Help PLEASE...Can I use the ski post to pull 3 teenagers on a tube???

[nat3869]

Please excuse my lack of boating knowledge, but we are relatively new boat owners, and our boat came outfitted with a post for towing skiers (I believe). We've used it to pull our two small children on a tube as well, but their light. We are now having a housefull of teenagers this weekend who all want to go tubing. Is this post (pictured below) strong enough and designed to pull tubes as well? Or do I need a bridle to attach to the hook on the back? Please advise!

 

[Scott Danforth]

Do you have a center mounted tow hook on the transom?

 

[rallyart]

Having been the cause of two bent transom mounted ski poles I can confidently tell you that you can do it at least once. After that you may need to replace the bent pole. The difficulty is the torque load on the pole. If you can pull a tube from a transom ring you are in much better shape.

Tubes put vastly more load on the rope and boat than anything else, if they dig in at all.

 

[nat3869]

Thanks. We only have two tow hooks on either side of the motor, none in the center. I was afraid of the bent pole potential. I figured the tube would be way more drag than a skier.

So would my best bet be to use a bridle with the two tow hooks off the back? I know it will be lower (which isn't ideal) but at least it would be centered and we wouldn't have to worry about the pole bending or snapping.

Thanks in advance!

 

[rallyart]

You can get a bridle that will help a lot. You can also use a floater ball part way to the tube that keeps the rope up. Tubing ropes should be pretty strong. They sell all that on the iboats site.

 

[honda400ex2003]

howd it come out?

we used to pull 3 tubers with our pole on our hurricane but we slid the ropes to the base of the pole where it goes into the fiber glass. we were all 150#+ male teens so we had some good weight back there with 3 tubes pulling.

steve

 

[Baylinerchuck]

I use a floor mounted ski pole that has outriggers that mount near the rear of the boat on either side. The bridle proved to be pretty boring in tube pulling. In my experience the tube was much easier to pull than getting a 250 lb wakeboarder outa the water. I watch the side load when pulling a tube with the ski pylon. I have a three person deck type towable. It's a lot of fun.....but then again mine is a floor mounted pylon.