing. Any differences for a single rider, kids, or adults?
You should be @ 50-60 feet. You'll just have to see what's best for your application.
And make sure it's an extra heavy rope. We've known 3 people that broadsided docks using 1/4" ski rope that broke. When a rope breaks, there's no control.
Holy Pontoons, Banaman! I think we were using 30 ft max. Lol. Have no idea what kind of rope it was. Just bought it at the dealer. It's braided, black and orange, 3/4" wide and tubular (fibers woven around an open center), really long, and had loops at both ends.
Just goes to show you: Ignorance is bliss and it's all fun and games until someone broadsides a dock.
Is there such a thing as 'Bennington brain' where you can't stop thinking about your new Benny, you find yourself either cruising the forums or on pontoon website looking for accessories, and you can't wait until you can get on your toon again? Benningtonosis? Benningtonitis? Benningtonoma? Whatever it is, I've got it so bad I couldn't figure out the time difference issue. Lol.
Also, NEVER, NEVER, EVER put a metal link in between the lines to connect them together. IF the rope were to break, it will come back (or forward) like a missile.
If it were to hit someone in the head, IT WILL BUST THEIR SKULL, TAKE OUT AN EYE, OR QUITE POSSIBLY KILL THEM !!!! Yes that's a graphic point, and made to be !!!!
ALSO, NEVER hold the line, or wrap it around an arm ....... read this if you wonder why !!!
Is there such a thing as 'Bennington brain' where you can't stop thinking about your new Benny, you find yourself either cruising the forums or on pontoon website looking for accessories, and you can't wait until you can get on your toon again? Benningtonosis? Benningtonitis? Benningtonoma? Whatever it is, I've got it so bad I couldn't figure out the time difference issue. Lol.
So... Went out yesterday for another tubing adventure with the kids. Verified we had a TUBING rope, used the entire length and my fears about the rope being too long were groundless. The bigger kids liked the sideways over the wake motion the length allowed while the littles liked that they had more smoother water between the wakes when they were further out.
I figured out the answer to the 'which end of the tow rope is which' question: Black floaty end on boat, plain loop end on tube. For the record, we did it backwards yesterday and the Potomac didn't freeze over. I read and re-read SEMPER's links and it turns out the black floaty thing is just that, a black floaty thing. It floats if the rope gets disconnected from whatever it's attached to. I had assigned it a far more auspicious role for some reason.
Another question from my seemingly bottomless pit: Tow harnesses -- are they needed only if you're hooking the tube with tow line directly to the boat's transom D-rings? We've been attaching the the tow rope directly to the tow bar and it seems like it's okay, but what the heck do we know?!? We don't know enough to know what we don't know. That's what I know. We've seen the boat police a few times when we've been out and I have this secret fear that we're going to be pulled over for being boat-stupid. "What made you think you could connect this to that? or "What in the world did you think you were doing?" Good news is that I am reading as much as possible on thiis forum AND that my copy of "Seaworthy" has been shipped!
It maybe doesn't feel right to you, but that's what the tow bar is for. It's much more convenient than a harness connected to the two D rings on the back of the pontoons. And you can see the rope better and know it isn't in the prop.
I throw all the excess rope off the starboard side as far as I can, then hook the last few feet in front of the ladder railing (ours has the curved round bars, and the rope pops right over the top once there's tension on the rope. That way I can see the whole rope as I tighten up with the tube. I wouldn't like the tow harness, as you can't see whats going on back there.
And yes, you don't need the tow harness if you are using the tow bar.
Thanks. I'm glad we have a towbar. I was just getting confused by the tow harness info.
Will definitely use your tip about the rope off starboard and over the ladder railing, too. I kept trying different things to keep it out of the way, but your technique seems easy, reproducible, and makes sense. So glad members of this community are willing to help out novices like us!
