Pulling a huge tube

[Jboard]

I just bought a 2001 Tige' 21i and love it. We do alot of wakeboarding and sometimes pull the kids on a tube. I worry about putting to much strain on the motor when pulling a three person tube. Anybody know anything about this?

Thanks

[NICKYPOO]

I don't really think you would have any issues with straining the motor. The only straining you should worry about is your tow point. Where do you tow the tube from?

[raythompson]

Get a heavy duty harness from your boat dealer (or Overtons, etc.) that clips on the tow hooks in the back and has pully system where the tube attaches.

If you sink the tube, and you will, their is a tremendous amount of strain on the pull. Too much I feel for the tower and that measly ski tow on the boat that is only attached to the fiberglass. Mastercraft bolts their ski tower to bottom of the boat and it is heavily braced. The Tige ski tow may not take the strain. Don't even consider the tower for pulling a tube.

The tow loops on the back of the Tige are strong enough to lift the boat easily out of the water.

[rob_and_trish]

I agree - just an fyi - walmart sells the tow hook for about 1/2 the price of overtons.

Also - I used to tow tubes from the ski pole (Ive even seen ppl do it from their towers)
but I actually had some of the fiberglass chip around the pole b/c of the movement - so I switched to the hooks in the back.

[talltigeguy]

The ski point on a 21i would be in front of the engine and is attached to the stringers very firmly, right?

I wondered if you are talking about the POC ski tow point on the newer V-drives which are only attached by fiberglass, not to the stringers. I've struggled with towing tubes by the rear hooks because the rope gets bogged down in the water because the hooks are low.

[Tip]

The ski pole on my 22v is bolted to a steel frame shared by the motor mounts, and presumably is hooked into the stringers. Should I be concerned with pulling a tube?

[rob_and_trish]

Mine is the same but there is still some flex to the pole.
Its not bad when you pull 1 or 2 small kids that dont get too much whip - but when you get 3 idiots over 30 that want to see how bad they can hurt themselves its better to use the tow hooks at the bottom.

[raythompson]

Originally posted by talltigeguy
I wondered if you are talking about the POC ski tow point on the newer V-drives which are only attached by fiberglass, not to the stringers.Yep.

[raythompson]

Originally posted by Tip
The ski pole on my 22v is bolted to a steel frame shared by the motor mounts, and presumably is hooked into the stringers. Should I be concerned with pulling a tube? My 22V (2005 model) only has the ski pull mounted to the fiberglass and does not extend to floor of the boat.

[talltigeguy]

Tip,

I had a 2002 21V with a nice tow point just in front of the engine that was bolted to the stringers (like yours). It was extremely solid. I remember pulling a 3 person tube when I turned just right and sunk the large tube under water, and it nearly put the boat from 20 MPH to a standstill and didn't hurt the tow point.

Why did Tige change?

[Tequilasun]

It might be because that tow point is almost directly over the front of the V-drive. Their packing things in pretty close these days.

Oh, I pull tubes from the Lift rings in the back, but I don't have one of those harness things, probably should get one!

[Jboard]

I'm not worried about the tow point. I tow from behind the boat. It is reinforced very good. No problem there, I just was worried about if it was to much strain on the motor. The egnine is a 350/315 MeCruiser.

There seems to be extra smoke coming from the engine than when I first started running the boat. That is what started me worrying about the strain on the motor.

[NICKYPOO]

Sorry. These threads rarely stay on track. Isn't that right tequillasun. I VERY rarely tow a tube so I should probably just shut my mouth. Unfortunately for everyone the latch is busted and a factory replacement is unavailable. This may sound obvious but, when was the last time you tuned up your Tige? What color is the smoke? Usually at the first sign of blue smoke I tune up. Always clears up any blue smoke issues. Black smoke is a different and usually sad story.


Where is Tige MD when you need him?

[Tequilasun]

Yep the threads rairly stay on track! :D

[Jboard]

I have had the boat about three weeks now. The previous owner said it was just tuned up, but I think I am going to take it in for one real soon.

Don't remember what color the smoke was, but will check next time out.

[NICKYPOO]

These things are pretty easy to tune up yourself. Especially with a direct drive. Change the spark plugs and the oil & oil filter and your on your way. Oh yeah, clean the flame arrestor also. Those things can get pretty clogged up. I also put on a nice set of plug wires just to make sure I have maximum spark.

[raythompson]

Originally posted by Jboard
I just was worried about if it was to much strain on the motor.It will not be too much strain on the motor. The wate provides a fairly constant load and whether the boat is moving or standing still there is still strain on the motor. Marine engines and components are built to handle the strain.

[Jboard]

Thanks for the help