One may tow a tube behind their boat in several different ways. This article reveals a guide on how to tow a tube behind a boat.
If you own or rent a boat, you may want to tow people while tubing. The nautical term for this is “tow”. Towing tubes can be dangerous if not done right.
You do not want someone falling out of the tube and getting injured. Other accidents that could happen are capsizing the tube or the boat, which will both result in loss of life (and property).
Accidents can also involve other boats on the water during peak seasons. Before planning your trip, make sure to look at weather forecasts and factor in the time to return before it gets dark.
Always use proper safety equipment when tubing; you should know what you’re doing before attempting to tow a tube behind a boat.
How To Tow A Tube Behind A Boat
You can tow tubes behind your boat to provide extra fun for you and your friends. The first thing to consider is what you want to achieve with this task.
The most common reason for using a boat and tube on the water is for recreation or play, such as waterskiing or wakeboarding.
Here are some major steps which will explain how to tow a tube behind a boat.
1-Rope Type:
Use either a line or an anchor rope to attach the tow rope to the tube. Make sure that this is fastened well since it will be the main connection between you and your inflatable tube.
Ensure that there are no twists in the rope before attaching it to prevent knots from forming when pulling the tube behind you.
2-Attach Points:
Next, decide where on your boat (the stern/back if it’s not motorized) you want to attach your inflatable tubing prop bar (a metal rod with two hooks at one end for hanging up tubes).
You can use any equipment like this; make sure that it’s secure and won’t slip off while holding onto the tubing (and sending your tube in another direction).
3-Hooking Up:
Take your inflatable tube and fasten it to the prop bar by hooking the metal rod over the plastic bar at the bottom of the tubing.
Ensure that you have hooked both sides to ensure that it stays in place when towed. There should be a valve on one end of the tubing.
And this is where your tow rope needs to be fed through after it has been hooked around so that no slack is hanging out. Attach it to itself using either a bulldog clip or some strong string.
It serves as an extra precautionary measure to avoid losing any more length than necessary while transporting your speedboat with tubing attached behind you.
The other end without a valve can be left open for now this doesn’t need to be closed up if you’re not planning on filling the tube with anything (such as ballast).
4-Towing The Tube:
Now, get into your speedboat and start towing the inflatable tubing behind you. You can do so by either asking another person to grab onto the other side of the tow rope for balance.
While you’ve got both hands on the steering wheel or taking one hand off of it at once. So that no slack needs to be pulled in before turning.
Make turns slowly taking into account that there may be more than just you out on the water at once. While doing this, make sure that your speedboat doesn’t veer too far.
In any direction since our goal is basically to stay in a straight line with the tube being towed at all times.
5-Ballasting The Tube:
Once you’ve mastered towing tubing behind a boat in your speedboat. You may want to consider adding some ballast to add more weight.
And counteract wind/waves from pushing it towards one direction or another when not moving.
Think about where on the tube this might be needed most depending upon its shape and size, this could be at one end or both ends of the tubing instead of in between.
So that there is always enough pressure against either side to stay in place while traveling around watercraft safely.
6-Leashing The Tube:
Suppose you’re going out onto large bodies of open water such as lakes and oceans. In that case, we recommend that you add a leash to the tube.
So that it will stay in place while you’re driving your speedboat around and also so that if the inflatable tubing starts to take on water for whatever reason (such as puncture), then it won’t go too far off into open waters without you.
Since we used either nylon rope or chain for this task, make sure that when using these materials again in future times, check them over before going out onto any cloudy/rainy days since they may not be as secure as they were originally.
How Fast Should You Pull A Tube Behind A Boat?
The speed you guide the tube greatly affects how much fun it is. Generally, if you pull someone behind your boat, they are looking for a fast and exciting ride.
There are several factors to consider when determining the most fun speed for pulling someone, such as:
• How many riders are on the tube?
• Where are you pulling them? For example, a lake is flatter than the ocean.
• What size person are you pulling? A bigger person will weigh more down to the water, making for a slower ride.
• What material is your tube made of? The tube’s weight plays a major role in determining the speed.
Generally, you want to pull a tube between 20-25mph. It is a good “happy medium” speed for tubers that provides an exciting ride.
If you go too fast, the water begins to fly up and towards the rider. If you go too slowly, the ride becomes dull.
How Big Of a Boat Can You Tow
Depending on your vehicle, you might be able to pull a boat big enough for the whole family, or you may only be able to pull a small boat.
Therefore, the size of the boat you’re towing is measured in pounds, not length or width.
For example, on a Ford F-150, you could tow anything over 5,000 lbs.
That includes boats that are up to 21 feet long and about 9 1/2 feet wide. For a vehicle like a Honda Accord, you can pull boats up to about 9 feet long and 5 1/2 feet wide.
However, be aware that you may need a special towing package on the vehicle you choose. Do not expect a boat dealer to tell you exactly how much weight your vehicle can tow.
Instead, the best thing to do is look at the owner’s manual. All of the information you need should be inside, including what your specific vehicle can tow.
Is It Hard To Tow A Boat
So you’re planning a big party and want to take your boat along the lake. Is it hard to tow a boat? You may wonder about this question at some point while you’re hiking around your boat.
Trying to find a way to get it from the dock or beach to the water. Towing a boat isn’t hard, but it is different than towing a car.
You need to make sure you have the right gear and understand how to tow a boat before setting out. Since boats are built differently, there’s no “one size fits all” answer to how much it weighs.
Instead, it depends on the make and model of the boat. Boats also have different underwater profiles, so some boats may be more difficult to tow than others, depending on their shape.
The best way to tow a boat is with two people. One person guides the boat while the other operates the vehicle. The person steering the boat must maintain a safe distance from the tow vehicle and communicate with the driver.
Tips For Towing The Boat
The person towing the boat should follow these tips:
• To get the boat to the water, drive up on a ramp so you can carefully get it into the lake.
• Make sure to avoid traffic when traveling by boat. You may want to consider timing your travel through busy areas with low tides or foggy days.
• As you drive to the lake, there are a few things you can do to make sure your boat isn’t damaged during transport.
• If you’re towing a boat on a trailer, secure the load with tie-downs or straps.
• Don’t drive faster than 50 miles an hour with the boat attached to your vehicle.
Conclusion
Tow a tube behind your boat, and you’ll have the perfect way to enjoy some lazy summer days on the water. But how do you tow a tube? It sounds like it should be easy.
But there are quite a few steps involved in getting that tube hooked up so it can float along with you as you ride.
So here is our quick guide for boaters who want to know what they need to do before heading out onto the water this summer.
We hope you find this towing guide helps you.