(stupid) alternatives to tubing, skiing or wakeboarding

[BF]

When I was a yougin' slalom ruled. Occassionaly we'd tie a tractor tube on the boat (a REAL tube, with a hole to get sucked into, and/or break dangly legs etc). But for the real wild side, me & my gang of teenage lake friends spent many hours trying to figure the weirdest things to do behind a boat. Some were more fun than others, some were completely safe, some were more uhhhhm, stupid... the adults around kept an eye that things didn't get too out of hand. Anyway, here's a list of what I remember. <br /><br />1) lying on an airmattress with arms around mattress holding onto the handle... even better when we figured to leave the pillow deflated and then put mattress backwards... then your knees went on the deflated pillow... doing big whips was great, inside hand on handle, other trying to keep mattress under you... those little cheap styrfoam surfboard type things worked too... (the bigger ones)<br /><br />2) sitting on a plastic toboggan, good for beach starts... so good we'd often take about a 50' run down the beach, over a small sand ramp, and then into the lake. shortly thereafter they came out with kneeboards, so it didn't look that crazy.<br /><br />3) skiing on a paddle (I always liked it, it seemed so "old school")<br /><br />4) skiiing in a recycling bin (actually worked pretty good, you could sideslide and do 360's in it) of course it wasn't called a recycling bin then, 'cause no one had heard of recycling anything.<br /><br />5) skiing on a "saucer" made for tobogganing... good for 360's but hard to keep balance 'cause the bottom was too dished.<br /><br />6) and lastly "body dragging"... lifejacket on, but no other equipment. Best at about 20-22 mph. If on the back, one hand always seemed to be needed to hold the bathing suit on... we also did "elbows" which meant on your stomach with your elbows bent... was wet & wild (and a bit stupid)... It evolved from failure to adequately hold air mattress in #1... We got in the habit of holding onto the rope so the boat could pull you back to the mattress.<br /><br />The kids these days have no imagination ... if it doesn't have fancy graphics and a $200 binding it's not cool! I guess we had that to some degree with the slalom ski's, but we also took pride in scroungin' up stuff for fun.<br /><br />Anyway, a post in another forum got me thinkin' of this, and it seemed to fit best in the "SHT" section.

 

[MercMan2004]

Re: (stupid) alternatives to tubing, skiing or wakeboarding

Fun Times BF!!!<br /><br />I recall we used to get a half sheet of plywood and drill a couple of handholds and a hole for a rope. Then we'd tie the thing to the back of a boat.<br /><br />Get the boat going maybe 15mph and then push the front of the board down, which would cause you to dive pretty deep. Then you try and pitch the front of the board up and you'd just shoot up and go flying when you broke the surface...<br /><br />Spent the rest of the day pulling slivers out... <br /><br />Good ol' buddy of mine (RIP) got too daring one day, and went too deep, smacked into the bottom of the lake. Scared the hell out of him!<br /><br />The funniest/stupiest thing I eve saw was a friend who tried to build some kind of hydrafoil thing (which you can buy these days I see). Anyways, he spent hours working on it, we spent hours laughing at him. The big day came to try it out. He got lined up behind the boat, gave the OK and we throttled up. There was a big splash and pieces wreckage everywhere. And there he floated in the middle of the debris field. If only waterproof cameras were common back then....<br /><br />D.

 

[BF]

Re: (stupid) alternatives to tubing, skiing or wakeboarding

the plywood submarine foil is a brilliant stupid idea! We weren't that imaginative... all our ideas involved some variation of skipping over the surface. (except for the first about 150' when starting a body drag from a stand still) we called that "the torpedo phase"

 

[MercMan2004]

Re: (stupid) alternatives to tubing, skiing or wakeboarding

That just reminded me of another stupid thing we used to do...<br /><br />We'd take a small foam flutter board (3') and wrap your arms around the top to hold the tow rope, then go out at full throttle preferrably when the lake was the roughest!!!<br /><br />You would hit those waves hard - bang, bang, bang. Your face smacking the board, your arms aching at the strain trying to hold on. The floater on the tow rope would hit the water and send a stream of water back that would whack ya in the face like a brick and of course you'd often get a face full of outboard exhaust. You would hold on for dear life and wait for the boat to stop, the flutter board to snap in half or to die (to let go was to wimp out).<br /><br />You haul yourself back into the boat exhausted, bruised and in pain... then wait your turn to do it all over again!!!!!!<br /><br />Oh how I miss those days.....

 

[BF]

Re: (stupid) alternatives to tubing, skiing or wakeboarding

yes, that is included in my #1... we'd buy those styrofoam boards at the little store at the lake for a couple bucks, and break 'em to pieces in about 30 min's. Same kinda ride on the airmattress, but cushier and more durable. Funny you mention the spray from the float... forgot about that part!<br /><br />Good times is right.

 

[LubeDude]

Re: (stupid) alternatives to tubing, skiing or wakeboarding

4) skiiing in a recycling bin (actually worked pretty good, you could sideslide and do 360's in it) of course it wasn't called a recycling bin then, 'cause no one had heard of recycling anything.<br /><br />Great, now we have to put a warning on the recycle Bins!!<br /><br />"Caution, do not use this as a Boating toy Serious injury could result"!!

