Skiing behind a 14ft tinny

[foxjohnc03]

With the maiden voyage of my starcraft 14ft mariner only a few days away I am not sure what to expect out of this little boat. It has a mint Rude Ski Twin 40hp on the back that is the most engine that can be put on the back. (Max 40 OBC cert. hp) It has a 10 1/2 x 13 prop which I think is right for the setup. I am wondering if it would be possible to pull a single skier on the back (not slalom) while 2 people are inside? I assume that they call the little beast of a motor the Ski Twin for a reason? The boat itself seems really light due to its aluminum construction and lack of a floor at the moment.

 

[ae708]

Re: Skiing behind a 14ft tinny

I used to ski behind a 14' plywood boat with a 30 Evinrude Lark. Pulled 2 skiiers and also used to get up on a slalom in deep water. I don't see why a 40 wouldn't pull skiiers.

 

[kd6nem]

Re: Skiing behind a 14ft tinny

Had a buddy who learned to ski behind a similar setup- if even that powerful. They learned to get up first try and to not fall- <br /><br />it was on the Amazon river. pirhana country!<br />Your setup ought to work fine.

 

[Stratosfied]

Re: Skiing behind a 14ft tinny

Learned to ski behind a 15 glass V-hull with a 30 SeaHorse. I didn't drown (Barely)

 

[BiXLL]

Re: Skiing behind a 14ft tinny

I learned to ski on a 13" homemade wooden boat that had a 35 hp, that smoked so bad you could not see the boat sometimes!

 

[quantumleap]

Re: Skiing behind a 14ft tinny

First time was behind a 30 hp rude. I wasn't quite as big then though.

 

[DJ]

Re: Skiing behind a 14ft tinny

I've skied behind a 14' with an 18. <br /><br />I've pulled children on skis with a 9.9.<br /><br />40 is plenty.

 

[Jdeagro]

Re: Skiing behind a 14ft tinny

Do a Search on Smart Tabs - this forum!

 

[John Carpenter]

Re: Skiing behind a 14ft tinny

Like DJ, I learned to ski behind a 14' aluminum v-bow with an 18 hp. Evinrude...at the age of 12. Your set-up should jerk a kid out of the water no problem. Should be fun!

 

[dhawk52]

Re: Skiing behind a 14ft tinny

I learned to ski behind a 16 ft bass boat with a 40 horsepower, you should be fine.

 

[roscoe]

Re: Skiing behind a 14ft tinny

On the tv show "Mythbusters", they pulled a 170# man out of the water behind a college rowing team, at 12 mph. He skied for 45 seconds before the rowers pooped out.

 

[skategoat]

Re: Skiing behind a 14ft tinny

I hate to rain on the parade but I'll never tow an adult with a small aluminum boat after what happened to a friend of mine.<br /><br />He was towing his 160lb. son on a wakeboard behind his 15 foot aluminum boat with 15hp motor. His younger daughter was riding the bow of the boat.<br /><br />The way he described it, his son cut hard on his board. It caused the one corner of the transom to go under the water and lifted the bow abruptly. His daughter was launched into the air and landed on the motor. Broken jaw, facial lacerations.<br /><br />It's a similar situation to towing a trailer with your car/truck. If the thing that is doing the towing is lighter than the thing that is being towed, you're going to experience handling problems. Sure, you can get going just fine but you won't be able to handle any sudden swerve. Like they say - the tail wagging the dog.

 

[texasfishon]

Re: Skiing behind a 14ft tinny

all these folks that learned behind a 20-50 hp<br />got to know how much you weighed back then?<br />i learned to slalom behind a 1963 lonestar 16'with a rude 75hp but at that time i was under 200lbs and had to drag a ways to get up. i'm now 230lbs don't think i could do it now. need to know how heavy is: 1. the skier <br /> 2. the driver <br /> 3. the spotter<br />and how much surface area on the skies?

 

[ED21]

Re: Skiing behind a 14ft tinny

I have to admit, I weighed a whole lot less when I learned to ski behind a 40 johnson & lightweight fg boat. <br />I'm sure it's still possible & quite possibly lots of fun. The setup isn't that expensive. Why not go for it.