Towing water toys off the transom grab bar

[jschlaak]

I have an 2008 RZ4. I see the newer boats have the grab bar above the swim deck redesigned to receive a rope. It would appear that towing from that position is possible. Does anyone have experience with towing a ski trainer or tube from this position on an 08 or 09. I have asked Tige and they for liability reasons can't say as they never tested the older boats that way. They suggested I come to this forum and ask.

[cbath]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but you have a ski pylon at the back correct? I don’t think I would put that kind of strain on a grab handle that wasn’t specifically designed and had the hull built up and braces for such a design. I would suspect you would start to see some gel coat and fiberglass cracking from such use.


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[freeheel4life]

https://www.amazon.com/Kwik-AIRHEAD-.../dp/B000FE9C2I
Check out this with the float that keeps rope out of water so kids aren't getting sprayed in the face.
https://m.kohls.com/product/prd-2307...FcF7fgod9cMNxQ
Hooks onto D rings just under platform. The D rings are designed to lift the boat so can handle forces you mentioned.
If you really need to tow off of handle I would be curious to find out why. Just two 3/8" stainless bolts and a chunk of aluminum on each I believe. Would have to see it with my own eyes to confirm it though. Wouldn't tow off of it unless it was absolutely necessary. I'm assuming you are wanting to sit on back of boat to coach kids without worry of rope intereference?? Otherwise I'm at a loss as to what you are trying to accomplish

[IDBoating]

I have an 2008 RZ4. I see the newer boats have the grab bar above the swim deck redesigned to receive a rope. It would appear that towing from that position is possible. Does anyone have experience with towing a ski trainer or tube from this position on an 08 or 09.

I have a 2009 24Ve, very similar transom to your RZ4. My solution was to replace the factory grab handle with one that has an integrated rope tie-off, and beef up the support with a large aluminum backing plate to distribute the force over a larger surface area.

Here's the original factory strain relief:


...and here's my upgrade:


Here's the new handle. I contacted the manufacturer Tige used for the factory handle and they made this for me:


I bet there's off the shelf handles you could use, but I wanted one where the existing holes would line up perfectly.

[freeheel4life]

pretty sweet mod IDboating. Whered you move your isolator. Also curious about that stray ground lead in after pic. Batts just out of boat???

[IDBoating]

This was a small part of the overall ballast system modification. Here's a old thread that covers a lot (but not all!) of it.

24Ve Maximum Ballast Thread

[jschlaak]

Thank-you for your reply. One of the reasons we're surveying for a new anchor point is the warning label on the ski pylon says it's only rated to 350 lbs. I believe that is because unlike our old 20v riders edition which had a full metal frame anchoring the pylon this boat has the pylon bolted through fiberglass. I'm optimistic and trust there's more substance hidden underneath the fiberglass but I will have to trust the manufacturers warning label as reason for caution.

[bsreid]

Even on our 2014 I really dislike pulling big guys on a tube from the pylon. If you watch closely you can totally see it flex and it’s just screaming for gelcoat cracks.

The option of using the rear lifting rings is probably the best option.