Using the Ski Pylon for pulling

[IDBoating]

Yep, I cringe every time I see someone towing from the ski pylon or tower. Just a massive repair job waiting to happen.

[Twinrotors]

I know this is very old post. But I bent and broke my ski pylon, on my 2006 20v, pulling a 4 person tube last weekend. Broke all fiberglass and bent it back at an angle. So it's possible. FYI.

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[dom w. forte]

I never towed tubes from the ski pole but for a different reason, I didnt like the fact that the tubes pull from a lower position and the rope rubs across the vynle, also I couldnt whip the kids as hard as I could from the transon hooks, Ive pulled three to five tubes off the back transom hooks for 6 years.

[IDBoating]

Official reponse from Tige on towing from the ski pylon...

http://www.tigeowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13995

[da.bell]

^^^^ The rope on the right side looks like a ski rope to me...

[talltigeguy]

The reason I said tournament slalom skier is because tournament skiers practice good form that allows them to hold on to the rope with extreme loads. I have heard stories where slalom skiers have lost the handle and the rope slingshots back into the boat. I know of one occurance where the handle broke the windshield. This is why at any pro ski event you might see the passengers are guarded by a net usually. I have been in the boat where the skier makes the pylon look like rubber. There is a lot of force generated by slalom skiers.


This past summer we pulled 3 tubes behind our boat all form the pylon with no issues.

But yours is a Malibu, so you have a real ski pylon bolted to the stringers.

I am waiting for someone to go tubing while holding onto a ski handle and let me know how it goes when the boat changes direction. Not even mentioning what happens when the rope goes slack.

[zad0030]

The reason I said tournament slalom skier is because tournament skiers practice good form that allows them to hold on to the rope with extreme loads. I have heard stories where slalom skiers have lost the handle and the rope slingshots back into the boat. I know of one occurance where the handle broke the windshield. This is why at any pro ski event you might see the passengers are guarded by a net usually. I have been in the boat where the skier makes the pylon look like rubber. There is a lot of force generated by slalom skiers.

The only time I have ever seen a tube submarine is when just taking off. This is usally caused by the rider being too far forward on the tube. In my experience submarining is usually easily avoidable by informing the rider to lean back on take off. Simple enough. Also the load shouldn't last long or get too extreme if the driver is doing his job and paying attention. I still think that this load would be nearly equivalent to a newbie learning how to ski or wakeboard.

This past summer we pulled 3 tubes behind our boat all form the pylon with no issues.

[Ewok]

My real world example of how I handle this situation is that I don't own a tube and I never offer to take people out tubing, so I have yet to pull a tube from my boat.

I did take the little ski pylon off my boat for the move and I noticed it is slightly re-enforced with that steel frame that surrounds the engine compartment hatch, it's not all fiberglass holding that on.

[Ewok]

I am just so cantankerous lately....

There is no way a slalom skier can put as much force as most tubes do. The weak link in a slalom skier is their capacity to hold onto the rope. Imagine yourself tubing and holding onto a ski handle instead of the rope tied to the tube. Try that next time you are out and you will see the forces on the tube rope are a lot more than a skier can generate. Then imagine a 2-3 person tube and it is even more. The people in the tube can be essentially seated into the tube where hanging on is not an issue and/or are in a lying position where they can put a lot more force on the rope than a skier trying to stay semi-upright.

It is not unusual for a tube to submarine as well.

I see your point for a submarining tube but a regular tube with a regular sized person skipping across the top of the water seems like less stress. The slalom skier example is probably less than 1 full second of full stress but I guess this is an idea for the myth busters to prove or disprove. Anyone want to submit this idea to discovery or should I?

[talltigeguy]

X3

I am just so cantankerous lately....

There is no way a slalom skier can put as much force as most tubes do. The weak link in a slalom skier is their capacity to hold onto the rope. Imagine yourself tubing and holding onto a ski handle instead of the rope tied to the tube. Try that next time you are out and you will see the forces on the tube rope are a lot more than a skier can generate. Then imagine a 2-3 person tube and it is even more. The people in the tube can be essentially seated into the tube where hanging on is not an issue and/or are in a lying position where they can put a lot more force on the rope than a skier trying to stay semi-upright.

It is not unusual for a tube to submarine as well.

[Ewok]

X3

[Iwndr]

I think any tournament slalom skier exceeds the forces on the pylon that a tube under normal circumstances would.

I would think the same

[skippabcool]

Zad,

I like your signature. Common Sense is not so Common, very true. I think I see this everyday at work.

[skippabcool]

In reading the owners manual it points to the ski pylon on a v drive and refers to it as the "Water Sports Tow Pylon". On a direct drive it points to the post in front of the engine and calls it the "Water Sports Tow Pylon". My buddy with a dd uses that to pull tubes. What is the definition or water sports? Skiing only, if so why not call it the skiing pylon? It refers to the d hooks on the transom as stern eyes, nothing about towing.

Again the owners manual under towing safety it states that Tige is not responsible for damage to the boat or people from the use of a boom or extended pylon. I would interrput that as add on items that are not part of the boat like a barefoot boom, could be wrong. Then it says the transom towing hook is designed for normal water sports. There is nothing that is designated as a transom towing hook. Hook was not plural so it this a special hook? To me that means it is not referring to the stern eyes, again I could be wrong.


Looking at another manufactures owner manual it calls the ski pylon the watersports tow point. But there is a warning to use the pylon for water skiing only. DO NOT use for parasailing, kite flying or towing other boats. It never mentioned pulling tubes.


I know that tubes can have a lot of pressure but for pulling my kids around a slow speeds I think I will use the pylon making sure that it is always tight. I had to buy the socket after I bought the boat because when I got it the pylon was already loose. I do know that I have seen tubes pulled from lower points and as has been mentioned the rope tends to go into the wake and I have seen it pull the tube down causing it to flip or pull the cover off. It has happened to my littlest ones, not a positive experience.

[zad0030]

I think any tournament slalom skier exceeds the forces on the pylon that a tube under normal circumstances would.