PWC tow capabilities

[Runlikehell]

Seeing as the weather's so bad in SEQ atm I might as well throw out another question.

If a ski breaks down miles and miles out, how do you handle it? I'd rather be self sufficient than relying on the VMRs/other boaties. In a dirt bike environment if someone breaks down, everyone pitches in and helps out.

It happened recently on the water and raised a number of technical issues.

Anyone know the tow capability of their ski hook and mounting? I've asked Yamaha but haven't got an answer yet. I want to find out whether the hook and mounting is strong enough to tow another ski at planing speed. On long distance trips, towing at 5 knots in displacement mode is going to be a pain if a ski breaks down and the return trip is 20 miles plus. The HO manual says don't tow at over 4 knots, but I've asked them why.

I've rigged a rope bridle so that a broken ski can be towed by 2 other PWCs - thereby sharing the tow weight and reducing their engine load. (All assumes of course that the broken ski has a tow tap fitted.) Should work, but I''ll wait til Yamaha get back to me as I don't want to rip the arse end out of my ski.

The other issue we faced was the esky gets in the way of the tow rope, so we had to move it onto the broken ski. Bloody difficult when it's full of fish. ha ha

I can't think of an easy solution to this. Any ideas?

[Triple]

Towing a ski at planing speed in the right conditions shouldn't be a drama for most of todays high powered skis considering you can tow a tube with 3 or 4 adults behind it, or the pressure involved on the tow point when pulling a middle aged overweight wake boarder out of the water. Just keep an eye on temps. BUT towing some skis at speed can damage them. Forcing water into places it shouldn't be.. Do a google search and see what you need to do to prevent this. You would think the manual would have a tow rating documented for legal reasons.

Edit.. Just saw you know about the tow tap with water ingress and that's probably why Yamaha say not over 4 knots.

[Seahorse]

If u are the one getting towed, I was told that u must have a tow tap, that stops water from entering into the lock.
I had a tap put in so if I ever need towing I just turn the tap and this stops the water coming in through the lines.

Greg

[WalrusLike]

That bloody tow tap catches you out sometimes though....

My mate had his ski stop because he had towed it to our anchorage and had forgotten to open it before riding off. Ski overheated and shut down and wouldn't start for a long time.

[Tony R]

Seeing as the weather's so bad in SEQ atm I might as well throw out another question.

If a ski breaks down miles and miles out, how do you handle it? I'd rather be self sufficient than relying on the VMRs/other boaties. In a dirt bike environment if someone breaks down, everyone pitches in and helps out.

It happened recently on the water and raised a number of technical issues.

Anyone know the tow capability of their ski hook and mounting? I've asked Yamaha but haven't got an answer yet. I want to find out whether the hook and mounting is strong enough to tow another ski at planing speed. On long distance trips, towing at 5 knots in displacement mode is going to be a pain if a ski breaks down and the return trip is 20 miles plus. The HO manual says don't tow at over 4 knots, but I've asked them why.

I've rigged a rope bridle so that a broken ski can be towed by 2 other PWCs - thereby sharing the tow weight and reducing their engine load. (All assumes of course that the broken ski has a tow tap fitted.) Should work, but I''ll wait til Yamaha get back to me as I don't want to rip the arse end out of my ski.

The other issue we faced was the esky gets in the way of the tow rope, so we had to move it onto the broken ski. Bloody difficult when it's full of fish. ha ha

I can't think of an easy solution to this. Any ideas?

Paul,

The reason you shouldn't tow a jetski over 4knots is because they assume you do not have tow taps as they are not standard.

If you have tow taps no problem.

I agree with "Triple" on the towing capacity...if you can pull/tow three grown adults (who knows what size) plus water resistance them I believe the ski is very capable of towing another jetski. Probably good to get it on the plane quickly...

Food for thought......weather's not that bad for this weeekend????

[Runlikehell]

I'm chomping at the bit to get out mate. Let's keep an eye on the weather.

ps..

Tiger Shark? What Tiger Shark?

[Mr__Bean]

We had to tow a ski from St Lucia right up the Brisbane River back to the ramp at Woody Point after a mates ski picked up a plastic bottle cap on the impellor. It threw the balance out so far you couldn't get up to a slow walking pace.

He didn't have a water tap but he did carry a small set of vice grips for the purpose if ever he needed it. A quick job to lift the seat and close the water line at the point of the red plastic band on a Seadoo.

It towed fine, even in rough weather back across the bay.

Darren

[Seahorse]

I was told that if I need to use tow tap then I should attach lanyard to to tap.

[Tony R]

I was told that if I need to use tow tap then I should attach lanyard to to tap.

I have been told the same...good reason behind that...when removing the lanyard from the tap/pipe it helps as a reminder to turn the tap back on before the ski is started......if not motor overheats...& then!!!!