 

[Brew2]

Re: (stupid) alternatives to tubing, skiing or wakeboarding

Great stuff!!!<br /><br />Never thought of the "plywood submarine foil". Might have to try that some day.<br /><br />A couple not mentioned that we used to fool around with was tying a windsurf board to the tow rope and then going at mach 1 across the lake with nothing to hold on to (you'd just stand on the board). Wasn't too tough to stay on by yourself, but once two of you were fighting it out on the board it got interesting.<br /><br />The other one I recall was using a round piece of plywood as your ski and taking a chair or two with you. You'd stack the chairs and then stand on top of them. Really wasn't that hard to pull off, but we thought it looked pretty cool!!<br /><br />Thanks for the memories!!

 

[Trent]

Re: (stupid) alternatives to tubing, skiing or wakeboarding

The memories... Yall showing your age! Iv done alot that has been listed.. But trying to stay afloat after you crash on them old ski belts was hard. Man Im glad they came out with the ski vest... Cause you aint cool in a May West type jacket.

 

[Nos4r2]

Re: (stupid) alternatives to tubing, skiing or wakeboarding

The one I always wanted to try involved an upside down car hood with a bench seat bolted to it...

 

[Holdimhook]

Re: (stupid) alternatives to tubing, skiing or wakeboarding

Stupidest thing I ever saw was back in the early seventies, some idiot bolted a heavy straightback chair to a pair of skis and jerked it off of a dock. He stayed up for about 20 yds. and hung the tip of the skis and fell forward in front of that heavy contraption. It nearly killed me (er.. I mean that idiot).

 

[aspeck]

Re: (stupid) alternatives to tubing, skiing or wakeboarding

#6 - we called it "Belly Skiing". Did all kinds of rolls, etc. Had to be careful when you rolled on your back - that always seemed to be when the trunks would come off!

 

[longdude17]

Re: (stupid) alternatives to tubing, skiing or wakeboarding

Another cool stupid trick that i had much fun with was using an old volkswagon beetle hood. my podnuh had a old beetle he flipped and totaled and one day i was over and looking at the damage. then i got the idea. what we did was take the old hood and flip it over drill a hole in it and tie the rope to it. We tied a few jugs to it so it wouldnt sink. once it was up on and going with you sittin in it you could turn and weave and go all over the place. Talk about fun! we use to ride that thing for hours. still use it to this day!

 

[sprouticus]

Re: (stupid) alternatives to tubing, skiing or wakeboarding

the hood works well being towed behind a snowmobile too by the way. a friend of mine tried a gt snow racer behind the boat once (I was driving) it took forever for it to plane, there was water gushing over his head and he bent the steering sheel almost in half from the pressure of holding on. It finally planed, but by then I had to turn the boat, those gt snowracers have a steering wheel...and brakes...but they don't work so well being towed behind the back of a boat. Anyway, he couldn't make the turn, he flipped it, and before I could slow down the snowracer sunk into the water. Then the rope snapped, and we lost it, so I never got my turn

 

[Capt Joe]

Re: (stupid) alternatives to tubing, skiing or wakeboarding

Sprouticus - What's a snow racer??<br />Coming from near the equator it's a bit hard to visualise. Have you got a picture?

 

[Brew2]

Re: (stupid) alternatives to tubing, skiing or wakeboarding

Capt Joe...follow link to picture/description of a GT Snowracer. Great fun on snow (until you go @ss over teakettle!)...never thought of towing it with the boat....might work better if we removed the plastic skies and attached some wider wooden ones!<br /><br /> http://www.zollerhardware.com/shop/item/gtsnowracermodel.html <br /><br />Cheers.

 

[DJ]

Re: (stupid) alternatives to tubing, skiing or wakeboarding

Snow skis on the water. Complete with boots and goggles. You needed the goggles to keep the spray out of your eyes.<br /><br />You also needed a dang good lifejacket because you are smimming NOWHERE with those boots on.<br /><br />Transom dives? Stand on the transom or swim platform holding a rope. Get the boat going good and just dive off. Real idiocy but some gawd awful tumbles to be had.

 

[Capt Joe]

Re: (stupid) alternatives to tubing, skiing or wakeboarding

Brew2: Thanks for that. I've never seen anything like that even advertised here - but could have been down south. <br />Despite our reputation, Australia has bigger snow fields than Switzerland. Our snow actually covers more area than Switzerland itself. Mind you most of it is inaccessible most of winter

 

[MortenH]

Re: (stupid) alternatives to tubing, skiing or wakeboarding

In my younger days, we tried to tow a canoe behind a boat doing about 30 mph, using a rope for water skiing to hold on to. It was heavy to hold until the canoe got out of the hole, but then we were flying. The only problem was when the boat had to turn. Have you ever tried to turn a canoe designed for low speed with only the keel in the water in about 30 mph? The boat turned, the guy holding the rope turned until the angle between the rope and the canoe reached about 90 degrees (the canoe still going straight forward) until the canoe flipped very quickly upside down, throwing everybody out in the water. After several tries with several teckniques, we had to give up. We were not able to turn the canoe in that speed, but it sure was fun trying...<br /><br />-M-

 

[deputydawg]

Re: (stupid) alternatives to tubing, skiing or wakeboarding

We have a few irrigation canals running around here. If you've never seen one, they are usually anywhere from 20 to 50 feet wide and run water 10 or more feet deep. They always have an access road running along one side of the canal. The canal is fed by lakes and rivers diverted. Now add a few beers, a 4x4 truck and a set of skis with a long rope. Hook rope on ball of truck, sit on opposite side of canal, driver floors it and away you go. You can get some good speed.

 

[Triton II]

Re: (stupid) alternatives to tubing, skiing or wakeboarding

Funnest form of towing I've ever done was a disc of ply in the shallows of the beach towed by a dirtbike. Good fun but wet sand hurts at 30mph!