Tubing Question

[randy30655@gmail.com]

I bought a 23 Crest pontoon that has a 2012 115 hp Mercury 4 stroke, For some reason they put a 4 blade propeller on it and it does about 24-25 with 3 people and full tank of gas, it only drops down to 22-23 with 8 people on board. I bought a two person tube by airhead and I have a tower to hook it to so the rope does not drag in water but with two teens on tube I cannot get them outside the wake. I looked at u tube and I saw a man on a single tube going all over the wake with a pontoon with a 115 hp engine and I saw a two person tube getting outside the wake. Is it the four blade prop, is top end speed the issue here or is it length of tow rope, 50' I have even ordered a bungee tow rope, need some advice as the teens are getting bored.

[Coldbrew]

I don't know if this is going to be any help, but we use to pull people around in a round "sit in the middle" tube and it wasn't very thrilling. We switch to a single person tube that you lay on and it changed everything. I guess my point is that it just might be the tube you're using. I have a 90hp on mine and I figured the more sleak the tube....the better the ride.

Here's a link to one of my movies. at 1:46 and 2:16 you can see the tube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqG_SCWyEoM

[Marc K]

Randy,

Do you mean that the tube won't cross your wake in a turn?

My 25' Crest with two logs and 115 HP runs the same speed as yours. Here is a video clip with 450 lbs. of people on our three-person tube (Super Mable) on a very calm day on the lake, doing smooth "S" turns. We use a 66' tow rope that was suggested by Sporstuff when we bought the tube. We bought this tube specifically for its smooth ride.

Notice that I wasn't turning too sharply or running back over my own wake because I didn't want to dump the two little kids off. At 23-25 MPH, crossing my own small wake will really get some air. Cross a larger wake in a turn and you have a downright wild ride. Turning sharper than I was doing, will really increase the lateral slide motion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqbbDaMDgzE

Marc

[randy30655@gmail.com]

Thanks for the videos. Were you pulling the tube at 25 miles per hour, that would be wide open throttle for me. It could be my rope is too short as I think it is about 50'. I could turn a 180 and not get them to cross the wake, maybe a 180 slowed the boat down too much.??

[Marc K]

Yes, Sir. That video was shot at 4200 to 5800 RPM running 20-25 MPH. Keep in mind, that 20 MPH will still throw that tube into a side-slide as you accelerate out of the turn. We used a 75' tow rope for a while and the side-slides got very fast - a little too fast for my comfort. I feel that 50' is a bit short, but that is just my opinion.

My motor is a very old Yamaha F115 (made in 2000) four-stroke but it purrs right along at 5800 to 5900 RPM wide open with a stock, aluminum 3-bladed 13.5" prop with a 15 pitch.

Most of our tubing time is spent at 4000 to 4500 rpm for a 19-20 mph ride - and about half of the fuel consumption compared to wide open. Wide-open, I suck down close to 10 gallons per hour at 25-26 MPH with 2-4 people. At 4200 rpm, we use about 5 gallons per hour running 20 MPH with the same crowd.

Like you, my top end with 8-10 people is closer to 22 MPH wide open - so I cruise at 4500 RPM at about 19 MPH.

With 150+ HP, I would still control my tube towing speed to about 30 MPH, after seeing broken eardrums, neck injuries, etc. Yes, I know that there are folks who go much faster - but I will not be the cause of avoidable injuries.

Marc

[steve1313]

Try a longer rope. I don't recommend a bungee rope. Those can get pretty dangerous. I also would NOT use a bungee rope with a tow bar if it's the kind that's on most pontoon boats. IF your tow bar looks anything like this, you shouldn't use it at all for tubing. The amount of stress a tube puts on the other end of the rope is many times more than a skier or wakeboarder. A bungee rope will magnify that even more.

towbar.JPG (12.86 KiB) Viewed 4280 times

Consider a turboswing to connect your rope. They work great, attach to the strongest part of the boat, and let the rope slide from side to side. www.turboswing.com

[randy30655@gmail.com]

Do you think I would do better with a 3 blade prop for more speed, I had six on the boat and two on the tube I probably was only getting up to 17 mph, I think I am used to a regular boat with tubing and a hard turn would slingshot them but the pontoon slows down so much they almost stopped in turns.

[Liquid Asset]

The 4 blade prop is what you want for towing. With a 3 blade prop you'll gain speed on an empty boat but with 8 people it'll be slower than you are currently running. If you want a more impressive ride for teens shorten the rope! A pontoon with a 115 can only offer so much for a couple of teens. Try one at a time with the short rope. Another thought is to make sure the tube is fully inflated, that makes a big difference!

[BobL]

....and I have a tower to hook it to

A couple of questions.

1 - Does the tower have a factory hook/connection where you are mounting the rope? The reason I ask is a lot of manufacturers of wakeboard boats specifically tell you not to tow a tube from the tower. Towing a tube has some considerable resistance and the force from it can crack a weld and damage the tower (and tower mounts). Make sure your tower is designed and rated to tow a tube. If it is rated and has a factory connection then your 50' rope is likely too short.

2 - Do you have a lower tow point (that is not on the tower)? If you are worried about the rope in the water and spray, then you can get one of these inflatable balls that connects to the rope.

https://www.overtons.com/wow-tow-bobber ... lsrc=aw.ds

Regardless, you should absolutely be able to get the tube out of the wake with your boat and motor.

[MattGent]

As the driver of the boat you can manage the momentum of the tubers. Anything over 20 should be fast enough if the rope is up out of the water.

Can you move them back and forth within the wake? Watch the tube and time your steering input to what they are doing...when you get them moving towards one side straighten out or turn the other way to get them over the wake. Once they are out on one side it’s easier to swing them across to the other. You can use throttle to help too, full throttle when they are moving across.

It’s easier on a large lake with room to turn in any direction. I also like to lay a knot of wake and whip the tube into it. Use a spotter.