Bleeding Green Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 Hi Raiders, I'll be towing a ski tube for the first time this summer. I'll mostly be towing kids, on lakes. My tube it one of those flat 2 person biscuit type things. I'll be towing with the 70hp 2 stroke, a harness and tow rope. I'm familiar with the rules, including having to have an observer, the wearing of minimum type 3 jacket by skiers, and the distance I'm to stay away from others. Has anyone got any tips, such as appropriate speed and acceleration, cornering etc? I'll only travelling at speeds which the riders are comfortable so we'll be using hand signals for this I guess. I'm not too sure about cornering, as if I turn too sharply the tube will swing wide out. Just after any tips as I want the kids to have fun, not be s**t scared!! Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCount Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 Always a good day for the riders out the back on a tube..... I corner as much as the rider can handle. Start slow and sweeping so they get their confidence and then you can rip into it later. It all depends on the experience of the rider. My 2 had never done it before. Daughter (15) is an adrenalin junkie and we went straight to DEFCON 1. My son (12) on the other hand is not so inclined but within 15 minutes he was at least DEFCON 2... Enjoy!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abecedarian Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 Hi Raiders, I'll be towing a ski tube for the first time this summer. I'll mostly be towing kids, on lakes. My tube it one of those flat 2 person biscuit type things. I'll be towing with the 70hp 2 stroke, a harness and tow rope. I'm familiar with the rules, including having to have an observer, the wearing of minimum type 3 jacket by skiers, and the distance I'm to stay away from others. Has anyone got any tips, such as appropriate speed and acceleration, cornering etc? I'll only travelling at speeds which the riders are comfortable so we'll be using hand signals for this I guess. I'm not too sure about cornering, as if I turn too sharply the tube will swing wide out. Just after any tips as I want the kids to have fun, not be s**t scared!! Cheers. I knew a guy with a ski boat before that towed me on a ski biscuit, scared the crap out off me. He had this trick or driving in circles to build the wake up, once it's nice and choppy speed up then throw the tube into a long fast swing right over the chop he just created. I kid you not on more than one occasion he got us a metre off the water, after which we promptly landed in the drink! Not my idea of fun, but the people watching sure enjoyed themselves... I guess if you just want to have a bit of fun without scaring your kids then keep the speed down and if you are cornering then remember that the tube will swing like a pendulum and travel at a lot more speed than the boat. So best if you want to keep things safe and calm to slow down ad you corner, then speed up a bit on the straight. The tighter the corner too, the faster the tube will be whipped around. Good luck and have fun, but if you want your kids to have another go don't treat them like the guy I knew treated me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gummybusta Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 Always a good day for the riders out the back on a tube..... I corner as much as the rider can handle. Start slow and sweeping so they get their confidence and then you can rip into it later. It all depends on the experience of the rider. My 2 had never done it before. Daughter (15) is an adrenalin junkie and we went straight to DEFCON 1. My son (12) on the other hand is not so inclined but within 15 minutes he was at least DEFCON 2... Enjoy!! yeh agree with all that start nice and slow untill both you as a driver and the rider are feeling comftable one main thing i will add however and this is more to do with tubeing than most other towing and that is to watch the turns and leave yourself PLENTY of room to allow the tube to whip out i have seen people getting whiped into trees and although thankfuly i have never seen it there are DEATHS each year from exacly this with people not giving themself another room for the whip and putting their loved ones into moored boats, pontoons, trees, riverbanks,and other such obsticals the tube when you turn will whip out from the wake and momentum will force the tube out wider than you are turning Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleeding Green Posted December 2, 2011 Author Share Posted December 2, 2011 (edited) Thanks for the advice so far. Yes cornering is one of the things that worries me a bit. To be safe I guess I'll stay at least double the length of the rope away from anything. Is there much risk of the biscuit flipping, or is that based on the rider and the wake? Also, in knots or k's can someone give me a guide as to what is safe? I'm thinking around 12-15 knots which would just keep the boat on top of the water. Does this sound alright, or too fast? Edited December 2, 2011 by Alfa-Rosa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aussie007 Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 i havent towed a tube in about 8-9 years when i did have a tube it had the max speed rating printed on the tube and that was 25kph i guess it changes from manufacturer to manufacturer i had the triangle "airhead" tube a mates dad had one of the cheap donuts it was crap torn to bits in corners Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaners Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 Thanks for the advice so far. Yes cornering is one of the things that worries me a bit. To be safe I guess I'll stay at least double the length of the rope away from anything. Is there much risk of the biscuit flipping, or is that based on the rider and the wake? Also, in knots or k's can someone give me a guide as to what is safe? I'm thinking around 12-15 knots which would just keep the boat on top of the water. Does this sound alright, or too fast? Most of the speed will be controlled by the water conditions ie glass/fast, choppy/slow. Yes the tube will flip but the kids love it.Allways ask new kids how they want it, ie meak and mild or wet and wild. On tight corners you will need to trim the motor as it will cavitate. I do it in a 4.8 tinnie with a 70hp 2stroke at around 2000rpm for a meak and mild.2500rpm for a kid who knows whot its about and 3000 plus for a wet and wild with lots of twists and turns. Start of in straight lines and work up to wandering left and right so the biscuit moves across the wake. Enjoy..You will have just as much fun driving as the kids do on the tube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryboy Posted December 5, 2011 Share Posted December 5, 2011 Start slow, thats my advice. You'll work it out pretty quickly, but dont get pressured into doing anything you or the riders arent comfortable with. One thing for sure, the chance of getting them back on the tube (at first) is directly inverse to the speed! Kids will love it even at 3-4 knots, so theres no need to go crazy straight away. You can shorten the rope if you want to keep the tube close during turns, and that can be fun with the wash too, but again, watch the speed. I think there is a standard 'call sign' for skiiers and tubers, I may be corrected but I think this is it: Ok sign = all ok Thumbs up = faster Thumbs down = slower tap on top of head = stop cut throat = stop In addition there is the non-official standard: laughter = faster grimace = slow down blood curdling scream = stop and of course - LIFE JACKET,LIFE JACKET, LIFE JACKET. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleeding Green Posted December 31, 2011 Author Share Posted December 31, 2011 (edited) So gave the tubing a go today. Went well and everyone had fun, including me as the driver. Took it easy at first then generally got the hang of it. One question; my bridle seems a bit to short because on cornering it grabs the back corners of the outboard cover. Can I just get a longer rope and replace that part of the bridle? If so, will any rope (of suitable diameter and strength) do, or does it need to be specifically for towing use?? Edited December 31, 2011 by Alfa-Rosa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryboy Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 Dont know about which ropes to use, but it sounds like you need a longer bridle for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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