Boat towing

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Tiffanyakin

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We have a trip planned for the first of June with several friends. We are trying to figure out the towing logistics. We have a tige surf boat, a fishing boat and 5 jet skis. We are leaving from the bullfrog marina. Anyones thoughts on towing all these toys as well as the best places to camp? We usually leave from the AZ side of the lake.
 
I have towed three, one tied behind another boat and all staggered but never 7, post some pictures. We didn’t have to navigate any narrow channels either. I bet you can stagger them but someone on here will tell you how to do it I am sure.
 
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You talking about towing behind a houseboat right? The trickiest part is having people on the back deck of the houseboat to safely pull and let out the tagalongs. I use a series of tow ropes with cleats on one end for the towed boat eye. I would put all three pwc's off of one side of the houseboat, cleated, of course and the two power boats on the other side of the houseboat. Make sure the ropes on the houseboat cleats are as far to each side as possible. The scariest part is if you had to do an emergency stop throwing the houseboat into reverse. You must know the area you are in and don't try taking any shortcuts that could put you in jeopardy. If the trim on the power boats are slightly in the water and the steering is straight they won't wander much. I would put a short rope on the pwc closest to the boat, about 15' and then about 20' between the next ones. The first pwc will be used to transport people to the other boats when you reach your destination. When you get ready to separate the vessels you will go to idle speed in forward and be super careful with the excess rope so it doen't get into the prop. You can go in a big circle if you are not in a bay. The wind is the other cosideration. You will always face into the wind unless underway. It's not as bad as it sounds as long as you have smart people on the back deck and a competent captain. who can communicte to the backdeck. Always use cleats if possible and if you can't, then make sure bowlines are used or a crappy knot will have you cutting the ropes. If it is calm you can actually go to neutral but I prefer to keep the houseboat in gear at idle so the distance between vessels will remain constant. No biggy once you've done it a few times. It's not really worth it if your not going very far but this is how we get up to the end of the San Juan from Stateline probably 80ish miles. Hope this helps. One other thing, if it is calm you can just pull the vessels to the houseboat and get people in them and push them away after the engines are fired up, one at a time. Never wrap any rope around the hand or some carp could be eating finger food. I don't bother with making yokes, just use common sense and hook the boats up to the side that makes them further apart. Good luck BTW we have gone through the CRC with houseboats passing us and never had an issue. All the vessels have no choice but to follow, unless you stop. Don't stop or you lose control of everything, but you already know that, right. You could even put one of the pwc's behind the power boats. You'll be a picture for sure.
 
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I would highly recommend not towing until you’re up Lake beyond all 5 MPH zones. At wakeless speed while towing, wind, boat traffic and wakes (from people disregarding wakeless speed) can push your towed watercraft to the side risking contact with shoreline, channel markers or passing boats.

Have folks drive/ride the boats/watercraft from Wahweap through the Cut (if open) or through Antelope Point Marina (if Cut is still closed).

Once safely through those two choke points, rig up and tow to your heart’s content.
 
That’s a lot to tow.

Can you use a davit to get any of the skis up on the houseboat?

I agree on staggering. I’d probably do one ski in the middle up close. Two boats off the corners. Then the rest of the skis behind the boats.

Make sure the Tige has its rudder straight (although there is a thought process of having it steer slightly outside the houseboat, which might be worth considering if trying to tow 7 watercraft). I would put the motor of the fishing boat most of the way trimmed.

I’ve also seen it recommended by a marine mechanic that if towing long distances, you should tie the prop shaft so that the prop does not free spin when towing and not under power. The thought is that is better for the seal.
 
Two more things. Floating tow ropes are nice so you don’t have to worry about them getting into the houseboats props.

And watch the bow of the Tige with large wakes or if you are running into the wind. Some surf boats now sits low enough that water coming over the bow is a real danger. You might consider partially filling the rear corner ballast to drop the stern and raise the bow. Either way, keep an eye on it so it does not submarine.
 
We have waited to get through the cut as well and it seems to be mellower for most of the passengers. Floating ropes are great. I worked at the houseboat rental dock for over ten years and getting houseboats for 23 dollars a day was one of my perks so I took them out all the time and of course owned pwc's and power boats so towing became second nature. Just remember that the more weight the bigger the struggle manipulating the boats. Towing from the bow eye will give you the highest bow attitude possible but if the boat is so low in the water that it looks bad pulling then don't do it. Really all common sense once the decision is made to try.
 
