Towing Tubes

[kcman]

I know this may have been covered before but I cannot find the specific topic.  My question is using the two u-bolts at the stern of the boat for pulling a tube.  We would use a Y-Tow rope to connect to both u-bolts and a 60 foot ski rope to connect to the Y-tow rope.  I would like to pull the grandkids on a tube we just purchased. 

Some background: We do not have a ski bar on our boat. The tube we purchased is for two people (max 340lbs total) and I doubt we would ever be pulling more than 150-200lbs max at any given time as the excitement will fade real quick when the grandkids get older (as we will be going realitively slow, i.e., 10-12mph because of lake restrictions and our small motor).  Our grandkids are 2-6yrs old and I expect that once they get close to 10, they will probably go for sitting in the boat rather than sitting on a slow tube. 

My question: Is it safe to use the U-bolts at the stern of the boat for this purpose?  If not, is there another options without having to purchase a ski bar?  Thanks.

 

[Jack M]

Go to # 11 from TB 

http://club.benningtonmarine.com/index.php?/topic/3364-ski-tubing-options/

 

[ErinnDan]

I know this may have been covered before but I cannot find the specific topic.  My question is using the two u-bolts at the stern of the boat for pulling a tube.  We would use a Y-Tow rope to connect to both u-bolts and a 60 foot ski rope to connect to the Y-tow rope.  I would like to pull the grandkids on a tube we just purchased. 

Some background: We do not have a ski bar on our boat. The tube we purchased is for two people (max 340lbs total) and I doubt we would ever be pulling more than 150-200lbs max at any given time as the excitement will fade real quick when the grandkids get older (as we will be going realitively slow, i.e., 10-12mph because of lake restrictions and our small motor).  Our grandkids are 2-6yrs old and I expect that once they get close to 10, they will probably go for sitting in the boat rather than sitting on a slow tube. 

My question: Is it safe to use the U-bolts at the stern of the boat for this purpose?  If not, is there another options without having to purchase a ski bar?  Thanks.

I've pulled my niece and nephew using that exact method. Worked fine and they had a blast.

 

[kcman]

Thanks and from what I read, towing a tube from the stainless eyes bolted through the stern chassis (located on either side of the transom) appears to be OK.  The Harness I bought should extend far enough out to not interfere with the motor/prop.  I have seen others on our lake use these U bolts to pull tubes but none have Benningtons.  Again, I won't and actually can't go at any real high rate of speed and only plan on towing the kids so I did not see a problem but it is good to check with others to be sure.  Thanks again.

 

[Dr. Evil]

I tow on ours this way. 1 maybe 2 kids at most on smaller tubes. Max speed when towing is usually 17-18 mph. No issues.

 

[CTays]

We pulled the tube from the hooks on my old boat. The new Bennington has the tow bar and I am glad I got the option. The kids love it and have so much more control over the tube. I also have more control of the tube with the boat. I never had any issue with the old boat pulling with the eye hooks but I would add the towbar again on any new purchase.

 

[thaigler]

I tow on ours this way. 1 maybe 2 kids at most on smaller tubes. Max speed when towing is usually 17-18 mph. No issues.

same here no issue & about the same speed. I plan on doing the  same thing with the new Benny, dealer said everybody does it and he has rented  a lot of pontoon boats for years & had no problems with any of his boats.