Towing tube behind 280 Sundancer

[NorthvilleJim]

I am a relatively new member, so if there is already a thread that covers this, please point me in the right direction....

Does anyone have any experience pulling a tube behind a 280 Sundancer? With the towing eyelet on the transom, it looks like it should be fairly straight forward to hook a standard tow rope. I realize that this may not be the most fuel efficient way to use my boat, but would be interested to hear any tips that anyone could pass along. My 2 boys (ages 9 & 7) have their eyes set on a 2 person Big Mabel by Sportsstuff. Anyone have any experience with one of these?

Thanks!

 

[DCarl320]

Hi Jim, and welcome, I am also new to the board and to boating. I just posted about towing with my 270DA and the guys have given me pretty good info, take a look at my thread below...

http://clubsearay.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7852

Although, I dont think you should have a problem if you have a tow eye. My boat doesnt, so I am looking at getting a harness to attach the tow rope to.

 

[NorthvilleJim]

Thanks DCarl. Let us know how the tow harness works out.

 

[Quint4]

I have a 3 person big mabel towable that I towed last year with our 220/240 dancer. It has quite a bit of drag and burned some fuel to pull...but the kids love it. I just got a 290da and will pull it every once in a while to keep the kids happy....I am also wondering how my 290 will do pulling it.

 

[Dave S]

Hi Jim

I had a lot of apprehensions about people being able to tube behind my 260DA and put up a post last year on the subject. http://clubsearay.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2252&highlight=tubing Take a look at the posting since a number of folks commented including someone who had a 280DA.

When we finally started tubing with our 260DA, everything turned out fine (except for the fuel I burned:smt100). The boat was not near as nimble as my previous 240SD was so I couldn't swing people from side to side as easily but I still managed to give a "thrilling" ride :grin:. Planing speed was higher as well compared to the the 240SD. You can pull people below planing speed but that really sucks up the fuel and isn't much fun for those in the boat with the bow stuck way up in the air. So there are a few negatives with a bigger boat but nothing that should stop you from having fun.

 

[DragonAnchor]

The bigger the boat, more fuel you burn.

Did some toobin last year with the 310. With the adults, I tossed out the 4 person toob, for the kids, a smaller one.

This is Mini Me and his dumb little buddy.

At idle speeds for them, they discovered that if they lean forward on the toob, they could get it to submerge.

And after the Admiral saw them go under, I cut the throttles, and she took this once they popped up!

Oh and to stay on topic, I have the "eye" but have also used a stern cleat, allows a sharper 'whip' with adults on.

 

[NorthvilleJim]

Excellent information! The pictures tell the story. Now I'm starting to get excited about this. I need that 40 degree water to warm up fast!

 

[Presentation]

Hi Jim,

We also pull tubers and water skiers behind out 280 Sundancer.

I pull my wife up on 1 ski. It takes about 7 seconds.

The wake is big, so is the fuel consumption.

On pulling kids, you will want to go slow. Tab down (push the tab buttons to lower the bow) and keep the drive’s all the way down. You should be able to hold plane a bit under 20 MPH.

Enjoy!

 

[NorthvilleJim]

Thanks Doug. I noticed you have twin 5.0s. Do you think I'll have any problems getting on plane in a reasonable amount of time with my twin 4.3s? Do you always use the tow eye on the transom? Do you use a 60' line for tubes and 75' line for a skier?

 

[Presentation]

Thanks Doug.

You are welcome.

I noticed you have twin 5.0s. Do you think I'll have any problems getting on plane in a reasonable amount of time with my twin 4.3s

I don’t think you will have an issue. If you have 8 hefty grown ups plus loaded down with gear the time to plane will increase. I don’t tab down when I pull my wife up on 1 ski. I do put the outdrive all the way down. If I wanted to plane even faster I could add some tab via the trim tabs on both sides. I really don’t think you are going to have a issue with the twin 4.3’s unless you are heavily loaded.

Do you always use the tow eye on the transom?

Pulling 1, skier, knee board or tube yes, we use the tow eye.

When pulling 2 tubes I use the cleats on the side. Keep in mind I may do this different if pulling 2 teens that want a wild ride and are arrogantly professing “You cant get me off that tube” however my experience pulling 2 people has been with young children or mid-aged adults or older that are no longer in the “fast and furious” stage of their life. With young kids I keep them inside the wake. No sharp turns.

If looking for a more thrilling pull I think I would use the center eye so the tubes are equal distance behind the boat in turns. This would be for safety so one tuber could not fall off and get run over by the other. With our youngest I don’t even plane. I will often shut one engine down and put the other in gear as little as possible. She will sit in the tube with a smile from ear to ear until you tell her the time is up. Seeing her big grin makes it hard to tell her its ‘times-up.”

Do you use a 60' line for tubes and 75' line for a skier?

Simple question, complex answer. We have separate dedicated lines for each purpose. I got them at Overtons. All of our lines have multiple sections so you can pay out the amount you choose. How much I pay out varies depending on what we are towing as well as who is being towed. When slalom skiing alone my wife likes to be back 75’. That would be about the only simple answer.

 

[NorthvilleJim]

Again, very helpful information. I will be pulling a 2 person Big Mable tube, so I think I will start out with the standard 60' line that the tube manufacturer sells and go from there.

 

[Scholarship]

We've pulled our two boys on a tube behind our 280 since we bought the boat in 2006. We started with the Airhead Super Slice and have since moved on to the Airhead G-Force. One piece of advice would be to use a 75 ft rope. The video (link below) that my son posted last year shows a 60 ft rope; the 75 ft rope is a much better ride.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHXAYr7KWnc

 

[NorthvilleJim]

We've pulled our two boys on a tube behind our 280 since we bought the boat in 2006. We started with the Airhead Super Slice and have since moved on to the Airhead G-Force. One piece of advice would be to use a 75 ft rope. The video (link below) that my son posted last year shows a 60 ft rope; the 75 ft rope is a much better ride.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHXAYr7KWnc

Thanks you for the advice. We ended up purchasing a "Big Mable" by Sportsstuff. It is finally warm up in Michigan. We plan on trying it out this weekend.