Towing a Jet Ski

[Blue Heron]

Have or do any of you folks tow a jet ski? I am considering towing a Yamaha Wave Runner behind my trawler and since I wont go over 7 kts I should be good with the tow speed, but what about towing rigs?

 

[ben2go]

I haven't done it personally,but I have seen it done.There was a Bayliner around 25-28 ft on Hartwell pulling a large Seadoo.He was running displacement speeds.The Seadoo was tied off from the bow eye to the rear right cleat.Not sure what type rope he used.The thing that would concern me is the height of the tie off point on the boat versus the height of the tie off point on the wave runner.I've seen small boats swamped because of the height difference and operator error.

 

[psneeld]

Not a big deal...I tow them all the time in my assistance towng job...you do have to check the manual for what speed is a problem before you turn off/clamp off the water feed so you don't backfill the exhaust system.

 

[Forkliftt]

Not a big deal...I tow them all the time in my assistance towng job...you do have to check the manual for what speed is a problem before you turn off/clamp off the water feed so you don't backfill the exhaust system.

Ps, any tricks to stopping without causing damage?

 

[Rambler]

Ps, any tricks to stopping without causing damage?

Have a catcher in the back of your boat to stop the jet ski from ramming your boat. I mistakenly towed a jet ski with our jet ski and while we could stop, that craft did not.

 

[psneeld]

Don't slam on the brakes!!!????

If only doing 5-10 knots the chances of it even hitting you with 50 feet or so of towline is pretty rare as they go all over the place. At higher speeds..just use 75-100 feet of towline....

Really not an issue and i tow at least a 100 per year....as long as you slow down gradually...the worst is a minor bump without any damage unless a really weird hit.

 

[Steve]

Aren't there enough of them out there already?
Steve W

 

[psneeld]

Aren't there enough of them out there already?
Steve W

Just like trawlers..it isn't the vessel that's the problem...it's the owner.

Like the thread about where the next generation boater is coming from...it's through jet skis generally as they are entry level boat nowadays...be their enemy and there are just that many fewer future trawler owners and true cruisers.

I would love to have the room for both a jet ski and a proper dingy to cruise...and I am just as traditionalist as any.

 

[Woodsong]

I love trawlers and cruising but I will be the first to admit that jetskis are a blast to ride.

We towed ours behind our 38 silverton all the time back when we had both the silverton and the jetski. No need for a fancy towing rig unless going out in crazy seas. We hooked ours up to a line used to pull tubes behind skiboats and tied it to one transom cleat and off we went. Easy as could be- just don't stop super fast without someone behind you to watch for it hitting you as already mentioned.

 

[Phil Fill]

I use the anchor bridle tied to the two side stern cleats which keeps the dink center behind the Eagle and some what protected.

 

[Blue Heron]

Psneeld,
Good point on the exhaust back fill. I intend to use a bridal tow on each aft cleat.

 

[Dougcole]

We tow our RIB dinghy a lot at displacement speeds. One thing I do is run two tow lines to it, one that attaches to the bow eye with a snap hook, the other is tied to the bow loop. That way if one line or attachment point fails the little guy is still tied to us. I do the same thing with my flats boat when I tow it, one on the bow eye, one on the bow cleat.

I tie one line to one stern cleat on the big boat, one to the other stern cleat. I adjust them so the tow is centered. I like it better than a bridle because of the ability to adjust and the redundancy of a second line.

 

[G DUb]

MySeddoo manuel states it should not be towed above 15 mph and I dont think my average 6 to 8 knots is anything to worry about. LIFE IS SOOOO GOOD!!!

 

[Blue Heron]

Doug, that is a good idea.

G Dub, yes that is my line of reasoning also..