Re: This the place to talk tubes?
I have a
Viper 1 Seater.
There is a lot more to be said about the Cockpit Style Tube than is apparent.
I also have a classic Deck Tube that you lay on.
The deck style requires good upper-body strength to ride.
The flat position is not very comfortable for very long.
Try watch the TV lying on your stomach and see how long you last!
Some (very few) riders can 360 degree roll the deck tube over the wake. Most just dump!
The 15 to 25 year olds are macho enough to handle a deck tube for a while.
The rest of us are exhausted after 3-5 minutes.
Cockpit or Deck Tube; Neither one is steerable, you are just meat riding at the whim of the helmsman.
The cockpit Tubes can be ridden by anyone that can sit up.
A pair of four year old, or an adult and a young child can be given a gentle ride.
Holding on is optional, but they will anyways.
Keep the speed down and the turns wide and the very young (under 5) and the old (over 70) will get all the thrills they can handle.
A 200lb+ 6 foot adult can fit in one. Just cross your legs and lean back a little.
Or stick you feet over the bow!
This is not to say the ride is boring.
Get the speed up to about 25mph and take an aggressive turn;
The tube will cross outside of the wake and crack the whip.
You will need to back down on the throttle or the tube tends to pass the boat!
Even your fearless 18 year old macho males will be wide eyed and white face in fear.
Cross back over your wake and the tube will catch 6 feet of air or more. Super thrilling!
Attach a 5 foot piece of line to the tow hook and the kids will stand in the tube like they are stand up horse back riding.
Some even ride backward, sitting and standing!
On a 3 person cockpit tube, one would sit in the middle, two occupy the outer two, and three ....
I chose the single tube not only for the cost saving, but because these things are huge!
At 8 feet wide; the triple is likely wider than your boat!
I was also concerned for the safety of multiple riders who might be banging heads together when the tube dumped.
All these tubes need to be inflated to near 2.5 psi.
That is right at the maximum pressure that a young health human lung can muster.
You will need to inflate them mechanically before you leave the dock.
I keep mine deflated in the Ski locker.
A 12v DC High Pressure inflater pumps it up in a few minutes once we reach the cove.
Get a High Pressure Inflater, not the Low pressure one.
The
tube needs to be inflated until all the wrinkles are out of the cover.
This means that the air bladder inside the cover is being stretched like an auto inner-tube.
The Towable will be hard enough to walk on without hardly a dent when properly inflated.
It will be way more pressure than you may be used to.
A
Booster Ball is a good addition if you will be doing a lot of cracking the whip.
Otherwise the tow rope tends to get caught in the wake.
