New to tubing....how to keep "rider down" safe when floating in water.

I'm going to take my son and a couple friends(15-16 yrs old) tubing this weekend. Just bought a heavy duty tow rope that has a bungee section built-in. Bought a towing harness. And also bought a "water sports" safety flag to fly while pulling the kids.

Is there anything I can use to make the kids more visible when they fall off the tube and are just floating....waiting me for me to swing around to pick them up? I worry that they'll get run over by some idiot not paying attention.

Re: New to tubing....how to keep "rider down" safe when floating in water.

the worst thing to do is leaving them behind while you go zooming around in a huge circle at full speed. when they fall, drop your speed quickly so you are still close by. then slowly return to them. you won't nearly drown them in your rollers that way and you can use the boat to protect them. another boater will have a much better chance of seeing your boat and staying away than they will swimmers in the water unattended.

Re: New to tubing....how to keep "rider down" safe when floating in water.

I tell my kids to put their hand up and wave if there is any traffic (they ski and wakeboard, but same concept) Other than that - bright colored life jackets wouldn't hurt.

Best bet is not to tube in traffic

Re: New to tubing....how to keep "rider down" safe when floating in water.

The two best ideas for you are those two ^^^^, from Salty and oldjeep

Re: New to tubing....how to keep "rider down" safe when floating in water.

Me three ^^^^

Re: New to tubing....how to keep "rider down" safe when floating in water.

This is the main reason tubes and PFD's are so brightly colored, makes them stand out and gives more perspective. Helps maretking too, but bright is safe on the water.

Re: New to tubing....how to keep "rider down" safe when floating in water.

>>> 4

Re: New to tubing....how to keep "rider down" safe when floating in water.

The kids are definitely going to be read the "riot act" about safety/vigilance. My son and his friends are good kids, but they tend to forget all about safety when they get together.

Re: New to tubing....how to keep "rider down" safe when floating in water.

blaze orange deer hunting hats with really really strong chinstraps.

As someone said, when you drop one, you stop immediately and turn back around--that will signal the following boats to look out. But don't pull anyting if there are other boats following. I've heard of lakes were everyone is supposed to go the same direction--that to me is nothnig but dangerous and not a place for watersports.

If you bought the flag to annoy and embarass the teenagers, it was a good buy. Otherwise, it will serve no purpose. Anyone who sees it and knows what it means will be looking out anyway. The distracted, sloppy or inexperienced won't see or understand it.

Re: New to tubing....how to keep "rider down" safe when floating in water.

If a rider falls off, back off the throttle to neutral immediately. Turn hard to starboard (easier to keep your eye on the swimmer) if and slowly motor back toward them. I turn around and set a course such that they will be only about 10' to my starboard side and pass them, then cut the throttle and turn hard to starbord. This way you can can see them at all times, and the tube will come right by the swimmer. Any other boats in the are means they should be waving like crazy.

If you have TWO tubers, and only one falls it is VERY important that you make sure the second tuber holds tight during the turnaround. Two swimmers that are not together is a nightmare. Using the above procedure means the tube will be stopped for a while while you make the tight turn and then jerked when the line goes taught. I yell "HOLD ON" when I think the jerk is coming, they tend to relax by the few seconds of inactivity.

Re: New to tubing....how to keep "rider down" safe when floating in water.

Probably best safety feature is to have a good spotter on the boat, to tell you when someone falls off, gets in trouble, or to help warn off crazy boaters or PWCers. Two weeks ago we were cursing along and my wife sees someone in the water waving at us to be sure we saw them. I pulled up close, and it turns out it was a teenager that got bounced off a large tube............boat and tube nowhere in sight, and this kid is floating in the middle of the lake in a fairly high traffic area. Finally the boat and tube return. It turns out the lady who was supposed to be the spotter had gotten distracted and didn't see the kid come off or the other 2 kids on the tube screaming and waving. She was extremely embarrassed. Good lesson, she will not forget.

Re: New to tubing....how to keep "rider down" safe when floating in water.

Ok I will be the bad guy, I will tell you what I do on the lake I hate, Chatfield Res south side of Denver, this lake max's out boat wise by 9AM Sat and Sun but when I want to get my friends on the lake they simply don't understand why I drive 100 miles for a better bigger lake that never max's out.

