Pulling a tube

The circled items are where you dinghy Davits slide in. Hopefully the previous owner left them with the boat.

As for towing a tube, my only recommendation is to not be shocked how much fuel you are going to burn.
 
grester said:
I just purchased a 91 Sundancer 280.does anyone have a recommendation for a set up to pull someone on a tube?
Thanks!
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:wow:

You might find it cheaper to rent a small ski boat for a few hours to pull the tube rather than pull it with your twin 350's in a 28+ foot boat. I shudder at the thought of how much fuel that would burn.
 
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Chris Nowell said:
:wow:

You might find it cheaper to rent a small ski boat for a few hours to pull the tube rather than pull it with your twin 350's in a 28+ foot boat. I shudder at the thought of how much fuel that would burn.
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Not my idea, LOL. I was asked and said sure if you buy the fuel.
 
Agree with the above posters. Its not where to attach the tube to the boat - rather the stops at the fuel dock.
 
Fuel costs aside, you can buy (readily available anywhere skiing stuff is sold for about $20) or make a tow bridle and hook it up to your two stern cleats.

Or, you can install a ski tow eye (google that) right between, and directly underneath that "dash" between the "T" and "Y" in Got Ya. You'll need to do some light fabricating and reinforcing for this, though.

Keep your tabs and drives all the way down. Depending on how fast you end up going, you might trim back up a tad bit.
 
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grester said:
Not my idea, LOL. I was asked and said sure if you buy the fuel.
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Good one. However, if they have the dough to pay for the fuel to go tubing on YOUR boat, then they could just go out and buy their OWN boat with the money instead :smt043:smt043
 
I have a ski tow eye right under my stern light where the top of your "T" is. Would like to see more pictures of your 280. We really like our 270 but I should have bought a 280 to have V8 twins. We kept our CV-23 for skiing and tubing, Mike.
 
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All kidding aside about the fuel usage when using a 30' cruiser for tubing, as a new owner, just be aware of the wake this boat can create. Just a few weeks ago, a couple of us chased down a 310DA pulling a tuber near our weekend anchorage which is normally flat despite a lot of runabout activity. After buzzing around in circles and going every which way for 20 minutes or so, he had the water really chewed up and we were getting barraged by 3 footers from angles I didn't think was even possible. Any other runabout or ski boat, the wake would have dissipated. He just didn't realize what a boat with that kind of displacement can do.

I just don't want to see you sink any of those zillions of canboats I saw on the big sandy. whoa...did I really just say that? Actually...

anyway, enjoy the new boat. I had a green '90 280DA btw.
 
Fuel costs aside, I would be more concerned with the safety of the one being towed. These boats don't turn on a dime like a ski boat so retrieval of a fallen rider could be dangerous. You will have to make a much wider turn to get back to your now swimmer, creating a huge additional wake that they will have to endure.
 
I disagree with everybody, don't rent a ski boat. REAL ski boat owners don't pull tubers...:smt043
 
jxg said:
I disagree with everybody, don't rent a ski boat. REAL ski boat owners don't pull tubers...:smt043
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Isn't that the difference between renting and owning? :lol:

If you do opt in, I agree a tow bridle is the way to go. Connect the tube towing rope to it so that it can slide freely and recenter itself--otherwise you'll play crack the whip with every single turn. (You can buy towing bridles engineered as self-centering; if you make your own it's still possible.)

We use the same method when we tow a WaveRunner, to keep it tucked as far back into the wake as possible and reduce drag. Ditto what everybody else said about fuel usage and wake risk to your tubers and anyone in the vicinity.
 
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trflgrl said:
Isn't that the difference between renting and owning? :lol:
....
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true, i didn't think of that. how about, any sane person driving a ski boat wouldn't be pulling a tuber...
 
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