Here is a tow system I have used for towing my 14 ft. jon boat with a 25HP outboard on the Mississippi. *I typically tow at 12 to 15 kts. *On the Mississippi, we have locks on average every 30 miles or so. *I typically tow with the boat about 60 ft. back, but when locking thru I need to have control of the towed boat to keep it from drifting into other boats. *the currents in a filling lock can and will push the towed boat all over the place. *Pulling up the a fuel dock, *marina or beaching on a sand bar, is the same. *This rig keeps the boat under control, there are no lines in the water to run over if I need to back up. *I can go from long to short or back in a couple minutes. *Once the lines are made up, rigging only takes about 5 minutes.
Some general thoughts, I use 3/8" solid braid polypropylene. *It is very cheap at about $5 per 100 ft. length at the local lumber and home store. *It is soft on the hands, The Admiral likes that. *It floats, but that's not enough to keep it out of the prop if I'm towing long and *I back up. *If I stop for a few minutes, with the towed boat drifting, I don't start up again without knowing for sure where the lines are. * Ski tow rope floats are not a good idea because they kick up a lot of spray, if they drag in the water
*When pulling in the tow to hook up short, the loops in the short bridle come right back to you when you pull in the long lines. *If you accidentally drop the short loop you can pull it back in with the long line.
*The lengths of the lines are important. *In the close up bridle, there needs to be about 3" to 4" slack in the lines going to the bow eye. *The lines running to the aft cleats of the towed boat should have about 10" slack. *This allows the loop to be easily looped over the big boat's cleats, as well as allow the towed boat to move a little to bounce in the waves or wakes. * The lengths of the long lines need to be matched, a difference of a few inches makes a big difference in where the towed boat centers up behind. *The towed boat tows much easier if it is positioned on the downward side of the wake wave, as compared to the uphill side of the wave. *Be careful that the up close loops don't drag in the water and kick up spray that lands in the towed boat. *It can add up to a lot of water in the boat after a few hours tow. * This set up makes the towed boat behave well in waves and boat wakes. *there is no tendency to bow steer. *Using two lines to tow seems much safer to me. *I can always picture realizing I hadn't looked back at the tow for ten minutes, looking back and seeing only the line and no boat, and wondering where did I loose it. *And pulling on three points instead of just one, the bow eye, is a lot easier on equipment. *Bow eyes can break.
And best part of all, its cheap. *$10 for line, $10 for two bow eye snaps, *$25 for the trailer roller, and $0.50 for a foot of plastic water line. *Whole thing for under $50. *More money for beer.
-- Edited by Capn Craig on Friday 8th of April 2011 01:27:25 AM
-- Edited by Capn Craig on Friday 8th of April 2011 01:29:11 AM
-- Edited by Capn Craig on Sunday 10th of April 2011 08:37:09 PM
-- Edited by Capn Craig on Sunday 10th of April 2011 08:39:47 PM