Tube going under...

[ArkBoater]

Is there anyway to prevent the tube from going under and acting like a drift anchor?? Ours does it every once in a while when the rider falls off. We have a 2 man, round, flat tube. Just wondering if there is a trick to keeping it from doing that, or a special rope or something. Thanks!

 

[2007276SSX]

Re: Tube going under...

This happens from the ridders sitting to far forward on the tube.Make sure they move to the back when you start out or when someone falls off this should fix the problem.
p.s are you putting enouph air in the tube?

 

[ArkBoater]

Re: Tube going under...

This happens from the ridders sitting to far forward on the tube.Make sure they move to the back when you start out or when someone falls off this should fix the problem.
p.s are you putting enouph air in the tube?

Yeah putting enough air....but this only happens after the person falls off and the tube is empty and we are going to pick up the rider. Never happens any other time.

 

[metriccrescentwrench]

Re: Tube going under...

I might be wrong but it seems that maybe the weight of the tow rope is pulling down on the front of the tube. Might be able to attach a small "float" to the tow rope about 2/3 of the way to the tube to keep it above water. (Or,on the other hand, I could be all wet)

 

[shorts&chanclas]

Re: Tube going under...

Try a small float like Arkboater said. Your riders may get sprayed in the face by that float as skips across the water when on plane....but they are there to get wet anyways.

Maybe try looking at the tube itself and how you connect the tow rope to it. Try reversing rope through the bridle and see if that helps.

 

[ArkBoater]

Re: Tube going under...

UPDATE:

So went to the lake and tubed this past saturday, and the tube did it's normal drift sock thing....but I did learn something. If I can manage to flip the tube over when I fall off, it will not go under. Not sure why that is, but when the tube is upside down, it rides fine when going back to pick up the rider, but if it stays up-right, it always goes under when I'm going to pick up the fallen rider.

 

[Thunder_SS]

Re: Tube going under...

Try taking off the wrap and flipping the tube itself upside down. Maybe it is the way the tube is sitting in the wrap.

 

[John_S]

Re: Tube going under...

Do you have a quick connect at the tube? If yes, check to make sure the rope feeds up from the bottom through the hole, not from the top.

 

[45Auto]

Re: Tube going under...

Is the strap the tow rope attaches to in the middle of the tube?

If it's located off center (higher or lower than centerline) that could have an affect on whether the tube dives or rides on top of the water depending on which way it's flipped.

 

[ArkBoater]

Re: Tube going under...

Try taking off the wrap and flipping the tube itself upside down. Maybe it is the way the tube is sitting in the wrap.

Thunder, the wrap can't be removed. The only opening in the wrap is about the size of a baseball where the valve is. Thanks though!

Do you have a quick connect at the tube? If yes, check to make sure the rope feeds up from the bottom through the hole, not from the top.

John, I'll make sure of that. I'm pretty sure I went up from the bottom on saturday, but I will make sure that I do it next time. Thanks!

Is the strap the tow rope attaches to in the middle of the tube?

If it's located off center (higher or lower than centerline) that could have an affect on whether the tube dives or rides on top of the water depending on which way it's flipped.

I guess it could be off. I've never really looked at it that close. I'll check though.

 

[OldMercsRule]

Re: Tube going under...

I have pulled a number of tubes (with different boats) over a number of years.

One of the tubes I own has a fabric enclosure over the entire tube (both sides) and does not dig in, (that I can remember).

The rest of them (with open tops) all will dig in to some extent, (depending usually on how much I slow down the tow boat after losing a person off the tube).

That is the primary reason that tubes are not supposed to be pulled from water ski pylons, as they can dig in so much that it causes a failure in the tow rope, or the pylon if the Skipper is not paying attention and cuts power and this failure can potentially injure people riding in the tow boat.

Hope this helps. JR

 

[ArkBoater]

Re: Tube going under...

I have pulled a number of tubes (with different boats) over a number of years.

One of the tubes I own has a fabric enclosure over the entire tube (both sides) and does not dig in, (that I can remember).

The rest of them (with open tops) all will dig in to some extent, (depending usually on how much I slow down the tow boat after losing a person off the tube).

That is the primary reason that tubes are not supposed to be pulled from water ski pylons, as they can dig in so much that it causes a failure in the tow rope, or the pylon if the Skipper is not paying attention and cuts power and this failure can potentially injure people riding in the tow boat.

Hope this helps. JR

Hmmm. mine is the completely covered tube and I'm pulling from the tow hook right above the outdrive. :redface: Guess I may slow down too much once the rider falls off. Maybe if I only reduce speed a little it will help. (of course slow down when I'm approaching the downed rider)

 

[brownksee]

Re: Tube going under...

My tube does the same thing. even with a rider on, if i only go about 10mph the tube wants to nose dive and go straight under water, no matter how hard you pull the front end up! Its a round tube with a wrap. I dont know if its the make of the tube( only 80 bucks! ) or something im doing wrong???

 

[craze1cars]

Re: Tube going under...

I've gone through about 6 or 7 tubes over the years. My lastest one is the only one that does what is being described. It is also the "flattest" tube, I think they call it a deck tube.

I've noticed more and more modern tubes are designed flatter and closer to the water. Generally this is good, as the lower center of gravity makes them easier to get on from the water, and more stable when underway. But it also means they hold less air and have less buoyancy, and act more like a nose-diving wedge when they hit the water just right.

It's a trade-off. Generally the fatter tubes don't have this problem, but you need to be a bit of an athlete to be able to climb back on 'em in the water.