Cable or rope centering tow harness?

[cliffblue]

I am going to use a centering harness for tubing. I see both cable and rope available. Which is preferred?

 

[garbageguy]

I have used cable and it works fine. Look for one with a good pully wheel without too much play or space between the wheel and its housing to minimize the chance for the cable to get off the pulley wheel and stuck against the housing.

Never seen or used rope

 

[cliffblue]

Thanks , the only cable I have found is the Airhead Tow Demon. It comes in 8 & 12ft lengths. Is there an ideal distance from the transom/ outdrive for the pulley to be?

 

[kjsAZ]

I have used both on the last boat. If you ever get the cable into the prop you have a serious problem. After the prop shaft was replaced I only used a floating rope one.....
Now I have an I/O with a center tow hook.

 

[cliffblue]

I could see that.That's the reason for this post. I have a center tow point that shows signs of weakness after submarining the tube a few times. Thanks

 

[kjsAZ]

then you might be better off to reinforce the center hook with a strong backing plate and maybe install a stronger hook. I had no choice with teh last boat as it was an O/B but towing from the center it's a lot easier to keep the rope away from the chopper

 

[JASinIL2006]

We have the rope bridle and pulley. It floats, which is pretty nice. It's maybe six years old and the bridle rope will need to be replaced this year sometime. It's seen a lot of use...

 

[Maclin]

chcliffb, I do not want to spin your head around again, but a while back I had a tow hook point issue as I had installed a ladder on top of my platform and the rope would have caught the ladder when hooked to the center tow hook. I looked around for short pylons and found this gizmo on ebay...:




The top of the transom on my boat was perfect for the install of this, and it works great.

Here is a pic of it on my boat, small chrome cap looking thing top center of the stern...:




Here is a video of how it works...:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3UFyU6raFg


There are plenty of these still available on ebay, for some reason the prices vary wildly.

If your boat has the right config at the back this may be an option worth looking into.

 

[kjsAZ]

looks interesting! What keyword do you use to find them on ebay???

 

[Texasmark]

Haven't used cable but wire sinks. Used to use manilla rope before poly. was available. It sank too. Poly rope for all the toy attachments are a must for me because they float and floating for me is of the essence. You need to know where those things are.

Added thought. I preferred the pulley attachment to the ski rope as it reduced the effect of a skiier out to the side on a run on boat handling, especially with slaloms. My yoke was attached to the transom eyes and short enough that it wouldn't go down over the engine lower unit so in that regard, cable wouldn't have mattered.

Mark

 

[haulnazz15]

I've used both wire and rope bridles before, they both work fine and both of the ones I had would float. However, if the cable were to break it's tougher to repair on the water. If the rope-version breaks, just cut a piece of rope and continue your day on the water.

Side note: I solved the issue entirely on my runabout by installing a traditional ski tow ring in the center of the transom. We don't use the bridles any more for water sports, and I much prefer the feel without the bridle when slalom skiing.

 

[Maclin]

looks interesting! What keyword do you use to find them on ebay???

Attwood ski tow....

 

[four winns 214]

I've used a floating rope bridle on a boat without a tow eye, but if your boat is equipped with a tow eye, use it. If you feel the tow eye has issues, address them. It is the best option for pulling.

 

[kjsAZ]

Attwood ski tow....

Thanks a lot!