pulling a kite tube

[studlymandingo]

Re: pulling a kite tube

I've always heard the insane have more fun!!! Man, I wonder what it would be like to be blonde AND insane!!!

 

[whblaylock]

Re: pulling a kite tube

I have a lake neighbor that had the manta ray and the flying was a second or two followed by a crash. They were pulling it with a large open bow inboard with lots of pull as well as top end and it seemed like they used all that boat had. We do alot of tubing behind a ski supreme inboard and really enjoy these kind of toys but from what I saw all they got was bruises and a large whole sucked into their wallet. This other thing looked nice in the video and if you could really get it to fly like they did it would be alot better than the manta ray. I think these things are more stable when you can head in to a steady wind but on most small lakes the winds tend to swirl around and you go from a head wind into a gusty xwind and you crash. From my yrs and yrs of lake time I would be very surprised if this thing lived up to its hype. But if it did I would buy it. wh

 

[paulie0735]

Re: pulling a kite tube

wh..... you are right, i used the manta ray for a full day on a lake and what we found was the thing actually takes a fair amount of skill to master it. Its doesn’t just ‘fly’ on it’s own, the rider needs a few hours practice to get it right but than its still only 5 – 10 seconds before the conditions change and it comes crashing back down. We had lost of spills through the day but no bruises and only smiles all round.

 

[whblaylock]

Re: pulling a kite tube

Paulie sounds like you liked all the spills you took. Guess I am getting to old! LOL Starting to sound like my dad, "you'll hurt something today on that thing that you gonna need tomorrow" lol. But 10 sec air time is not bad but all we were seeing was a second or two after hrs of trying by teens who have been raised on the lake and around these type of toys all of their lives. I have been on the water for a solid 30yrs myself and I have seen alot of toys that either didn't live up to their hype or tore up so quick that you never got a full grin out of it. At $500 plus I would have to see it to believe it. Course I said the same thing when people started talking about this new toy called a knee board. Knee board?? What the? If you are gonna get wet do it right and Strap on a Mike Syderhound WEstern Wood TTs and take out a few bouys and then maybe step on an Obrien 636 or better yet a kidder and do some that means something on the water. hehheh the good old days of days on the lake.

 

[paulie0735]

Re: pulling a kite tube

Could not agree more, I bought myself a new ski this year, Connelly F1X its just a fraction wider than the full comp F1 and almost as fast, but I have to say the wakeboard has brought about a whole resurgence in the boating world and our sport has never been as popular as is now and its really the wakeboard that has turned the water skiing industry around here, similar I guess to what snow boards have done for the show skiing industry. Took the purists a while to accept but now it’s the real money earner in both sports.

 

[RatFish]

Re: pulling a kite tube

I bought a Sportsstuff Kite Tube at a boat show this past March. I'll let you all know how it performs when I try it out. It's definitly not cheap.

 

[Mark42]

Re: pulling a kite tube

how about towing somthing that is meant to fly? Maybe a used hang glider with some foam attached for buoyancy?<br /><br />Hey! If you're gonna get hurt, do it right!

 

[whblaylock]

Re: pulling a kite tube

Paulie, there is definetly more interest in wakeboarding than skiing around here. I have taught many over the yrs but now it seems that as long as they can sit in the tube and have a great time they don't want to put out the effort it takes to learn how to ski. I have a boom and all of the right kinds of skis to make it easy but very few will take me up on my offer. I have one 7yr old girl that reminds me every Sunday at church that I WILL be teaching her this summer. Out of all the kids big and little she is the only one interested. The wakeboarders don't have a clue on how to ride and the drivers don't seem to have one either. They have the high end boats with the towers, lots of boards, plenty of kids, tunes blasting and you see about 10 to 15 second runs and a splash. The waves they throw out actually tossed a neighbors sea doo up onto his dock. but hey, I guess when you can go 50 feet and crash and it only costs $50,000 to get started, why not.

