Size of towable tube - does it matter much?

[haley]

Kids are asking for a tube this Summer . They are 9 & 12.

I am thinking of something that they ride in more than one. My boat is small in size and HP. Aside from carrying the thing, do I need to pay much attention to size of the tube? Some of the 2 person tubes get up there in size, not sure if that equals more strain on the boat.

Any tips would be appreciated.

 

[boat1010]

Re: Size of towable tube - does it matter much?

It isn't so much the size of the tube but how much you have in the tube.. You can use the biggest tube you can find and put a light load in it and pull it without any problem. It would help if you told us the size of the boat and the motor size. We can give you a little better answer. Enjoy..

 

[blifsey]

Re: Size of towable tube - does it matter much?

Never really noticed size of tube making a difference. The total weight on it seems to make biggest difference. If tube isn't fully inflated it can also make a difference in drag.

 

[haley]

Re: Size of towable tube - does it matter much?

. It would help if you told us the size of the boat and the motor size. We can give you a little better answer. Enjoy..

Boat is 16', 1100 lbs 1990 Four Winns 150 Freedom

Motor is a 60HP 2 stroke outboard with original 3 bladed prop.

 

[hostage]

Re: Size of towable tube - does it matter much?

In a tube you won't be going fast and you don't need the same power you would to pull a skier or a wake boarder out of the water. It doesn't take much kick power to push a tube forward when it isn't connected to anything, a 60hp shouldn't have an issue imho. A 2 person tube should be fine.

 

[Erin Stewart]

Re: Size of towable tube - does it matter much?

I would recommend a regular sized tube more than anything else! These things get very fancy, but that is how people get hurt! Especially with little ones!

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Size of towable tube - does it matter much?

I agree with getting the standard size tube. The key is getting it up on a plane and not submarining. If you get one with a flat surface on top two children can lay on it.
But as far as hydrodyamics go, to a degree, the larger tube pulls better b/c it gets on a plane better. I wouldn't get one for that reason. PLus a big one is a pain to store, carry, inflate/deflate.

I started tubnig in the 70's with a truck tube on a rope. very different these days.

 

[captainzac]

Re: Size of towable tube - does it matter much?

Sir

Go check out Sams Club
They have a 3 person for 129
It can be blowen up with a manual pump allowing you to wait until you get on the water to blow it up.
Then can be deflated the same way
Can't remember what I payed for the pump but not very expensive
takes about 5 min to blow up
very nice to lay out on also
had many expensive tubes the kids like this one just as well
Sams also had a 2 person

Harry

 

[lkbum]

Re: Size of towable tube - does it matter much?

I pull tubes with a large bowrider and waverunners. With the wave runners you can really tell a difference in tube type. I've found the easiest to tow (least strain on the motor and best whip) are the triangular shaped "tubes". I've pulled 2 and 3 person tubes of this type with a 90hp waverunner (two people on the wave runner and a 3 person tube). The round ones (like a big bertha), are harder to get on plane, but once there, they pull well. The "disc" shaped tubes are really tough to pull. The kids (and dogs on occasion) like these, but they are hard to get going and hard to keep going in the turns. Here are links to the three types I am describing
Triangle shaped - http://www.overtons.com/modperl/product/details.cgi?i=16711&pdesc=Connelly_Mega_Wing_Deluxe_3_Rider_Towable&aID=600G4&merchID=4006
"tube shaped" - http://www.overtons.com/modperl/pro...1&pdesc=OBrien_Le_Tube&aID=600G2&merchID=4006
Disc - http://www.overtons.com/modperl/pro...er_Performance_Towable&aID=600G4&merchID=4006

If you get a triangular one, get one with the inflatable floor (easier on the butt) and really plane easily

 

[haley]

Re: Size of towable tube - does it matter much?

Yes, those triangular ones look nice because:

• Little ones sit inside them - arguably safer
• Smaller size, easier to store

I looked at one in Dicks Sporting Goods and it had a nice warning label on it that the material used to make it is known in the State of CA to cause birth defects.

Wifee's not going for that one!

jh

 

[lkbum]

Re: Size of towable tube - does it matter much?

