Tubing question: How to get on plane

[Portagee1]

Good Evening Brain Trust,

Yesterday I took my 14ft fiberglass (1971) lake runabout in the Connecticut River with the boys. Basically it is a deep vee with short sides. the last 1/3 of the boat is flat and the engine area is narrower than the middle (tappered vee) I'm running a very healthy 1961 Johnson SeaHorse with the short shaft. The prop is a 12 pitch 3 blade Michigan Aluminum pretty new. I had the recommended 12ft "y" lead going to 65ft of nylon pull rope and a single person West Marine 48" single man tube they sell just for tubing. The boys are under 100 lbs and the adults were under 200lbs. Tube rated for 175lbs.

I am not loaded with gauges. All I have is a red light if she overheats. Just the boat in the water with 2 adults and 2 kids it gets up on plane easy and travels really nice. Hitch the tube and one boy in the tube it rolls pretty good but alot of "rooster tail" from the engine and the kids are being spayed with so much water they cant see (now the engine is like 70ft away). If The adult does the tube; it is like pulling a sunk ship. All noise, no go and the aft end of the boat is low in the water. I went to just me driving and a 100lbs girl spotter and still tough on adult tuber.

I know she is small. But the 40hp engine should beable to move a tube right? It is the first time in 20years I've hitched a tube to her. Im concerened about the amount of water spray and "rooster tail" I tried to adjust the trim (a spring loaded horizontal rod the engine locks to to adjust the angle of the lower end in travel. This adjustment had little effect on the boat with or with out the tube. The boat's hanging weight is about 650lbs and the engine is about 120lbs. Plugs show its burning properly and i'm running the new Johnson V-50 oil at 50:1 ratio. It does not skip a beat on 93 octane fuel. Factory prop was 10 3/8 pitch 3 blade. The rep from Michigan after giving him all my boats info said this prop is best for my boat size, width and engine size. Actually all I can get for this is an 11 pitch or 12pitch.

Any susgestions to make this idea a reality? Maybe a large tube for the adults? It wasn't a submarine, but something is off looking at the back of the boat in travel.

Thank you,
Joe

 

[B-Dozer]

Re: Tubing question: How to get on plane

I had the same problem with my 35hp johnson. Just didnt want to pull an adult no matter what I did. I did have one guy that would kinda bounce up and down on the tube and that gave me a little less drag to get up on plane a little better . You might not have enough power. Good luck !

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Tubing question: How to get on plane

You don't have the ponies sir.

Mark

 

[southkogs]

Re: Tubing question: How to get on plane

I agree - you're gonna' have a hard time tubing behind that boat. It actually takes a little more than you think to get a tube on plane. An adult might be able to ski on two behind, and you might be able to make a kneeboard work behind - but you need a bigger boat with more "oomph" to do any of it well.

I learned to ski behind a 40HP on a 14'. They day Dad bought the 16' with a 70HP ... I wondered what we were thinking all those years! WOW!

 

[drrpm]

Re: Tubing question: How to get on plane

There's a lot of drag with an adult on a tube. It sounds like you don't have enough power to overcome the drag and get on plane. Even if that motor is healthy, its still 51 years old and unlikely to be putting out 40 HP (which was measured differently in 1961). I'd bet that its good for 25-30 HP using modern standards.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Tubing question: How to get on plane

I agree - you're gonna' have a hard time tubing behind that boat. It actually takes a little more than you think to get a tube on plane. An adult might be able to ski on two behind, and you might be able to make a kneeboard work behind - but you need a bigger boat with more "oomph" to do any of it well.

I learned to ski behind a 40HP on a 14'. They day Dad bought the 16' with a 70HP ... I wondered what we were thinking all those years! WOW!

I learned behind my 18 rude on a 14' wooden boat. First entire summer I never could get up.....not enough ponies. Big rig of the day had a 35 hanging on it. Next summer I finally made it. Not stellar I assure you, but for a teen with his own rig, it was heaven.
Mark

 

[southkogs]

Re: Tubing question: How to get on plane

...Next summer I finally made it. Not stellar I assure you, but for a teen with his own rig, it was heaven.

Right with ya' ... A brand new MasterCraft probably wouldn't have moved the needle on the "cool-o-meter" that much the first year.

OP - you'll probably have to figure out how important water sports are to you, and "boat up" appropriately. Like Mark and I are reminiscing about, you can do some things behind the smaller OBs, but they certainly have their limitations.

 

[TruckDrivingFool]

Re: Tubing question: How to get on plane

If you're serious about making tubing happen w/ this boat I'd at least get a tach in it so you have something other than "seat of your pants" to judge your set up.

As for the tube itself be sure you have enough air pressure. Per the vague instructions I had at one time - It should have enough air to remove all the wrinkles from the cover and should not sink/collapse more than an inch or two on dry land when an adult stands on it. When I had a round tube I would turn it over in the grass and stand on it (carefully) like a trampoline to test it.

Another thing I have found useful is a booster ball I bought mine to help solve a constant spray from a low tow rope but noticed it did truly help to plane the tube faster which in turn gets the boat up faster.

 

[jbetzelb]

Re: Tubing question: How to get on plane

In my days of a under powered boat I got tubes on plane by spining a long circle then pulling straig and opening to full throttle. Make sure you spin a large enough circle to keep the rope tight so there is no slack when you go straight. Gives the boat a little speed verses trying to start them right out of the hole. Key is to keep the rope tight while your spinning the circle. You stil might not have the power. I did it with a 70 horse Johnson on a 15 foor ebco trihull.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Tubing question: How to get on plane

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As for the tube itself be sure you have enough air pressure. Per the vague instructions I had at one time - It should have enough air to remove all the wrinkles from the cover and should not sink/collapse more than an inch or two on dry land when an adult stands on it. When I had a round tube I would turn it over in the grass and stand on it (carefully) like a trampoline to test it.

If you are using a leafblower/vacuum/toy inflator, you can't overinflate. Keep going until you see no change in the tube. Most people will generally underinflate them, and once they hit cold water, they shrink up even more.

 

[TruckDrivingFool]

Re: Tubing question: How to get on plane

If you are using a leafblower/vacuum/toy inflator, you can't overinflate. Keep going until you see no change in the tube. Most people will generally underinflate them, and once they hit cold water, they shrink up even more.

I found it funny that in the instructions they admitted that the pumps they sold probably wouldn't inflate them enough and you should finish inflating with a hand pump.

I use a small compressor to fill mine.

 

[yorab]

Re: Tubing question: How to get on plane

Hi Portagee1. I also think that perhaps you don't have enough hp for the job. Try it with the lightest people you can find as a test.

BTW, no need for 93 Octane in your motor. In fact, the forum gurus suggest that it may be counterproductive to use it. It certainly costs more than low octane and you get no real difference in performance.