First off I make sure the kids know when they go down first thing they need to do is raise their hands and wave, now once the kids go into the water the last thing I do is get out of the gas in fact in most circumstances I accelerate through the turn, I also turn into the closest boat going the same direction, I call this bullying but I got 25' of boat with a fuel injected 454 and I know how to use it, If you have never been to Chatfield or Cherry Creek your going to have to trust me on this. Upon completing my turn if I have another boat coming up my wake (this is typical when towing) I head for a spot between them and the person in the water and that spot is where I finally get out of the gas then its time to either pull the downed rider out of the water or get the rope/tube/whatever to the person in the water.

I will tell you I absolutely hate these two lakes for this reason, the DNR should probably cut the max number of boats on these two lakes in half to be safe, by 8 am there is no skiable water and everyone is on tubes. When we do go there its typically to raft up in the large no wake zone but the kids want to tube so normally we take two boats, one to tow and one to chase or stay with the kids in the water until the tow boat picks them up.

Since we started this we have had no issues but prior to doing things this way I had multiple run ins with idiots and the rangers were called at least a dozen times to deal with people that do not understand proper etiquette around boats towing.

I think overall its up to you, circumstances dictate how you operate your boat when towing, when I tow my head is on a swivel I keep all nearby boats in check and drive accordingly sometimes you and another nearby boat that is towing get your directions crossed and a simple wave is all that is needed to apologize (always by both drivers), were all supposed to have fun but Chatfield and cherry Creek are nothing but to much aggravation if you plan to tow so I avoid them both.

I have been talked to by the Rangers about how close I have been to fallen riders and have never had an issue once they realize what I am doing and they have always said its a good idea.

Re: New to tubing....how to keep "rider down" safe when floating in water.

Here's my protocol for spotters: the spotter sits in the bow, facing both the driver and the skiier. He can then communicate immediately to the driver. The driver maintains eye contact with the spotter only (eyes, not her chest) and only occasionally checks out the skiier, except when beginning a course change.

A spotter behind the driver is useless.

Re: New to tubing....how to keep "rider down" safe when floating in water.

Until I'm confident that the kids are good spotters....I'll be doing a lot of neck turning.

Not to mention....I'm a new "tube driver", so I'll need to learn what effect my driving(making turns etc) is having on the tubers.

Re: New to tubing....how to keep "rider down" safe when floating in water.

We've always required out tuber/skier to hold the "I'm okay" signal until the boat is back close by (upper right in this image):


Our vests are all bright yellow or orange, and the raised arms breaks the water surface enough to see from a distance. It's not perfect, but the best I've come up with so far.

... it also encourages you to get the boat back over to them quickly before their arms tire out

Re: New to tubing....how to keep "rider down" safe when floating in water.

In scuba diving, people often use "safety sausages". Funny name, but it is a very good, low-cost solution. These are simply heavy-walled, air-filled tube balloons that can be blown up by mouth or with a scuba regulator. The sausages are always brightly colored and are usually 3-4 feet long. They stand straight up on the surface. When a diver surfaces, he/she can inflate the sausage in order for the boat captain to easily find them, especially in rolling waters.

If used on a relatively smooth body of water, the safety sausage would stand out from quite a distance. However, the riders would need to have the sausage inflated in advance and holding onto it while underway could be a problem. Just a thought...

Re: New to tubing....how to keep "rider down" safe when floating in water.

I'm going to pickup another bright colored PFD. One of my vests is dark blue, so that won't be a great choice for visibility.

Re: New to tubing....how to keep "rider down" safe when floating in water.

A "swimmer" in the water is hard to see, especially if you are not expecting one.
Waving and shouting are close to useless at getting an oncoming boaters attention.
Consider having your swimmers lie on their backs and splash and kick water with their arms and legs if they feel threatened by an oncoming boat.
The 5 foot water spray really stands out at a distance. Much better than waving.
It looks like how TV always depicts a drowning person. (TV not reality!)

Re: New to tubing....how to keep "rider down" safe when floating in water.

We tube all the time and I've had as many as 5 tubes behind us. This takes practice and a system. Ours is pretty basic:

Experience
Only in areas with no boating traffic
We use a combination of boating and scuba hand signals since you can't hear them. It's important to know they're all 'OK'
At least 2 spotters on the boat
The usual safety equipment.

Re: New to tubing....how to keep "rider down" safe when floating in water.

You've gotten some good suggestions.

If doing the 2 person tube thing - you need to read them the riot act if one person falls off.

That is, they become the most stable as possible on the tube. No relaxing, no hot-dogging. Generally that means getting centered, with arms holding the handles at 10 and 2.

As was mentioned, 2 in the water in different locations is a nightmare.