embarrassing newbie question

jdphillips73

Recruit
Joined
Jul 1, 2015
Messages
2
First time boat owner here. I have a Tahoe Q4 boat and recently I bought a towable to pull behind the boat (mach II by airhead). Anyways its a 2 person tube that I want to help my 4 1/2 year old get some tubing experience. We took it out the other day, and each time my wife lightly accelerated the darn then leaned back hard, and seemed like it was going to flip backwards to me. She never really even tried to take off because of this. My question is if you go faster will it even out? Is there something else I need to add between the tow rope and the tube?

Thanks
jd
 

tpenfield

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 18, 2011
Messages
17,620
Wondering if you could explain this a little better . . .

Who is leaning back hard?

Also, who is the 'spotter' in the boat while the wife is driving it?
 

Frank Acampora

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Jan 19, 2007
Messages
12,004
The tube will plane, just like a boat. However with a kid in the tube even with his PFD on I would not go faster than 15-20 MPH. In fact, most tubes I have seen warn not to tow over something like 20

Incidentally: around here I was stopped by the water police when I had an adult and child in a tube. No ticket but it seems that on the crowded lake they only want one person in a tube so less people would be in the water in case of accident. We had to take the kid--3-4 yrs old--to the no wake zone to tow him. Seems stupid to me. What do you do with a three person tube? One at a time? That's no fun.
 

jkust

Rear Admiral
Joined
Aug 2, 2008
Messages
4,942
I was reading the 2015 boating regs for MN and it was interesting that they put some attention on tubing injuries where more than one person is on the tube and pulling multiple tubes. Basically people hitting heads when there is more than one per tube and then the tow line catching people heads and necks when pulling two or more tubes. The tube will level out once it gets on plane on the flat water.
 

jdphillips73

Recruit
Joined
Jul 1, 2015
Messages
2
TN Boat Law
"Vessels towing skiers must be equipped with a 170 degree, wide-angle rearview mirror or have on board a person 12 years or older, other than the operator to observe the progress of the skier." Yes, I have a mirror to meet the law's requirement.
 
Joined
Oct 22, 2007
Messages
2,598
..... Yes, I have a mirror to meet the law's requirement.


From personal experience a mirror and no spotter isn't a good idea, especially on a crowded lake. I know it's 'legal' in a lot of states, but having a spotter who's watching the skier/wakeboarder/tuber full time is invaluable. It's far too easy to get busy worrying about other boats only to realize you're over a half mile away from your kid.
 

tpenfield

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 18, 2011
Messages
17,620
From personal experience a mirror and no spotter isn't a good idea, especially on a crowded lake. I know it's 'legal' in a lot of states, but having a spotter who's watching the skier/wakeboarder/tuber full time is invaluable. It's far too easy to get busy worrying about other boats only to realize you're over a half mile away from your kid.

I think this point is so true . . . you want to have an immediate reaction to the skier/tuber/boarder in the water as well as having a full set of eyes navigating the boat and watching for other boats.
 
Top