How much body wieght is too much?

[mcdye]

I am curious what is the weight limits for someone wakeboarding from the tower? Or using the plyon (tubing, skiing,etc..)?

"how big a boy are ya" :)

[BensonWdby]

I would never ski from the tower.
However, a juvenile on 2 skis would probably be OK. As soon as they start skiing hard side to side - back to the pylon. Not sure about weight.

[mustangairchair]

you are not to tube from eather, and you don't want the rope that high to ski

[mapleleaf]

some where out there is a video of a 322 lb dude, barefoot'in off a tower. He dry starts from the roof of a boathouse, it's for a tower manufacturer, his nickname is the Moose, can't remember the name, apparently their tower's are pretty strong!!!!

[yearround]

i have had my 300# friend wakeboarding, used the tower with no concern. i am not aware of a weight limit, i think the tower has some restriction like 1 rider, no tube

you a big boy? ed just dropped a bunch on a real expensive diet and he does not recommend it to others

[mcdye]

Being new to wakeboarding, I was concerned if I weighed too much (~260). All that i have seen is thin people boarding.

Doing anything from the tower other then boarding, just doesnt seem safe.

[02tahoeindiana]

Im pretty sure you will be fine, the pressure put on these towers to do flips and such is enormous. And i do believe there is one person on this forum who has a pulled a ski pyramid with his tower.

[BensonWdby]

Yeah it is not about the strength of the tower - it is more about the attachment points and the effects of control on the baot (IMHO). When I look at how my Rad-a-cage is attached - we are looking at 16 bolts in 4 pads ( I think new towers have 6 pads). I know they reinforce the attachment points - but ...

Years ago I ripped out a guys aftermarket tripod tow pylon - the kind with a floor plate for the pylon and rear-surface mounted support arms. Took about 3 inch diameter circle of fiberglass out of the top of the boat where both support arms were attached and ripped the floor plate out. Granted he was able to reinstall with adequate reinforcement with no problem, and it was an aftermarket install to begin with.

As far as control goes - ski boats with tracking fins are pretty stable, but they also have a pretty flat hull compared to runabouts. You may not slide the boat, but with that attachment point 7-8 feet off the water you have a pretty long lever. The potential for seriously rocking the boat could be there - but not sure since never done it ...

I would imagine being on wakeboard would be fine, but slalom would be out of the question on the tower.

My 2cts.

[moombadaze]

One of the lakes in my area a bunch of guys are pulling 2-3 tubes with 2-3 people on each tube-from the tower, they will give them a good whip and then turn twords them so that the tubes slow down and then they speed up so the tubers get whipped across the wave and ive seen them get at least 10 feet in the air. There is more than one group of peaple doing this. Sad thing is the people who are new to the lake see this and think its ok to do. Im just waiting for one of the towers to break in half and someone get hurt bad. What will happen now if that boat is sold to a family and the tower or hull is damaged but just not visible and the tower or hull breaks apart and hurts or kills one member of this new family--who do you think they will go after, not the previous owner who told them they only wakeboarded from the tower.

[kaneboats]

We ripped the ski pylon out of the floor of my brother's bayliner. I was driving and about had a heart attack. My brother was around 240 at the time and getting out (almost) on a slalom ski. I rebuilt the stringers with additional support and then put in a new floor and reattached the pylon. My other brother still has the boat but I guarantee you nobody will be ripping that pylon out again.

After that experience though I observe the rules on pulling from the tower. I won't even pull a tube with kids in it from there. It's strictly for wakeboarding, surfing, (and now beginner kids skiing, I guess).

[sandm]

our tower is strictly wakeboard and surf.
only ever pulled 2 skiers, and probably won't pull more than that a year, and always from the pylon, same with tubers, only the pylon..

figured that's what the boat designers had in mind when building the boat, so I'll stick with that.

on a side note, did watch a guy last summer on an '80's bayliner with a homemade tower pulling a wakeboarder with a guy sitting on top of the tower. I kept waiting for the boat to flip on it's side. was quite a site....

[BensonWdby]

One option that often gets overlooked for tubing is using the rear eye on the transom, rather than the pylon or the tower. Not sure I hve ever done this, but it should work. Rope might drag across the wake? but that just adds to the experience....

[danimal365]

I've pulled a tube from the tower, I won't again.

As for pulling from the eye on the transom, it causes problems stearing after the rider falls. Overtons sells a ball that fits between the tube and boat... haven't tried it, not a big tuber...

[SEARK]

One option that often gets overlooked for tubing is using the rear eye on the transom, rather than the pylon or the tower. Not sure I hve ever done this, but it should work. Rope might drag across the wake? but that just adds to the experience....

I always pull tube from rear eye and would never even think about pulling it from the tower. I will pull a kneeboarder from the tower or small kids on pair of skis. It helps get them up out of the water.

[volfo]

I pull my 8 year old skiing 2 skis from the tower. I pull anyone wakeboarding from it. We also kneeboard from the tower. I can't see how that would be different/worse than wakeboarding.

I could be wrong, but I believe the rear tow eye is absolutely fine to pull anything from. that is where the tubes go from. It doesn't produce any steering issues at all.