Haley,
That one made me laugh... It's probably Carbon Black which is used as a colorant in virtually every plastic made, including medical devices that are used in the body (just went though a couple of days of this with our Regulatory People, I'm in the Medical Device Business). I've been in L.A. before, when the air was so thick it was hard to see through it ( a nice pleasant brown colored air) and had locals I was at dinner with point out to me the butter I was putting on my baked potato was bad for me.... Back on topic... The little guys I have pulled love the trianglular ones if and only if they had the padded floor (inflatable floor). I bought one (at ****'s) that did not have this and no one would ride in it. Bad thing is the inflatable floor ones are about $50 to $100 higher in cost. What ever you get, make sure and hook the tow rope correctly, it will pull the tube front up slightly and help get on plane. I've seen a lot of people miss this and wonder why their tube submarined when they started.

 

[seapro235]

Re: Size of towable tube - does it matter much?

Yes, those triangular ones look nice because:

• Little ones sit inside them - arguably safer
• Smaller size, easier to store

I looked at one in Dicks Sporting Goods and it had a nice warning label on it that the material used to make it is known in the State of CA to cause birth defects.

Wifee's not going for that one!

jh

EVERYTHING causes cancer according to the state of California(Quackifornia)... Are you going to eat it or smoke it ? Forget that Quackifornia crap...

 

[crablegs]

Re: Size of towable tube - does it matter much?

Yes, those triangular ones look nice because:

• Little ones sit inside them - arguably safer
• Smaller size, easier to store

I looked at one in Dicks Sporting Goods and it had a nice warning label on it that the material used to make it is known in the State of CA to cause birth defects.

Wifee's not going for that one!

jh

Oh my god haha...Commiefornia seems to think everything gives you cancer, I bet I could find ten things in this room that fall in that category

 

[444]

Re: Size of towable tube - does it matter much?

It doesn't take much power to tow a tube. I have a glastron gt-150 with a mercury 90hp inline 6. So power wise I barely even felt the tube. Because my boat is only 15' and dry hull weight is like 600 and something lbs, with a tube tied onto a tall ski pole it does alter the handling characteristics of the boat somewhat with an adult in the tube, but not a big deal. Since you go fairly slow with a tube, I don't think it will be that big a deal. 25mph on a tube with the boat's driver throwing you through the turns trying to get you to fall off feels actually quite fast.

 

[mditt8671]

Re: Size of towable tube - does it matter much?

EVERYTHING causes cancer according to the state of California(Quackifornia)... Are you going to eat it or smoke it ? Forget that Quackifornia crap...

Don't worry about it... If you don't live in California, you're safe. It only causes cancer there.

 

[haley]

Re: Size of towable tube - does it matter much?

Not so much worried about what the warning is warning about. More about the warning!

My wife already thinks I am nuts for wanting to drag the dear little ones behind the boat. Obviously that is borderline child abuse I'm not going to aggravate that by bringing home a box with the word 'cancer' on it! Plenty of other choices out there. Have to ease her into this whole water sports boating thing. It has always been my idea of fun.

The kids on the other hand are ready to go:
Dad: "Not this weekend, lake is not warm enough."
Kid: "Can I wear a sweater?"

Got it. Small triangular one with inflatable floor properly attached to tow bridle clipped to stern tie downs.

 

[lkbum]

Re: Size of towable tube - does it matter much?

Your post brings back a lot of memories for me... If I could offer one more suggestion, start tubing very slow, I mean really slow, like at idle speed. I've seen a couple of friends start out pretty quick with guys that were 12 or so and scare the crap out of them. So much they didn't want to go again for a pretty good while. I'd just idle around with them in tow for a few minutes, they should get bored pretty quick and demand to go faster. Then go as slow as your boat will go and still stay on plane (15 mph or so). After a while they will be begging to go faster. As was pointed out in a previous post, fast in a tube is anything over 20 mph. I don't think I've ever towed at over 25 mph.

 

[blifsey]

Re: Size of towable tube - does it matter much?

+1 on going slow. Even with my kids now being 18 & 20 and tubing over the last 11 yrs I still stick to < 20mph.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Size of towable tube - does it matter much?

another suggestion--send your wife to the movies when you go boating.

 

[haley]

Re: Size of towable tube - does it matter much?

Wife = Spotter!