towing a tube

[ronmaloney]

I have a 2011 R27 and want to tow a tub for the kids. I find post regarding length of tow line and wake but nothing about the actual tow. I'm looking for input on where to attach the tow line to the stern.
I am hesitant to attach the line to the stern cleats since I'd guess the load would be at the wrong angle.
There are two U-bolts mounted on the stern just above the swim platform. The backing plates on these seem borderline but could work. However, these are mounted so low, I believe the swim platform would interfere. (I don't have a rail on the swim platform).
Guideline on where to attach the tow line would be appreciated.

 

[S. Todd]

When I wake surf I attach the tow line to one of the U-bolts you have described. They are designed for trailer tie downs and are plenty strong enough for a tow line. If you tie to both of them with a bridle to center your line, you should not have an issue with the line getting hung up on the swim platform cleats but I would have your watcher keep an eye on that potential issue.

 

[John&MaryLou]

I had a student whose brother was towing her on Lake Chelan. The rope suddenly got slack and then tightened around her arm. Her hand was amputated to just below the elbow. Make sure that you have one spotter at all times and be ready to cut the engine or have a rope release mechanism. They are available.

 

[stwendl]

My son did wake boarding behind my r27. We only went about 10kts at the time to increase the wake and used asymmetric Tristan setting to increase wake on one side. The tow rope was attached to one of the rear side cleats which are high enough

Link here https://youtu.be/XSGiZTWPFg0

Suppose you could use a bridle to each side. Tubing usually evolves higher speeds depending on the age of the tubers and if the goal is to travel or see how long they can hold on 🙂

 

[ronmaloney]

Still looking for a definitive answer. The wake board video was interesting but there is no load on that line like there would be while towing a tube. My concern using the trailer tie down U-blots is that the tow line would be so low it would rub on the swim platform.
Is there anyone who has actually towed a tub?

 

[stwendl]

The stern cleats are just fine. The angle is irrelevant. The bigger problem is speed. Like I wrote in my earlier post, it depends if you just like leasurly tow at 20kts or if the game is to go fast to get them thrown of the tube. Even at 20kts you can get a bit of action when making turns and the tube swings out and over the wakes when doing donuts. The longer the line the more centrifugal forces. At some length the low speed of the r27 is no longer working for that effect especially if you have little space to maneuver and if there are boats around. There cleat is almost as high as many ski boats. One foot higher does not make a difference. My kid and I went thru several different ski and tow boats to fine tune the effects of towing. It all depends what your tube passengers want to experience.

One other shortcoming of the r27 is the turn radius. It is not as tight and get a good effect on tubes like a stern or outboard would get. As a result you need a lot more space. We did all of our tubing on rivers in the ca delta and the r27 would barely have an effect on tubing. I can hinknwake boarding is the most you can do as shown in my video. The lines were mostly safety lines and to get on the board at about 8-10kts and then you leasurely rides the waves. When done, you can just leasurely step on the swim deck

 

[ronmaloney]

Thanks for the additional information. Realizing it is, what it is, the grand kids will have to accept the limitations. Besides they are so young, any ride will be fun.