Tow Line Question - Material/Tensile Strength/Length

About 20 minutes into our maiden voyage after taking delv of our new boat last Sept, we noticed an 18' pleasure boat full of people waving hands hailing us over. They needed a tow back to the boat ramp. We used our anchor line tied to the ski tow bar:facepalm: and hauled them in.

For the upcoming season we want to be better prepared. We now have a bridle rig and know where/how to attach it (and where NOT to!!) . We want to make sure we have the proper line for the job. I've done some archaeology in the forums but can't find the information I need. However, I did find a lot of great info!

Given that we won't be towing anything longer or heavier than our 22' boat what type of towline would be appropriate? I'm looking for something more specific than 'anchor line' or 'ski rope'. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Re: Tow Line Question - Material/Tensile Strength/Length

Few years ago I bought a 2" tow strap. Has hooks on both ends making attachment easy and it'll handle 8500 lbs. I've towed in several and it works well even on larger boats. 20 feet is pretty close, but works good for me.


http://www.harborfreight.com/2-inch-x-20-ft-heavy-duty-tow-strap-36612.html

Re: Tow Line Question - Material/Tensile Strength/Length

any 1/2" or bigger rope will be fine as you shouldn't be towing at much over idle speed....

Re: Tow Line Question - Material/Tensile Strength/Length

Minimum breaking strength of NEW 3 Twist Nylon Rope.

1/4 = 1450
3/8 = 3200
1/2 = 5700 ... Working load is 10% of Breaking.

A longer piece of line gives more room for error and the stretchiness acts like a shock absorber.
Use a short piece of smaller line at the far end as a weak link.
If you ever snap it you will know where it is going to happen, and the farther from you the better!
Tie a Fender 2/3rds of the way out to give the snapped line something to load up against.

Safety First!

Re: Tow Line Question - Material/Tensile Strength/Length

I have used my 3/8'' anchor rope a bunch of times with no problem, one of them was a 25' toon, just start slow and go slow, 5 mph is about it when towing, it's more about how you do than what you do it with.

Also if you are the one towing let the towee know how to do it, you still have to steer the boat even if you aren't under power, I towed one guy and as soon as the boat started moving they went to the back and kept partying, I had to stop and tell one of them to steer, I pulle dthem 4 mile up river and once they hit thier dock it was like I was invisible, no "thank-you" or anything, turds!

I installed a 1/4'' stainless U bolt thru the transom and it has worked fine and a ski rope should work really well, plenty strong and long.

Re: Tow Line Question - Material/Tensile Strength/Length

Try Amsteel Blue rope.

Main Advantages:
Lighter
Easier to Handle
No wire frays, no gloves needed to handle versus steel cable
If/When it snaps, it simply drops to the ground versus a steel cable which carries high energy and will recoil possibly causing injury/death.

You can get some good prices/lengths on Ebay.

Re: Tow Line Question - Material/Tensile Strength/Length

Thank you ALL for the responses. We were out on the boat yesterday (61?F with some white caps) and had a problem with what might be our impeller. The Temp/Water light/alarm came on repeatedly at about 3K rpm's. The only other people on the lake were the occasional serious fishermen in their hi-tec bass boats. I can't imagine any of them would want to tow us in against the wind. Fortunately the need did not arise and over dinner we discussed some towing 'what if's'.

The Amsteel Blue looks promising.

5150abf: It's a shame how ungrateful people can be! I had hoped to find a good ski rope that could double as a tow rope.

UncleWillie: I wondered if braided line would be better than twisted?

rickdb1boat: Thanks for the link. Strap is a good choice. I should have that in our cars!

Re: Tow Line Question - Material/Tensile Strength/Length

BombDotCom said:

... I wondered if braided line would be better than twisted?

Click to expand...

The question would be. "Better than twisted, for What?"

You already have the anchor line onboard.
You are not going to be doing this very often.

If sized properly you will damage the Cleats/Eyes/Hull before you snap an anchor line.
My suggestion was to add a short piece of 1/4 at the far end for a "Weak Link."
If you are pulling more than 1000 lbs. You are pulling WAY too hard.
It is only there in case the line goes slack, the tow boat lurches, and snaps the line.
I'd rather snap a line, at the far end, than damage the hull.
Towing off the Transom eyes with a bridle, is the prefered choice.
A long line will likely hit the water, worse case, it will smack the transom.
You don't want it landing in the cockpit!.

