"Trevor Miller" wrote in message
rvers.com...
Anyone have recommendations on tow toys? I've ridden both tubes and
ski-bob
type towables but never owned one - suggestions?


Are you referring to just inflatable type devices, or all forms of water
skiing?

For the inflatable types, there are a few tried and true designs and then
there are "cute" designs.

Back in the "good old days" we tied a rope to an inner tube. You had to be
real careful getting started as the tube could "plow" water and even
submerge. The addition of a fabric cover which provides a planing surface
on the bottom made the basic tube much, much easier to operate. The basic
tube with the fabric cover is the best bet for all around use: you can give
a young child a gentle ride or send a teenager/young adult flying!

The "cute" designs tend to be far less rider friendly, usually because they
become top heavy and easily tipped. They may have a large appeal to the
youngsters because of how they look, but if the youngster does not like
getting dumped it can turn into a very disappointing ride. They also take
up a lot of room and are a bit harder to transport around.

My favorite "tube" was a very large and flat device that was more
rectangular in shape and had a covering on the top and bottom. The top had
a pattern of handles and would accommodate one, two or three riders. Two
experienced, agile riders could scramble on the tube like a "side car
monkey" and really work the tube, challenging the driver to knock them off.
That tube took some serious abuse before we literally tore it apart.

In the non "tube" category, the basic knee board is good for little kids.
Adults can have fun on them too, but little kids take to them a lot easier
because the kneeboard has enough floatation to support an 80 pound child so
they can start on their knees. A 200 pound adult has to start laying down
and then slide the knees up under them once they have started being pulled.
Not hard, once you know how. A kneeboard can be pulled at much slower
speeds: just above idle for really little kids, 12-15 MPH for the average
child and up to 18 MPH for an adult.

Your basic water ski(s) is the next easiest to learn. The boat needs a bit
more speed, 18 to 25 MPH for doubles and up to 35 MPH for a single.

Some people will argue that wakeboarding is easier. There is a bit more of
a trick to getting up, but once you have learned that trick then getting up
on a wakeboard is fairly easy and doesn't take much pull from the boat. My
son and I use our 12 foot inflatable with a 9.9 Hp outboard to pull us on
the wakeboard when we are "hitting the slider". I don't recommend that for
a beginner, however.

I also have this toy that we play with occasionally. Real simple, it is a
24 inch diameter piece of plywood. No fins, no bindings, nothing. You
start off laying down, like a kneeboard. Once the pull starts you slide
your knees up underneath you. Then carefully, oh so carefully, you stand
up. Now you can turn sideways, turn around and go backwards, or just spin.
We have two of them, get two people going at once and have chicken fights.
Easy pull on the boat, speeds range from 12 MPH to 15 MPH.

Then there is always going barefoot! You need a faster boat though, 40 MPH
or more. Big feet help. Oh, and it helps to be a masochist, as the falls
at those speeds hurt!

Rod