May 31, 2011
What hardware do you use?
The answers here were as varied as they could be, from single eyes and lines to redundant duplicate systems of bridles and eyes.
Most use Spectre tow line, or a combination of Spectre and nylon. Some use custom rigs.
Responses were fairly evenly split on one eye or two on the tender, but most use two points on the yacht.
A few specifics:
Spectre Tow bridal with large pelican hook, connected to three-leg bridal attached to the tender by three large stainless steel shackles zip-tied closed.
Tow eyes on tender connected to snap shackle and two eyes to deck bollards.
Large reinforced towing eye in the skiff, two reinforced cleats on the main deck of the yacht.
Starting at tender: one shackle to reinforced eye of tender, 15-foot painter thimble both ends, shackle eye of painter to eye of main tow line with thimble, 175 feet of ¾-inch Spectra, bridle to Spectra with no thimbles or chain plate, 50-foot bridles to eyes that lay over cleats of tow boat.
When we towed two, we used a single staggered line to each tender. The comb of the wake was the deciding factor as to the distance behind the yacht.
Heavily reinforced, specially made towing eye on tender at water level. Large stainless shackle, cable-tied closed. Plasma main line with spliced in thimble and ring at each end. Two bridle legs of over-sized mega braid (each can take more load than Plasma main line). Each leg is terminated in a large loop that is captive over a bollard as a safety stop. The line is long enough that it’s tied off to bollards using winch to adjust as necessary with slack left to safety loop (so tender lines can't accidentally be lost).
Single, 15-foot length of Spectra, singly shackled to tender and shackled to main tow, which is 150 feet of Spectra soft spiced to two 50-foot lengths of 1 ½-inch nylon spliced into Spectra eyes for connection to the bollards with chafe protection. Optional 50 feet of Spectra can be added to tow if conditions warrant.
Tow with two lines, one as a safety. Fixed bridle on the stern to both rear cleats and then Spectra to a custom-made tow hook on the bow of the tender. Also have quick releases in case of emergency.
We use a Tylaska T30 snap shackle to connect pigtails to towline.
Stainless tow strap thru-bolted to bow of tender with stainless shaft running all the way to transom and thru-bolted at stern. Quick release stainless steel snap shackle to plasma line. Plasma ring covered w/Cordura to double braid nylon bridle to aft deck bollards. Ends have eyes with Cordura. Axe always on deck. The only metal on this tow is the snap shackle.
Defintly some type of manual release. Quick release with a loaded spring latch and a small lanyard works great.
Standard tow rig, sized for weight and length of tender, from Ropes Inc. Two eyes on yacht/bollards to Spectra connected to tender with snap shackle. 200-foot length for 37-foot Boston whaler, 18,000 lbs. Whaler only has single tow eye, otherwise I would run two rigs.
Proper towing gear, a tow winch ahead of the rudders, a set of rail pins and a hold down or jaw.
Single tow point, newer style tow line with soft spliced eyes, Y bridle and short detachable connection to tender, with quick release shackle.
A short bridle first, single thimble/shackle that was fused to the tender, then 2m of 30mm Vectran to another shackle, which was shackled and fused to the main towing line.
Two 10-foot Spectra lines attached to two eyes on tender. Both of these lines are then attached via quick release shackle to 125 feet of 1.25-inch nylon line attached to single point eye via quick release shackle on transom.
Two eyes on tender. One 12-foot Spectra line from each (shackled permanently) to a common shackle connecting them to the main spectra towing line (250 feet). The forward end of this is permanently spliced through the two eyes of the 1.5-inch nylon double braid bridle lines coming off the bollards on each quarter of the yacht. All connections/eyes have chafe gear on them.
V to bollards and three points on tender with rubber absorbers on the line.
Connecting shackles are not the snap kind but captive pin type (less chance for coming undone and much stronger). Near to the connection of tow line to yacht bridle is a bright red flotation buoy to make the tow line more visible to other vessels.
Two additional pad eyes, one on each side aft of main tow ring forward on bow rise. All reinforced inside hull. Main pull on center, with three-strand to side eyes to take up slack, provide backup in case of failure of main line, etc.
Three-point bridal on tender with Spectra line, 150-foot of single Spectra line and two eyes to aft deck bollards. We tow at high speed (25+ kts).
Custom-made Dyneema tow line bridled to stern of sportfish with nylon braid. Tender has tow bridal, too, made of Dyneema. Everything is loop to loop. The bridal to tender is attached with stainless shackles.
What type of tow line/rig do you run?
A V bridal; one line is Spectra, the other is nylon. The Spectra takes the main load, and the nylon allows for the shock. As we are a catamaran the lines are 30 feet apart, so when the tender slides off a swell in one direction, the opposite tow line straightens it out. We just towed the tender 1,000 miles to Bermuda in 30kt winds and 8-foot seas.
Spectra and nylon. You have to have some give, things that don't give, break.
Single braid poly prop
Spectra bridle from the yacht each leg has large rubber snubbers in it. Main tow line is Spectra with a soft eye on the bridle end and a thimble on the skiff end. The skiff has a 30-foot Spectra bridle from the hard point on the skiff to a thimble that is shackled to the main tow line.
Double braid nylon.
Nylon legs for stretch so the line doesn't part under sudden pressure; Spectra to tender.
A 1 ½-inch nylon bridal to a 400-foot ¾-inch plasma line. When we are going long distances, we add a 300-foot plasma line.
Steel Dyneema for tow line and nylon Y bridle for stretch
Vectran all the way. It’s stronger.
Always have a length of nylon somewhere for shock absorption; Spectra alone won’t break in a hurry and has no stretch and will tear hardware off something eventually.
½-inch Amsteel high strength line with ⅝-inch high strength braid for bridle at yacht end. Amsteel bridle at tender end.
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