ScottF
Well-Known Member
Good point about the safety of towing with a bowline vs anything metal. I may do all my towing that way.
Towing from top deck
- Thread starter spirg
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Marina Bum
Escalante-Class Member
I wonder how many of the boats that swamped while under tow are due to the low gunnel/freeboard and open bow design that has come to be be the most common runabout V hulled shape on the lake. Most of the runabouts that showed up on Powell over the last 20 years were built like that, my Centurion Inboard V drive Wakeboard boat is such a shape.
These designs in general have extra seating and are easy to climb up and into if you are swimming next to them but on the downside there just isn't much room between the waterline and gunnel. Mine will let water in readily if you are not on plane and getting rolled by larger wakes/waves.
I imagine if you overloaded them and towed them at low speeds that it could be easily rolled or the bow could be stuffed and the boat could start submarining. For true inboard powered boats I think it's even easier to stuff their bow since they are mid engine and have a more forward CG. It would be very disconcerting to feel a lot of drag on your houseboat, look back and see your runabout going underwater and all your gear in the lake. I'm sure towing from a higher point could really help keep the bow up in the same way it's better to tow a tube from your runabout tower.
PS
Not that it matters but back in the days of the 80's and 90's most runabout boats on Powell were closed bow and many of those had some kind of cuddy cabin as was the fashion. A lot of those had Deep V designs to get a bit more headroom in the cuddy. I don't think it would be possible to bury the bow of one of those boats from towing it through rollers but they had limited seating and getting back in them from the water was a real climb. I still have one shaped like that, I may start towing it instead.
These designs in general have extra seating and are easy to climb up and into if you are swimming next to them but on the downside there just isn't much room between the waterline and gunnel. Mine will let water in readily if you are not on plane and getting rolled by larger wakes/waves.
I imagine if you overloaded them and towed them at low speeds that it could be easily rolled or the bow could be stuffed and the boat could start submarining. For true inboard powered boats I think it's even easier to stuff their bow since they are mid engine and have a more forward CG. It would be very disconcerting to feel a lot of drag on your houseboat, look back and see your runabout going underwater and all your gear in the lake. I'm sure towing from a higher point could really help keep the bow up in the same way it's better to tow a tube from your runabout tower.
PS
Not that it matters but back in the days of the 80's and 90's most runabout boats on Powell were closed bow and many of those had some kind of cuddy cabin as was the fashion. A lot of those had Deep V designs to get a bit more headroom in the cuddy. I don't think it would be possible to bury the bow of one of those boats from towing it through rollers but they had limited seating and getting back in them from the water was a real climb. I still have one shaped like that, I may start towing it instead.
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