Towing pylon for outboards

[PrinceValium]

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if any of you that have an outboard know of a good towing pylon for wake boarding and tubing? I would prefer a transom mounted unit. Anyone have or know of some good ones? Hopefully not costing an arm and a leg?

Thanks!

Rob

 

[j_martin]

Re: Towing pylon for outboards

A pylon for tubing and wake boarding has to be pretty strong. I doubt you could just come off the transom without breaking the boat.

Mine goes into the rear seat post pocket. Glass work there is over an inch thick, very strong. It's braced back to the outside corners of the transom. It's not rated for tubing, but I've used it for that. Got a glass crack to prove it.

The tubing behind me in my avatar is the post and one brace of that rig.

hope it helps
john

 

[mike343]

Re: Towing pylon for outboards

Our family went 30 years of skiing and tubing with outboards using a bridle connected to the two stern eyes. It was standard for small boats. Not sure wakeboarders would be happy

 

[samagy16]

Re: Towing pylon for outboards

Our family went 30 years of skiing and tubing with outboards using a bridle connected to the two stern eyes. It was standard for small boats. Not sure wakeboarders would be happy

This is the way that I do it, it is the simplest way and certainly cost effective but I really wish I had a regular pylon that would give my rope more of an angle. I believe it makes for a better ride when the rope comes from a higher angle.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Towing pylon for outboards

my sister's 19' Grady has a pylon that mounts to a plate inthe floor, but you have to run two annoying cables to the bow cleats. After a couple of times, she went back to the way we grew up--hook to the stern eyes. If the children complain, let them buy their own boat.
Here's the thing--you can get a specialized boat, and loose versatility. You can have a multi-use boat, and be flexible. Or you can buy several boats, each with its speciality. I go for the middle ground.

 

[metriccrescentwrench]

Re: Towing pylon for outboards

These pylons made by Swivel EZ pretty much cover it:

http://www.iboats.com/Water-Ski-Pylons/dm/*******.410169376--**********.875946870--view_id.217689

My fish-n-ski has one like J-martin's, works great. I've never had any problem pulling wakebords or a small tube.

The Checkmate I just finished restoring came with a Sivel EZ just like the one listed as "runabout ski tow hitch" and it looks to be very solid as well. If you don't want to pay for a new one try ebay.

 

[PrinceValium]

Re: Towing pylon for outboards

Thanks for the replies everyone.

We have been using the eyelets at the rear of the boat, however it constantly drags in the wake and ruins the fun for tubing and a little for skiing. I was looking online the other night and came across something called the TurboSwing. It looks to be a transom mounted unit but is VERY expensive.

http://www.turboswing.nl/index.php?subject=297

It looks cool and watching some videos on it were promising.I would use the swivel eze but don't know how sound the flooring is on the boat.

 

[roncoop75]

Re: Towing pylon for outboards

Thanks for the replies everyone.

We have been using the eyelets at the rear of the boat, however it constantly drags in the wake and ruins the fun for tubing and a little for skiing. I was looking online the other night and came across something called the TurboSwing. It looks to be a transom mounted unit but is VERY expensive.

http://www.turboswing.nl/index.php?subject=297

It looks cool and watching some videos on it were promising.I would use the swivel eze but don't know how sound the flooring is on the boat.

There was a thread on the rope dragging problem as it pertains to tubing just a week or two ago. Someone pointed out an inflatable ball, a little smaller than a beach ball, that goes in your tow line to keep it out of the water. One of the other suggestions was to get lighter line. Maybe the ball would help out. Sorry I can't find the thread on it. Maybe with a little googling of tow accessories you can find it.

 

[PrinceValium]

Re: Towing pylon for outboards

There was a thread on the rope dragging problem as it pertains to tubing just a week or two ago. Someone pointed out an inflatable ball, a little smaller than a beach ball, that goes in your tow line to keep it out of the water. One of the other suggestions was to get lighter line. Maybe the ball would help out. Sorry I can't find the thread on it. Maybe with a little googling of tow accessories you can find it.

Yes I do know that one you are talking about. I have thought about trying one of those for tubing.

 

[convergent]

Re: Towing pylon for outboards

A pylon for wakeboarding is fine, but you should NOT use a pylon for tubing. It says that on all the tubing gear I've bought, and its says it on the info related to the pylons for sale. We have a Swivel EZ pylon that goes into the back fishing seat hole, and then mounts to two supports. I tried it with a tube just to see what it would do and it was noticeably bending from the force.

Look at the size and rating on tube tow ropes (2000-4000 pounds) vs. a ski rope which is a lot thinner and rated around 750 pounds. That should tell you something. For tubes, you should go with the transom harness.

If the rope is hitting the wake and causing rope slack, then get a Sportstuff booster ball. This is what we use and it works very well. Helps the rope glide across the wake and cuts way down on the rope spray as well. Its also good for visibility. We have a pylon that we use for skiiing and wakeboarding, but we use the ball for tubing.

