Tow point on transom?

[IDBoating]

As mentioned in other threads, our family is looking at moving to a new boat. One thing I've noticed is that the Tiges we've looked at don't seem to have a low tow point - i.e. the place you traditionally hook ropes for tubes. Inflatables put way more stress on the rope, which is why it's a bad idea to tow them from a pylon or tower.

I see centered transom tow points on Nautiques, Centurions, etc. but not on Tiges. Why not? What does everyone else do when towing inflatables with their Tiges? Any reason one could not be added if they're not available from the factory?

Thanks!

[Joeprunc]

A lot of people tow tubers from above, but depending how hard you are driving and who you are towing, you may reconsider towing from the tower.

Inboard ski and wake boats have a ski pole that is usually located in front of the motor. This is the strongest point to pull a skier or tuber. However with direct drive motors, the seats behind the motor can not be used while towing. With a V-drive you can use the rear seats, as the pole is behind them.

[jmhatchett]

In the picture notice the pylon, we have used this point to tow and it is very strong. This is on the V drive models.

[IDBoating]

I agree it's possible to tow from the pylon, but is it recommended? I ask for two reasons:

1) Towing inflatables involves a LOT of stress. The pylon has a lot of leverage against its mount points since the rope is attached at one end while the mount points are quite a ways below.

2) I read a thread, somewhere, that suggested Tige pylons aren't the strongest with respect to mounting, which gives me pause considering #1 above.

[jmhatchett]

I cant respond to how they are built or how mechanically sturdy they are, but i have towed slaloms and tubes, 200 lb guys slaloming and 3 person tubes. I hope it can handle it.

The other option is to use the transom eye hooks and get a rope that attaches your tube rope to both of the transom hooks.

This was my innitial strategy until the first time we tried it and the rope was dragging the water the ENTIRE time.

The pylon hasnt shown any signs of weakness or stress in my case.


I have seen on some malibus that the tow hook is located on the grab bar directly above the swim platform, these seem entirely unstable as there is not near as much support i wouldnt think as with the pylon on tige which is integrated into the frame. But again I PERSONALLY have never seen any problems on the Malibu or the Tige.

[Timmy!]

On the RZ2 there is a warning label on the ski pylon that says not to pull tubes. I still pull from there because it doesn't make sense to tow from the tower and where else would you pull from since the tie down hooks are under the swim platform on an RZ.

[IDBoating]

The other option is to use the transom eye hooks and get a rope that attaches your tube rope to both of the transom hooks. This was my innitial strategy until the first time we tried it and the rope was dragging the water the ENTIRE time.

I'm also a rock climber, and that "triangle" approach is known as one of the worst things you can do. When anchoring to multiple points, it's important to keep the lines running from each anchor as parallel and close to each other as possible. As the lines separate and the angle increases, the lateral force on the anchor also increases until the force seen by each anchor can actually EXCEED the weight of the climber even though you'd think the weight was being divided between them.

Turn this from vertical to horizontal and you have the same situation on the boat's transom hooks. The less parallel the two lines coming from the two transom hooks, the greater the lateral force on both. Now add the shock/jerk (instantaneous acceleration) often encountered with inflatables and you're talking a HUGE amount of stress being transferred to the transom through those hooks.

If we end up with a Tige, I think I'll add a dedicated tow point backed with epoxied marine fiberglass (or a piece of Penske board) to distribute the force across a large surface area.

[IDBoating]

On the RZ2 there is a warning label on the ski pylon that says not to pull tubes.

Yes, you'll find the same warning from most (all?) tower manufacturers.

[Jason B]

It depends on what year you're looking at. If you go as old as 2002 (like mine) they are attached with about 600# of pinkie thick steel. There isn't a snowflakes chance in hell that you could harm my pylon. Some of the later years they went with a different mount system and it caused a little spidering of the gel coat around the pylon-- nothing structural, just ugly. I believe the newer models(unsure of the year)have corrected this.

Maybe someone with boats in the age range mentioned can comment on any changes.

I think either way, if you damage a pylon towing a tube, you have bigger problems than the pylon..

[dingleberry]

I'm also a rock climber, and that "triangle" approach is known as one of the worst things you can do. When anchoring to multiple points, it's important to keep the lines running from each anchor as parallel and close to each other as possible. As the lines separate and the angle increases, the lateral force on the anchor also increases until the force seen by each anchor can actually EXCEED the weight of the climber even though you'd think the weight was being divided between them.