Some good advice above. As for the "where to camp" part of the question, coming out of Bullfrog we ask ourselves if a Rainbow Bridge trip is in the plans (maybe we have guests who have never been, etc). If so, then we head south. The decision making at that point is based on how close you want to stay to the marina. Seems like we always have someone who can't come the whole time - requiring a speedboat trip to the marina at some point. The Rincon is about as far south as I go if a return trip is required - and preferably not even that far. If there's no return trip required, you've got lots of options between Bullfrog and Rainbow Bridge - including the awesome Escalante and San Juan arms. Plan to do a little exploration with one of the speedboats into the various canyons to find the right spot. You won't be able to easily turn that floatilla around in a narrow canyon. :)

If Rainbow Bridge is not a concern, you'll find more seclusion heading north. In June you might get lucky with one of the nearby canyons (Moki, Hansen, Crystal, Forgotten). If not, once you get past Forgotten Canyon, the crowds thin out quickly.

As always, lake level is everything in determining beach availability.

Finally, if you're okay with neighbors and full sun, Halls Creek Bay is close by and somewhat similar to the open shorelines found on the south end of the lake. It can be a great base of operations for exploring both uplake to the north (Defiance House ruins, etc) and downlake to the south (Hole in the Rock, Rainbow Bridge, etc). It's right next to Lost Eden Canyon which is a fun spot for swimming in the shade when you need a break from the sun.

Hope you have a great trip!
 
You might also look at the stern wave made by the houseboat and adjust your tow lines so none of the boats are towing down hill. It can make them turn sideways and then jerk back straight. I think the term is broach.
 
Two more items regarding towing PWCs (from my personal book of lessons learned)

1) Ensure gas caps are tight and no cracks in filler necks. Our 04 Kawasaki no-start after a 45 mile tow was due to taking on about 2 qts if water thru a small filler neck crack.

2) Do NOT leave PWCs in Reverse while towing. Almost sunk one after finding the reverse “bucket had forced gallons of water back through the bilge drain.
 
Thanks for all the input this is for sure going to be an adventure. We keep referring to ourself as the Beverly Hillbillies with everyone’s toys in tow. Anyone have any input on Good Hope Bay or Iceberg? I think we were planning to stay more north. We’ve thrown around Halls Crossing but have kids and jet skis so we would prefer them not out in busy traffic.
 
First of June? I would not venture upstream very far. The runoff will be coming down, and lots of debris with it. I'd head toward Iceberg/Slick Rock/Rincon area. And, you'll probably be adjusting your houseboat lines a couple times a day. The lake might be coming up 12 inches per day. :)

Good luck, and post pics of your towing set up.

Tiff
 
Tiff Mapel said:
First of June? I would not venture upstream very far. The runoff will be coming down, and lots of debris with it. I'd head toward Iceberg/Slick Rock/Rincon area. And, you'll probably be adjusting your houseboat lines a couple times a day. The lake might be coming up 12 inches per day. :)

Good luck, and post pics of your towing set up.

Tiff
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Hmm we hadn’t thought of that! Thanks for the heads up!
 
do you know the easy way to tighten your beach anchor lines? You will be doing that several times on your trip.
 
All good advice above, especially about the possible June runoff debris to the north. As for specific spots in the Slick Rock/Iceberg/Rincon area, you'll probably be there when the lake is about about 3585 or so. That being the case, Iceberg is going to have limited options in spite of its length. There will be rocky coves along the way which could work, but the nicest spot at that lake level will be a small beach at the mouth of the second right fork about 2.5 miles from the main channel, and then longer beaches in that second right fork among some trees. Slick Rock will have good beaches along its length at most any lake level--the water ends about a half mile in from the main channel. There are good spots in small inlets and coves off the main channel about 0.7 miles and 1.5 miles north of Iceberg (on the opposite side), plus another good beach inlet 0.5 miles north of Slick Rock (on the same side). Rincon will have a lot of options--better on the west side where there is less clay. Annie's Canyon has nothing at that lake level (but a nice spot at the end of the center fork above 3630).
 
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Birdsnest,
Clue the rest of in on the tightening of shore lines. I've built what I call "flying cleats" that snap hooks to the anchor dug into the sand or around a boulder then just "cleat off" the shore line to the cleat. The cleat is made of heavy steel with chain links to the 1000# snap hook and not attached to anything..... allows tying up the houseboat without having to use a knot. Even beach rookies can do it w/o know a fancy knot. Chuck
 
cfulton said:
Birdsnest,
Clue the rest of in on the tightening of shore lines. I've built what I call "flying cleats" that snap hooks to the anchor dug into the sand or around a boulder then just "cleat off" the shore line to the cleat. The cleat is made of heavy steel with chain links to the 1000# snap hook and not attached to anything..... allows tying up the houseboat without having to use a knot. Even beach rookies can do it w/o know a fancy knot. Chuck
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Sounds interesting, got any pics by chance?
 
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