Never saw this before

[chambers1517]

We were at the lake last week and saw 2 boats coming down the lake. The second boat was very close to the first boat. As they went by we realized the first boat was towing the second boat. Both boats were planed out. Both boats were around 21' bowriders. Have any of you guys ever saw someone tow a boat on plane?

 

[Triangleboater]

sure! Have seen it plenty of times. As long as no one is in the boat being towed. I tow my jon boats where I work with other jon boats up on plane all the time. Only thing I would worry about is the stress on the tow hook/eye towing a larger boat.

 

[southkogs]

... Only thing I would worry about is the stress on the tow hook/eye towing a larger boat.

... and knowing which boat comes of plane first.

 

[H20Rat]

The professional guys tow on plane often... Don't know if I would tow on plane with a short leash behind me though, as the powered boat is going to stop faster than the towed one!

 

[roffey]

When we were kids we tried it a few times but the wash from the tow boat was to much

 

[Brian 26]

I did it with jet skis once, barely on plane. I would not try it with 21' bow riders though.

 

[oldjeep]

I don't think I would try that without a ridged tow line to avoid a crash when stopping.

 

[haulnazz15]

I don't think I would try that without a ridged tow line to avoid a crash when stopping.

Agreed, but as long as you don't stop abruptly it probably wouldn't be a problem. If you can slowly come down on speed and keep the line tight, it shouldn't be too hard.

 

[haulnazz15]

I did it with jet skis once, barely on plane. I would not try it with 21' bow riders though.

Just a side note on jet skis: I've heard of issues when towing jetskis and them ingesting water into the engine while under tow at high speeds. Be careful with that.

 

[thumpar]

Just a side note on jet skis: I've heard of issues when towing jetskis and them ingesting water into the engine while under tow at high speeds. Be careful with that.

Yep. Since the flow of water through the jet feeds the cooling system it can get water into the cylinders while towing since the engine is running to push the water out. They make valve you can use for towing without the risk.

 

[Frank Acampora]

I was towed in an 18 footer once. The jokers towed me at full throttle with a ski rope! my 18 footer was on plane and tacking back and forth. No amount of waving could get them to slow down. I was pissed, to say the least, and stayed hunkered down under the deck so as to not get decapitated by the breaking tow rope or a flying cleat. Luckily all ended well.

 

[NYBo]

They were either professionals or candidates for a Darwin Award.:facepalm:

 

[jigngrub]

They were either professionals or candidates for a Darwin Award.:facepalm:

My thoughts too, and I don't even think a pro would do it. I can only picture it as unsafe foolishness and it's nothing I would do nor would I even want to see someone doing it.... but that's probably just me.

 

[Willyclay]

Many years ago, a bud towed my unoccupied 16 foot Glasspar Avalon OB behind his 69 foot houseboat with twin Mercruiser 350's intending to save my fuel on a run up Lake Lanier, GA to a restaurant for dinner. He started slowly and everything was fine but you already know what happened next. He pushed up the throttles, my boat went onto plane behind a huge wake and it only took about 15 seconds for it to bury the bow which broke the bow eye. I used my OB gas the rest of the day. No other problems except it was a little tricky trying to load my boat on the trailer. I have towed slowly ever since then!

 

[roffey]

I have a 20ft BR with a 190hp, lots of power. I would never think of towing another boat much past a cruse. When you think of it I am coming to the rescue and the boat being towed is already late for what ever. Idea is to get the boat to a marina or ramp safely with no damage or loss of body parts.

 

[gtochris]

Boating magazine did an article a bit back about the luxury yachts towing the tender (some of them 30-40ft sport fishers) behind the yacht, all those boats were designed to be towed with a very rigid bow eye setup very low and built into the structure- it certainly did not look like an average trailering eye. They were also towing hundreds of feet back with some serious line/ cables.

For a recreational boater just putz 5MPH, any real speed is crazy, if you are towing a jon boat or a skiff that will not submarine- maybefaster? I've never been there but imagine it would kill the MPG's.

When in lake George we saw a big sport fisher towing a PWC a few hundred feet back- I sure hope he had his intake line blocked as to prevent a hydrolocked block.

 

[BaileysBoat]

I don't think I would try that without a ridged tow line to avoid a crash when stopping.

Maybe the following boat was pushing the leader?

 

[smokeonthewater]

LOL I've done it lots of times..... Most recent was a 21' bass boat w 2 aboard behind my old 26' Carver Flybridge boat.... Towed him 5 or 6 miles at about 18 mph..... never any issue at all... Best to have the towed boat occupied so it can be steered. As for slowing down... that's a no brainer.... Keep throttle on and slowly back off..... The powered boat will easily stay ahead of the unpowered boat

ALSO the towed boat should be quite a bit lighter than the tow boat or you will likely be lugging the engine too much...... For boats that were close to the same weight I'd stay at just over idle speed

 

[starcraftkid]

A number of years ago I watched a bunch of guys in a go fast boat, around 28' or so, towing a small runabout up the river, they had it tethered about 50' behind their boat which was making a huge wake. We were following at a distance watching the show. About a mile up river the runabout started weaving side to side as it bounced off each side of their wake, as they gained speed, the runabout eventually got airborne and flipped over beyond the wake on one side then it started to plow water in the wake till it broke free and drifted into the shallows bow down till it ran aground. They turned around and came back, only to find it half sunk in the muddy shallows and badly battered from the water. We stopped but at that point I think they figured out it was junk after that incident.
The boat they were towing with was making a huge wake and was barely on plane, maybe if they had gotten up on plane the smaller boat would have had clean water to follow in.

 

[Frank Acampora]

Don't forget: When you take another boat under tow, you assume liability for its passengers and the boat's safety. Unsafe towing opens you to a hefty lawsuit if an accident happens. There is no "Good Samaritan" law protecting you.