Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

What type of tube/rope works best with our boats that have a ski tow bar? Not sure what to buy. Looking for a two person tube for a reasonable price that will hold up well and a good rope. Thanks.

No long term reports on these, but we use

We have had 1 rope
Airhead tube rope (bought at a local store called Fleet Farm, $19.99)

We have had 2 tubes
#1 Big Bertha

free from a friend, several years old, a seam tore.. it was probably 5 years old
rode nice, supposedly held up to 4 individuals, pretty much impossible to dump people off of if they were sitting 'down in the hole' (retail about $150)
This one got more "sling" action that the next one.
#2Rave 'Slingshot' ($250)

Very stable for up to 3 riders, the sitting position gets more water in your face than the Bertha, but I think you can actually get 3 people onto this one no problem. Myself and another full sized guy (both over 250lbs) rode on it, no problem (using the outside seats)

We tried a #3, but it was a loaner from my sister-in-law. It was a flat round disc type one that was very unstable, supposedly held 2 riders, but I think by myself I was at maximum capacity for weight, it got a lot of 'sling' action but it could easily toss off young riders and was only good for a single rider (or adult with a small child) we only used it because of the Bertha tear..

I plan on getting the tube replaced ($66) on the Bertha this winter, I like it better than the SlingShot.
-ron

SCbarber wrote:What type of tube/rope works best with our boats that have a ski tow bar? Not sure what to buy. Looking for a two person tube for a reasonable price that will hold up well and a good rope. Thanks.

It really comes down to who you are towing. If I am towing younger kids and have no intention of dumping them I will put 'em in a round tube.
Now that my kids are older they prefer a flat round tube because it will skip across the water faster and they get thrown off.

As far as ropes are concerned, I always use a 4 man towable rope.

We just bought a tube a few weeks ago -- caught a sale at Academy on their stuff they were closing out.

We paid $39 for the tube. And we got one of those Power Balls (comes with 4-person tow rope) -- this really helps keep the tow rope out of the water and allows for better slinging of the rider (we took out some of the rope sections to shorten it by about 15' -- that seemed to really help slinging the rider). But we don't have a ski/tow bar, so we just connect between the lifting eyes on the ends of the toons.

I use thee of them.

The first is s Sportsstuff Slalom Jockey Duo. It is a two person steerable tube. Lots of fun but makes for shorter rides as teh rider works to drive themselves where they want to go. This tube is normally ridden facing forward but the tube itself can swivel. I had one 12 year old who did an entire 360 on it.

http://www.sportsstuff.com/dyn_prod.php ... 5&k=484255


The second is a Super Mable (three person) They also make a 2 person version called the big mable. It can be towed front (sitting on it) or back (chariot style). This is the one we use most. Ride can be rough enough (with a few waves on the lake) to dump the riders or calm enough for littler ones.

http://www.sportsstuff.com/dyn_prod.php ... 23&k=68049


The last is a borrowed poparazzi. Three riders, steerable. lots of fun.

http://www.sportsstuff.com/dyn_prod.php ... 50&k=68049



The only trouble we had on the super mable is I left it in the sun too long (days) with too much air in it and blew the tube. Fortunately the repair tube was only $100. and was delivered in less than a week

Always use a four person rope (600lbs capacity)

We have an HO 4 person tube (3 sitting, one kneeling in back) that will hold anywhere from one to 4 people. It's a monster, almost 9' from one end to the other. What I like is that it allows the riders to sit up above the water and we don't have to have several tubes to accommodate different numbers of riders. We've had three adults on it and no problems; of course I've got a 225 on the back.
I bought a line that's rated for a 4 person tube and it goes on the pylon on the stern, again no problems.

Here's mine......

http://www.seadootowable.com/evo2.html


Is it the choice of towable or the length of rope that seems to throw too much water in the faces of the kids being towed? According to my kids the other boats they have tubed behind didn't throw up as much water making it impssible to see? Thoughts?

We have 3 the Sportsstuff Big Bertha,





The Sportsstuff Slalom Solo








And the Sportsstuff Chariot Warbird 2
Dont have any shots of it but its is a blast too.

Thanks, that should get me started, great looking tubes.

We have the Slalom Sally which is the "pink" colored version of the slalom jockey but one sale for half the price. These "steerable" tubes are great for pontooners.

OK Toon wrote:We just bought a tube a few weeks ago -- caught a sale at Academy on their stuff they were closing out.

We paid $39 for the tube. And we got one of those Power Balls (comes with 4-person tow rope) -- this really helps keep the tow rope out of the water and allows for better slinging of the rider (we took out some of the rope sections to shorten it by about 15' -- that seemed to really help slinging the rider). But we don't have a ski/tow bar, so we just connect between the lifting eyes on the ends of the toons.

File comment: Here is the harness we use -- keeps the rope up out of the prop. The harness has a pulley so it allows the tube to travel outside of the wake easier.

I don't understand how that harness works ??? Thanks

i like the ball harness-I am going to find one

Mine is here:
http://www.seadootowable.com/gx4.html

I have four kids so needed a four person tube.

Also have the ball harness.

We have (2) Airhead G Force tubes and they are great! easy to blow up and skim across the water.http://www.amazon.com/Kwik-Tek-G-Force- ... ad+g+force

I use a supermable, and a heavy duty rope. I got the super mable cheap on ebay. JT