Towing a boat behind a houseboat
 

We're doing a houseboat trip shortly and I'm going to tow my 38' Formula behind and was wondering how long of a line. I'm thinking 75' tow line attached to a 20' double loop stern.....or 100'? This tow bridle from Top Knot looks good HERE. I'm also towing two waverunners behind the 38 so I was going to do a 25' foot version behind the Formula to the first wave runner then another 25' tow line between the two waverunners. Does this sound reasonable? Too long.....too short?

My biggest concern is when stopping to land the houseboat and organizing this long train. Maybe stop out a bit from shore......pull the Formula line close and toss off a box anchor.....then land the houseboat, then swim out to the Formula and waverunners?

I would put the Formula in a "hip tow" a little ways out from where you are landing. Have some friends get on the waverunners and either use them to help position the houseboat and placing anchors. or just stay out of the way til you get the big boat secure.

Thanks JnT. Hip tow? Can you explain?

When you get close to your destination tie the Formula to the side of the houseboat . If I am beaching my houseboat I keep the Apache on the port or stbd quarter.If the stern of the Apache hangs off the houseboat transom a few feet its no big deal. Houseboat will handle more sluggish but that's where you can use the waverunners as bow or stern thrusters if you need them, Ideally in calm water with good fenders.

Thanks....that's what I thought you meant. :D

tow
 

Your going to have a snake trail behind you. The formula will want to bow steer and swim w/ the current produced by the h/b and the skis even more so.
I'd tie a separate line from the bow eye of the formula to the outside corners of the h/b. -a bridle-that way it can't bow steer itself, maybe 40'-50' aft of the h/b.-put the drives up
do the same w/the first ski behind formula and have the 2nd ski on a short tow behind the other, or lash them side by side with a bridle behind formula connetted to the tow eyes.
And have plenty of hands at the ready if tou have manuver quickly..
When you get ready to pull up for the day, cut the tow loose and have someone fire up the formula. Like JNT suggested.
Good luck
post some pics - it out to be a sight :)

Yes.....I'm ordering the 3-point bridle betwen houseboat and Formula (3/4") and one for Formula to first WaveRunner (5/8")

Nort, check on the tow speed for the wave runners. On mine there was a max tow speed or procedures to do if towing faster than idle.

Sounds fun, have a good time. Sounds as you bought a second wave runner to fill your trailer!!!

Thanks......I'm checking now. Great info! I found this here.

http://forums.iboats.com/pwc-jetskis...er-424600.html

Just jump the jetskis onto the back of the houseboat. Use the Formula to create the ramp-wake. Hold my beer; I got this. :drink:

Yes - I know my ski has endless cautions about towing and forcing water back up through the exhaust side of the engine.

I towed mine about 25-30 feet behind my houseboat, off of one corner cleat on the stern. Then i put the seadoo off the other cleat on the other side.. When I was parking or beaching the HB I either had pulled it up along side of the HB or dropped the lines and had someone swim to them and bring them back to the HB after it was parked..

We used to tow a 38 Inflatable all over. We used two 30 ft sections of 1 1/2 inch line connected to 75 ft of 3/4 spectre line. Overkill for what I assume you are doing since it will most likely be very calm where you are. When we came into port, we would either pull the tender onto the hip and drive in, or back up to the tender and drop a person on the 38 to wait until docking is done, then come tie up on the hip.

I would NOT do it this way if your beaching. 2 boats in motion. Bigger boat(houseboat) stops when hits beach. Shorter boat stays in motion causing large strain on both boats lines/cleats. I've seen small boats get a lot of damage when people have done this.

Thanks for the invite d!ck!

Finger tighten the drain plugs and tow it with some 20# test line. Make sure the insurane is paid up. And wallah! New to you Cigarette Nort... You can even sue the houseboat rental company for negligence and make out ahead... :party-smiley-004:

I have never had good luck with those clips, they always open. can make for excitement when they wing by. it is more work but I like tow bridle on your 38, rope down each side to stern cleats tag lines to keep out of water. use shackles not quick clippers. the bridle allows bow to ride up and down, much better tow, towing at hip would be first choice.

We tend to take things slow and easy when towing , docking ,and maneuvering in tight quarters.. Or maybe it is just the superb construction of the Apache that has kept my boats in pretty good shape. :) I do see your point though drejustice.

Tie the bridle to the rear of the boat? :eek: The surely sounds like trouble. I'm going to be on a lake, and doubt that I'll see any weather like that at all. If so,.....we shouldn't want to be driving the houseboat at that time let alone towing a boat. :D I decided to order the 3/4" bridle and hardware......I'm sure it's more than sturdy for this application and won't "wing by" anytime soon unless the tie down pulled out of my bow!!!

How far do you plan on towing your tub?

:D :D About 110 miles or so.

I pulled my 29 behind our houseboat a few times. I tied to each corner cleat on the rear of the HB then to the bow eye on the boat. You're only traveling 6-8 mph & not beaching even close to that speed so there isn't a worry of the towed vehicles crashing into the back of the boat.

All went well......lots of work to do on these trips but still beautiful out there.

Glad everything went well. Cool pics.

Very cool pics!

cool pix...do you have any of the houseboat?

Here's a pic of our houseboat from our friends houseboat. Is that what you mean? Here are a few others too.

nice pics, I got to get out there some time. Where did you find that bridle at, price?

Spectacular photos!!!!
Glad all went well

Where is this, Powell?

wow those kids will be thanking you for that trip for the rest of their life....way to be a dad!

Yes Powell......2 days there, 2 days back. I need a vacation from this vacation. :D

Awesome! I have always wanted to go out there.
Hear people say that a house boat is a must because you cannot possibly see enough just boating out of page each day

FYI....I have to talk to the guys at TopKnot. They knew what I was doing, and the bridle on the houseboat was only 20' (width) and that was too small. As it turns out, the rear most cleats on our houseboat were actually about 4-5 feet from the rear on each side......none on the rear so my 20' double loop was way short (houseboat was 16' wide). It probably should have been 40 feet long. We used one of the houseboat lines with two small fenders to float it.

Nort, the fenders don't even match!!! Whats with that!! lol :party-smiley-004:

I know!!! So embarrased.......the houseboat rental company did that!! LOL :)

Looks like a great time.

Thanks again for the invite....D!CK!!!!

Next time Tank! We went with BlondeCigChick's family on our boat and two other families on a second boat.