E ven over the sound of the engine, you swear you can hear the sound of two heads cracking together like a pair of coconuts. For a while, everyone was having fun, especially the two teenage girls on the inflatable tube skittering behind the high-horsepower pontoon, egging on the driver to go faster with two thumbs emphatically pointed skyward. “OK,” says the boat driver to himself, “You want fast? You got it.”

The driver accelerates and cracks the whip just in time to catch a passing cruiser wake, which sends the girls clashing together as they tumble with the flipping twin-passenger disk. Fortunately, no one is seriously hurt, but one of the girls is sporting a shiner, while the other is growing an egg on the side of her head that will grade out to jumbo. This is a perfect example of how not to tow an inflatable tube.

You Tubing

Tubing has been one of the watersports industry’s fastest-growing segments, in part because it enjoys several advantages over traditional skiing. Some beginners may have a hard time getting up on skis, and the experience can be less-than-satisfying since rookies take a long time to get ready. You then take off, watch them crash, and do it over until they often get frustrated and quit. But with tubing, almost everyone can join in the fun. It’s especially nice if you have a gaggle of kids along, because they can double — or triple — up so no one has to wait long to enjoy some watersports excitement.

Since many tubes are now designed to carry groups of riders, the entire family can enjoy the ride.

Becoming Vested

Before tubing, everyone should be wearing a ski vest-type PFD that fits properly. To determine whether or not a kid’s vest is the right size, grab them by the shoulders of their PFD and lift up. If their chin and ears disappear, it’s too large. For adults, raise your hands straight in the air, and if your chin touches the chest section when turning right or left, it’s also the wrong size. A lot of times, you see kids wearing PFDs that are far too large, and should the kids fall off the tube, that XL jacket can get snatched off by the water instantly. Speaking of kids, be aware that many manufacturers recommend that kids be at least 6 years old before participating in tubing.

Not only are bright-colored tubes attractive on the water, but they also serve as a safety feature while sharing the water with other boaters.

Pumping It Up

Inflatables come in all shapes, sizes and innovative themes. And no, they don’t come in mauve, but rather every vibrant color of the rainbow, including some not found in nature. Not only is this attractive for kids, but it also serves the useful purpose of making inflatables more visible to other boaters. Once you select an inflatable, you’ll need some hardware to go along with it. The first item is an electric pump with a cigarette lighter plug, so you can inflate it when you get to the water with your tow vehicle or boat’s in-dash receptacle. Check the label on each tube for the recommended pressure. This should give you the most comfortable ride. Under-inflating is preferable to over-inflating it, which can seriously shorten the lifespan of your tube, not to mention making its ride resemble a buckboard on a rocky, rutted road.

Keep the speed below 25 mph - and even lower for smaller kids.

Lassoing That Tube

To handle the weight of multiple riders, specially designed tow ropes are needed for the job and are available at most boating supply stores. Sometimes, you might see people attaching the tow rope to their inflatables with a bungee cord, but this is a bad idea since they can snap and whip backward at a high velocity and possibly cause injury. A pylon is the preferred way to anchor the line to your boat, because the higher pulling point helps keep the front of the tube up to avoid submarining. A ski tow cleat works fine for inboard/outboard boats, but if you have an outboard without a pylon, you need a harness with a float to keep the line away from your prop.

As an added bonus, the harness will come in handy if you have to tow a disabled boat or be towed in yourself.

It's a good idea to create communication signals before the fun begins so the rider and driver are both aware of what's happening.

Tubing Truths

There’s a way to go tubing safely and still provide a thrilling ride. The first step is to read and heed the label attached to the tube, which gives you the parameters for how the tube should be operated. The main factor in towing safely is to keep the speed below 25 mph. If you’re towing small kids, the speed should be even less. Since the rider really can’t steer most tubes, the driver is wholly in control of making it a safe ride. Don’t let daredevil riders provoke you into going faster than is prudent, and slow down if you’ll be encountering large wakes. When you perform the “crack-the-whip” maneuver in hard turns, the tube can be traveling as much as twice the boat’s speed, and the driver must be certain the tubers will easily clear any obstacle or shoal. Try to tube in areas away from skiers — especially wakeboarders — because of the larger boat wakes and crashes that sometimes occur.

Signing Off

Always have a spotter, and ideally, a large rearview mirror so the driver can monitor the action. When the riders are ready to go, they should shout, “Hit it,” to avoid confusion. Agree on hand signals beforehand so you can communicate with the riders. The standard ski signaling method is: thumbs up to go faster, thumbs down to go slower, and thumb and forefinger in a circle to indicate the speed is good. When the riders want to stop riding, they should use a slashing motion with their hand across the throat. When the driver is preparing to make a turn, the spotter should signal the riders with a twirling motion of their arm.

Caring And Feeding

After the tubing is done, the tube should be deflated and stored in a dry spot out of the sun. If you use it in your swimming pool, rinse it off to avoid chlorine damage. For winter storage, don’t leave it on the boat or stick it in an unheated garage, because extreme temperatures can damage it. If your tube has a nylon covering, you should occasionally machine-wash it, making sure to avoid the PVC portion.

Tubing is a great sport and can provide a lot of fun for the whole family. Just remember that it only takes a moment of careless or reckless driving to put riders in harm’s way. By paying attention, you’ll ensure that everyone has a great time.

Photographing The Riders

Tubing is a blast for everyone involved. Those being towed are treated to an exhilarating ride, while the people in the boat get to see the expressions on the riders’ faces, which are usually displaying a look of combined terror/hyper-glee. Tubing action is a great photo opportunity, and an excellent way to capture the action is to choose a slower shutter speed. Keep pointing the camera at the moving target as the boat turns, and follow smoothly even after clicking the shutter — a technique called panning. Because your subjects will always be the same distance away, pre-focus by pressing down slightly on the shutter button. Your subjects will be in focus and the background will be blurry, creating the sensation that they’re going much faster than they really are. — A. Jones