 

[PrinceValium]

Re: Towing pylon for outboards

A pylon for wakeboarding is fine, but you should NOT use a pylon for tubing. It says that on all the tubing gear I've bought, and its says it on the info related to the pylons for sale. We have a Swivel EZ pylon that goes into the back fishing seat hole, and then mounts to two supports. I tried it with a tube just to see what it would do and it was noticeably bending from the force.

Look at the size and rating on tube tow ropes (2000-4000 pounds) vs. a ski rope which is a lot thinner and rated around 750 pounds. That should tell you something. For tubes, you should go with the transom harness.

If the rope is hitting the wake and causing rope slack, then get a Sportstuff booster ball. This is what we use and it works very well. Helps the rope glide across the wake and cuts way down on the rope spray as well. Its also good for visibility. We have a pylon that we use for skiiing and wakeboarding, but we use the ball for tubing.

Well I guess I will look into the ball more closely then. It makes sense what you are saying. Do all boats have eyelets on the transom for this purpose? I could sweart I see the newer boats pulling tubers from the pylon on the back of their boat...I could be wrong.

 

[convergent]

Re: Towing pylon for outboards

I'm sure there are people pulling tubes with the pylon, and they may not have a problem. The guy I bought our boat from said he did it, but I have no idea what type of tube he was using and how many people. If you are just pulling a small kid in a single tube slowly behind the boat, that's a very different force then pulling 3 high school aged teens at 25MPH and whipping them across the wake and back. Having read the warnings on everything I've bought related to tubing, and having done a short test run to see how the pylon responded, I didn't want to take the risk of going against all the wisdom.

I have not heard of a boat that doesn't have the stern tie down / tow hooks, unless its a really old boat. These are use to attach stern straps when trailering, and also to tow with a harness.

I really like using the ball. I've seen a few posts from people that tried it and didn't like it, but most of the reviews have been good. Its not perfect, but it solved most of our tube problems on our last boat, and we kept using it with the one we have now. Check around and you can find them for a lot less than list price... and remember that it includes the tow rope in the price. I just added a harness.

 

[PrinceValium]

Re: Towing pylon for outboards

I'm sure there are people pulling tubes with the pylon, and they may not have a problem. The guy I bought our boat from said he did it, but I have no idea what type of tube he was using and how many people. If you are just pulling a small kid in a single tube slowly behind the boat, that's a very different force then pulling 3 high school aged teens at 25MPH and whipping them across the wake and back. Having read the warnings on everything I've bought related to tubing, and having done a short test run to see how the pylon responded, I didn't want to take the risk of going against all the wisdom.

I have not heard of a boat that doesn't have the stern tie down / tow hooks, unless its a really old boat. These are use to attach stern straps when trailering, and also to tow with a harness.

I really like using the ball. I've seen a few posts from people that tried it and didn't like it, but most of the reviews have been good. Its not perfect, but it solved most of our tube problems on our last boat, and we kept using it with the one we have now. Check around and you can find them for a lot less than list price... and remember that it includes the tow rope in the price. I just added a harness.

So where did you get yours from? I have seen them online all over but everyone seems to have the same pricing.

 

[convergent]

Re: Towing pylon for outboards

I think it was Amazon.

 

[AguaSki]

Re: Towing pylon for outboards

I'm sure there are people pulling tubes with the pylon, and they may not have a problem. The guy I bought our boat from said he did it, but I have no idea what type of tube he was using and how many people. If you are just pulling a small kid in a single tube slowly behind the boat, that's a very different force then pulling 3 high school aged teens at 25MPH and whipping them across the wake and back.

The type of tube used and the number of people being towed is not the reason that a pylon should not be used. Sometimes when tubing the tube will dive under water. When this happens there is a dangerous amount of force put on the pylon. This force is much greater than what a heavy slalom skier will put on the pylon during a deep water start. I would advise against justifying the use of a pylon for tubing because the riders are small kids being towed at slow speeds. The driver cannot control when the tube will dive under water and exert dangerous force on the pylon.

I used to tow from my pylon because I did not know any better. Thank goodness I never experienced an issue with the pylon failing. Now I use the booster ball and love it.

 

[PrinceValium]

Re: Towing pylon for outboards

The type of tube used and the number of people being towed is not the reason that a pylon should not be used. Sometimes when tubing the tube will dive under water. When this happens there is a dangerous amount of force put on the pylon. This force is much greater than what a heavy slalom skier will put on the pylon during a deep water start. I would advise against justifying the use of a pylon for tubing because the riders are small kids being towed at slow speeds. The driver cannot control when the tube will dive under water and exert dangerous force on the pylon.

I used to tow from my pylon because I did not know any better. Thank goodness I never experienced an issue with the pylon failing. Now I use the booster ball and love it.

Well I sure don't want to take the chance...I will get the tow ball..I do still need a pylon for wake boarding and skiing however.