Turn this from vertical to horizontal and you have the same situation on the boat's transom hooks. The less parallel the two lines coming from the two transom hooks, the greater the lateral force on both. Now add the shock/jerk (instantaneous acceleration) often encountered with inflatables and you're talking a HUGE amount of stress being transferred to the transom through those hooks.

If we end up with a Tige, I think I'll add a dedicated tow point backed with epoxied marine fiberglass (or a piece of Penske board) to distribute the force across a large surface area.

While using the transom hooks may not be practical for various reasons (as Timmy! noted, they are below the swim platform on the RZ boats), I would not be concerned about their ability to carry the load. They are designed to lift the boat with a crane from those hooks. I would imagine that yanking a tube around would fall within their safe working capacity.

[talltigeguy]

You may have read some of my derogatory comments in years past. Do a search for' pansy pylon' and you will see me bring it up over and over. My MC and EVERY other manufacturer does it different than tige. The pylon is usually mounted to a steel framwork that mounts to the stringers. Tige's pylon is mounted into thick fiberglass and I am told there is a sheet of alluminum glasssed in for support as well. They went to this method on all vdrives in 2003. It is very strong, actually. I have heard of it failing, but have never seen anyone produce a picture of it. One failure was seen first hand by a close friend, so I know it happens. But disruption of the fiberglass seems to be super low and despite my complaining so loud it only is a minor detraction to me. The gelcoat will crack if the pylon nut gets loose. My 2005 was constructed this way. I got sick and tired of going off of the tow hooks and finally just started using the pylon. I pull a 5 man banana boat and had no problems until the nut got loose and a tiny gelcoat crack showed up. That is only cosmetic.

[Nobody]

We have been pulling from the tower for good while until the tower took on a stress crack. Had the crack fixed and decided to reinforce our rear pylon and start using "it" instead.

Bought some .25 X 2.5" X 24" long aluminum stock plate from Alro Metals. Had it machined with bevel edges and rounded corners to look pretty, had four 1/2" counter sunk holes machined (two on the right side of the pylon hole and two on the left) along with a .75" hole in the center for the pylon, then had it powder coat painted (black). From there we used .25" 316 stainless angle for underneath reinforce bracket. Sandwiched the two together with four 1/2" X 5" SS machine screws and nylock nuts. Put the pylon straight through the original hole and both metal plates. We now have a super duty rear ski pylon. The stressors are now dispersed to the bulk head over a 2 foot area. We used silicone to seal the top plate to the fiberglass, and 3M 5200 to secure the underneath SS plate in place. We tested it out this weekend with our King Kong 3 man raft and are pleased with the results. Typically we like to pull 2 medium sized rafts with 3 teenage boys (450lbs of people weight plus two rafts equates to approximately 600 pounds of dead weight). We also use a bungee style rope to absorb shock.

It is my opinion that the rear ski pylon "should" be better reinforced from the factory. If I owned a Malibu or MC I'm sure I could find their faults too. No boat is perfect I guess, but we can do improvements to make it near perfect.

I took pictures of the whole process but someone accidentally erased them this weekend. The only pictures I have are the top end photo's....finished product. If your interested, just give me a shout and I'll post them later this week.

The picture below is our end-of-the-day journey back to the dock.
The other picture is a Manta Ray inflatable we borrowed from a local resident. Nobody liked the Manta Ray because you had to do 35mpg+++ to get air. That's just way too fast for everyone safety comfort.

[IDBoating]

It is my opinion that the rear ski pylon "should" be better reinforced from the factory. If I owned a Malibu or MC I'm sure I could find their faults too. No boat is perfect I guess, but we can do improvements to make it near perfect.

Completely agree. Nothing is perfect but the key is to find that which is nearly perfect, then improve as necessary. That's why I'm asking about rear tow points... I personally believe it's the right way to tow inflatables, and so I'll add one unless there's a reason not to.

Thanks!

[Bakes5]

I believe the kite tubes ended up killing and paralyzing people. Be careful on your manta

[ajholt7]

My transom hooks are above the platform and I use one of these.
http://www.overtons.com/modperl/prod...s&merchID=4005