Another advatage of the Weak Link, is that you may find yourself towing what turns out to be a drunken fool.
That will give you the option of snapping the line intentionally, to get away from him, without having to cut loose a good anchor line, as the local police you called, arrive to take over.

Re: Tow Line Question - Material/Tensile Strength/Length

Get the engine problem up in the correct engine forum but it sounds like you need a water pump or something is plugged either way you don't really want to run the boat until you figure out what it is, overheating is bad and if it gets bad enough it can cost you an engine.

Re: Tow Line Question - Material/Tensile Strength/Length

UncleWillie: Our anchor rope doesn't float and it isn't very long. We usually anchor in shallow coves out of the wind to swim or, way back in a cove to spend the night, often in 2'-3' of water. I was thinking a good braided ski rope made of poly-something would double as a tow rope. We need to buy one anyway to pull tubes and skiers and may as well invest in a quality rope.

We do have the one bridle rig. If we are being towed we could attach the bridle to the front of each toon.

Took some thought but I now understand what you mean by using a short line on the far end and attaching a fender to absorb the load if the line snaps. I think we attached to their winch eye the last time we towed.

I haven't noticed whether we have eyes on the back toons to attach a bridle when towing another boat. I don't want to use the ski tow bar again. I wouldn't attach a tow line to cleats that aren't mounted all the way through.

Making the call about whether to tow someone did come up in our dinner discussion. Before we commit we will assess a number of things including the blood alcohol attitude of the other boaters!

5150abf: Good advise. I've already posted in the Evinrude forum and received helpful responses.

Re: Tow Line Question - Material/Tensile Strength/Length

BombDotCom said:

UncleWillie: Our anchor rope doesn't float and it isn't very long. We usually anchor in shallow coves out of the wind to swim or, way back in a cove to spend the night, often in 2'-3' of water. I was thinking a good braided ski rope made of poly-something would double as a tow rope. We need to buy one anyway to pull tubes and skiers and may as well invest in a quality rope.

We do have the one bridle rig. If we are being towed we could attach the bridle to the front of each toon.

Took some thought but I now understand what you mean by using a short line on the far end and attaching a fender to absorb the load if the line snaps. I think we attached to their winch eye the last time we towed.

I haven't noticed whether we have eyes on the back toons to attach a bridle when towing another boat. I don't want to use the ski tow bar again. I wouldn't attach a tow line to cleats that aren't mounted all the way through.

Making the call about whether to tow someone did come up in our dinner discussion. Before we commit we will assess a number of things including the blood alcohol attitude of the other boaters!

5150abf: Good advise. I've already posted in the Evinrude forum and received helpful responses.

Click to expand...

It goes to show what different Boaters think of as Anchor line.

Here on Lake Erie, the Coast Guard requires an anchor with flutes that will hold in a gale.
No mushrooms and No Cement coffee cans!
And, at least 200 ft of line strong enough to support the entire boats weight.
3/8 for 3000lb boats, 1/2 for 5000lb boats. Water is 20 to 40 ft deep.

I was also assuming you were planning to tow, not BE towed!
You didn't mention that you were a toon.
But I would assume again! that if you trailer it, there would be eyes to hold the stern down.

Prefered attachment point would be Bow Eye to Stern Eyes with a bridle.
The Ski Bar could be a disaster is something goes wrong.

Tube tow ropes are heavier than Ski ropes.
The poly line will float and is less stretchy than nylon.
Less snap if it breaks, but more likely to break if shock loaded.

Its all a compromise!

Re: Tow Line Question - Material/Tensile Strength/Length

I should have been more clear!! I don't think we'll be seeing the Coast Guard patrolling our lake! Actually, the lake here is 100' deep in places but nowhere near the size of Erie!

We have both a fluke and a mushroom and use the fluke only on overnighters. I suppose the max weight including beer and ice under tow might be 2800 lbs . 3/8 should do fine. More reading has led me to believe one never has enough rope, even on a pontoon. And there are plenty of them here! They can be cumbersome to tow on a windy day.

There is an eye on the frame for trailering and, off the bow each of the toons have an eye welded into the metal. Perfect to attach the bridle.

I need to: make sure we have a quality anchor line and but a ski rope strictly for tubing/skiing. Not a bad compromise. What better way to spend a snowy weekend than buying that next new thing for the boat!

Thanks for your help!

Re: Tow Line Question - Material/Tensile Strength/Length

We have a small, 8hp kicker motor attached to the rear of our pontoon with a separate 6gal gas tank, and this is a great relief in the "what-if" department.