pulling tube/skier w/ bass boat

ky_boater

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Aug 21, 2006
Messages
42
Just wanted to get your thoughts on pulling a tube or skier on a bass boat. I have a 17' bass boat w/ a 120 on the back. If it will work, what do you normally tie the rope too and some precautions i should take?

Thanks.
 

deejaycee_2000

Captain
Joined
Mar 28, 2006
Messages
3,447
Re: pulling tube/skier w/ bass boat

Yes it will work, tie the rope to one of the back "O" bolts on the back of the transom ....... precautions. ... be carefull? ......
 

ky_boater

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Aug 21, 2006
Messages
42
Re: pulling tube/skier w/ bass boat

what are some of the things to be careful of or issues that could arrise using a bassboat rather than a typical ski pulling boat.
 

mitchell6

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Mar 24, 2006
Messages
93
Re: pulling tube/skier w/ bass boat

invest in you a tow strap it connects to both sides of the boat on the hooks instead of just one side and helps keep the rope out of the motor. other than that you got a good size engine to pull with I use a Johnson 115hp and it does the trick with no problem. Only thing you need to look out for is other boaters your boat is fine
 

kenmyfam

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Aug 10, 2006
Messages
14,385
Re: pulling tube/skier w/ bass boat

You should have no problem other than gaining the experience of towing a tube if you have not done it before. Use a harness as suggested earlier, I use a towrope that is rated for 4 people. Not too fast and make certain that you have a spotter on board and pre agreed hand signals so you can communicate with the tube rider(s) I think most tubes come with some hand signal guidelines but you can fine tune them to your individual requirements.
Good luck, enjoy and when are you getting some ski's ??
 

ky_boater

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Aug 21, 2006
Messages
42
Re: pulling tube/skier w/ bass boat

not sure when the ski's will be purchased. will most likely try the tube out first. may even think about a wake board if that will work.
 

kenmyfam

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Aug 10, 2006
Messages
14,385
Re: pulling tube/skier w/ bass boat

Everything is a lot of fun behind a boat as long as you dont expect to get it right the first time. We have as much fun falling off as we do being successful.
Enjoy !!!
 

athiker

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
May 9, 2007
Messages
33
Re: pulling tube/skier w/ bass boat

You should put out a nice flat wake w/ your bassboat which should be great for skiing. We used to ski behind a 17' tri-hull w/ a 65 and then a 85 hp so you are fine there. I'm sure others have stories of skiing behind much smaller engines than that even. You might feel a big guy pulling the stern a bit if he's pulling hard to the side, but shouldn't be a big deal.

The search term for iBoats, Overtons, etc. seems to be "Tow Harness" for the transom strap for the ski rope. Here's a pic of one from Overtons that has a nice 'quick connect' setup similar to some of the tube attachments. It also looks like it has a built in pulley so the that it moves along the cable as the the skier goes from side-to-side. No idea how well its made though.

10420L.jpg


Have fun.
 

CATransplant

Admiral
Joined
Feb 26, 2005
Messages
6,319
Re: pulling tube/skier w/ bass boat

Everything is a lot of fun behind a boat as long as you dont expect to get it right the first time. We have as much fun falling off as we do being successful.
Enjoy !!!

Oh, not always. My dad and brother and I went out fishing for bonito off Santa Barbara, CA when I was about 16. Just for grins, we threw the skis in the boat. When we were done fishing, I decided I'd ski back to the marina in the Santa Barbara harbor. We were only a few miles out of the harbor anyhow, and the ocean was nice and glassy.

So, over the side I went, and up I went on a pair of skis. Things were going great and we were heading back to the marina.

Oh, wait...what's that over there? Big fins sorta running parallel with the boat? It was a pod of killer whales, just cruising along, pacing us, more or less, although we were about to overtake them.

I'd been clowning around, like I usually did on two skis, doing giant walking steps and other silly things. After I saw the killer whales, though, I eased back to the middle between the wakes and just held on...skiing straight and even.

Oh, no...I didn't want to fall that day.
 

bazrfc

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Feb 20, 2007
Messages
47
Re: pulling tube/skier w/ bass boat

hey guys,
ive been looking for a thread on towing a tube,
ive got a 14ft glasspar with a 1990 merc 40.
with 3 of us on it its goes 20mph according to my gps.
is that fast enough to pull one of the 3 in a medium sized lake?
thanks in advance
baz
 

mitchell6

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Mar 24, 2006
Messages
93
Re: pulling tube/skier w/ bass boat

ya you can pull a tube with that but you want be running 20 mph with a tube behind you it will be dragging around back there and you will be lucky to get 10 mph but I have skied in my younger years behind a 40 hp motor so it can be done
 

kenmyfam

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Aug 10, 2006
Messages
14,385
Re: pulling tube/skier w/ bass boat

As long as you can get the boat "planing' with the extra drag then you should be O.K. May have to play around with the trim a little and the weight distribution in the boat.
 

retooferab

Cadet
Joined
May 30, 2007
Messages
10
Re: pulling tube/skier w/ bass boat

Just wanted to get your thoughts on pulling a tube or skier on a bass boat. I have a 17' bass boat w/ a 120 on the back. If it will work, what do you normally tie the rope too and some precautions i should take?

Thanks.
1. Don't drink and drive.
2. Don't injure/kill your tuber by whipping him or her into a dock, boat, tree, etc... it can happen.
3. Expect the unexpected.
4. Please respect others on the waterway by driving in a straight and predictable pattern near other watercraft. Tubing can really wreck the water for those wishing calm conditions too... so, give others a break, eh?
5. Learn to ski and barefoot, then sell the tube to a nube![sic]
 
Joined
Jun 27, 2007
Messages
17
Re: pulling tube/skier w/ bass boat

Are those ski pylons alright to use with a tube? I've have read where you should not use those with towables.
 

licketdsplit756

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jun 15, 2007
Messages
318
Re: pulling tube/skier w/ bass boat

im after a wakeboard tower for my bass boat..those i believe can be used for skiing also i think.cant find one that adapts to a bass boat. any ideas?? i have a ranger 335v
 

muskyone

Master Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Mar 17, 2003
Messages
814
Re: pulling tube/skier w/ bass boat

pulled a tube all the time had no problems the back of bass boats are so low that i think useing the hooks on back world really suck
 

bazrfc

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Feb 20, 2007
Messages
47
Re: pulling tube/skier w/ bass boat

well after a few times at the lake, i got the best performance out of my 40hp merc.
with 2 people on board and a person on the tube we were flying at 20mph, according to my gps .
it took a whole afternoon tinkering with the manual trim to get the right setting but i got them marked for future.
thanks for all the info
 

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