 

[whblaylock]

Re: pulling a kite tube

Mark42, I took a look at your boat and its story and I must say I enjoyed it very much. I have seen your posts before but never had the time to take a look-see and it is a great story. thanks wh

 

[paulie0735]

Re: pulling a kite tube

wh, yep sad but true. Still what I have noticed is that the guy with the full package (Range Rover, Malibu Wake Setter the model wife and 2.5 kids) is a little better informed and actually possesses some water sense the 2nd or 3rd year out and as a bonus all the good gear they buy that is far to good for their skill level comes up on ebay all the time.. <br />BTW, mate of mine won a damages case against a ****head a couple of years ago who’s wake forced his boat into his trailer and punched a hole in his hull, the owner of the boat who’s wake caused the incident had to put an insurance claim in to repair the damage his wake caused to my mates boat. He got a huge shock when he discovered that his total lack of consideration actually cost him some doe! Food for thought.

 

[paulie0735]

Re: pulling a kite tube

Mark42, OMG there’s a train wreck looking for a place to happen……. priced a used hand glider lately?? Brace yourself! I do like your boat though, congrats on your project.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: pulling a kite tube

did any one ever use waht we called a disc. verrrry chalenging. it was just a 4 ft diameter piece of plywood, no boots, no handles, no rope tied to it. you just held the rope and front of the disc, tilted it up with your knees on the back side, and go. when you master this you've done something. we pulled it a about 15mph. careful, when it dives you fall and it can surface and hit you in the head.

 

[Mark42]

Re: pulling a kite tube

Thanks for the nice comments guys. I do appreciate it.<br /><br />I can picture a lawn chair with some pink house foam tied to the legs, and a hang glider tied on top. Sounds safe to me!

 

[whblaylock]

Re: pulling a kite tube

Paulie thats the law here and believe me if someone's wake caused damage to my boat I would report it. Most of the time it is just a series of big waves crashing our seawall which muddies up the shallow water some but doesn't hurt anything. <br /><br />Daddy when I was in school at Tennessee in the early seventies we had a ski team that put on tournaments and ski shows. We had a girl that would ride the disk and stand on a wooden stool and do all of the 360's and stuff. I believe the disk was a ski show standard in the 50's, 60's, and 70's and was the inspiration to the knee board. The knee board came out of California and you can do alot of the same tricks on it plus jumps and wake crossing but the ride technique was very similar. I never had any interest in it and skied the bottom row of our pyramids, did the 3 man weave and some of the barefooting. The closes thing we had to a barefoot suit was a couple pair of cutoff blue jeans with reg blue jeans over them and the cuffs ducked taped around our ankles to keep water from coming in. The 3 layers gave us some protection but that deep water start on a long line was rough! I believe I still got some of the bruises. LOl

 

[studlymandingo]

Re: pulling a kite tube

I got a Kite Tube from e-bay, it is supposed to be delivered tomorrow. I will post the results after the weekend. BTW: I purchased it for MUCH LESS than the retail, it is new in the box drop-shipped from the manufacturer.<br />I can hardly wait!!!

 

[studlymandingo]

Re: pulling a kite tube

Got the kite tube at 3:00PM today, on the bay by 4:15. It does take a few tries to take flight, but once you figure out how to pull off the water, you can really get some air!!! It will definitely take some practice to master staying in the air, slight adjustments in the air send you sailing in different directions! I am 6'4" 196LBS, the boat was going about 28 MPH for me to get air. We pulled my friend's daughter 5'7" about 115LBS, took much less to get her into the air. Head wind is definitely easiest, but you can still get up in any direction. Very wild ride!!! Crowd pleaser also, we were near the Saint Petersburg Pier and lots of people were cheering and waving. Can't wait to get some more air time!!!<br /><br />BTW: Pulling this with an 18' Center Console with a 150 Mariner.

 

[Dave Abrahamson]

Re: pulling a kite tube

Hey Studly...you're not the ebay-er that got one for $55 bucks are you?<br />Brand new in the box price <br />BTW like your handle...old Ron&Ron fan?

 

[studlymandingo]

Re: pulling a kite tube

No, unfortunately, paid just over 3 bills. Harper & Jeremy?

 

[Dave Abrahamson]

Re: pulling a kite tube

Diaz and Bennington...old Tampa Bay radio show.<br />Ron Jeremy????...ewwwwwwwwww

 

[studlymandingo]

Re: pulling a kite tube

Ohhhh that makes more sense... I had an old 16' that had Studly Mandingo painted across the stern. I've only lived in Tampa Bay area for 5 years. I will bet that's where the name on the boat came from!!! LOL!!! Thought it was very funny name!