PWC Towing at High Speed

[Midnightsun]

I have a Yamaha VX Cruiser PWC that I would like to tow behind Midnight Sun. I have read quite a bit on various forums but still am a little confused. My understanding is the Bombardier (BRP) brand requires pinching off the engine water intake hose or you will flood the engine however on a Yamaha, due to design, this is not required. Is this correct?

As for actual towing I have seen a product called the towdster which shows them towing at high speed no problem. I really do not want to by a ridgid style harness and figure a good long rope will do fine. Here is the towdster. http://www.towdster.com/

I have read about a few cigarette style boats towing at 50 mph apparently without issue.

Any info on the subject or past experience would be greatly appreciated.:smt001

 

[comsnark]

The towdster looks fine. . .once you adress the water ingestion issue. I have towed (with mixed success) a jetski, with a single rope. What I found is that around the dock, you want about 10-20' tops of line for *controllability*. Once I got the SeaRay on plane -> 20' was WAY too close to the boat. We let the ski out about 75' to avoid the turbulance point that forms where the prop wash from the two engines on our boat meet.

Your manuals for your yamaha should address towing. If you don't have one, you probably can download one from the Yamaha website.

I believe what happens when you tow at high speed is that water gets to places it normally doesn't with the engine running. . .and the unit essentially hydrolocks. I had a carb problem on my ski and the cylinders filled with fuel. In this condition, the starter simply could not crank over the engine.

I have an old Kawasaki that I once towed (in ignorance) on plane for about a mile. The unit certainly did not run right that day.

Do a search - I think this topic has been discussed before.