Thought on towing with a longtail

A

Adam Stevens

Active member
Hey guys, I posted this on another forum but never got a response from anyone so figured maybe someone on here has done with or can think of a good idea.



Well Brant season is coming up again but this year I've spent the money and ordered a Stumpjumper frame kit and had to make some mods but got it all done and installed on my Momarsh fatboy.

Little boat will go anywhere, vegetation can't stop it, very torquey with only a 5 hp on it plus probably a little over 60lbs wet, all done up.

My question is though I have a fatboy and my brother has the same boat and what I need to figure out is the easiest way to tow it maybe at the most 1000 yards into water. It's fairly shallow, we'll chase the tide somewhat so water will never be over our waders plus we'll launch a big boat if the waters too rough.

I was thinking of something like setting them side by side. I've seen a video with Ira towing a few momarshes by just a attachment point a bit down the shaft of the longtail but I still worry about cutting the rope back there, or even the other boat, I thought of somehow having a pipe from one boat to another and 4 clips two on each boat so you can clip it in and it'll be a solid connection to each boat Maybe a bad idea but that's why I'm asking before I try it on the big water. Gotta get a bit more seat time on the local sloughs, so I feel at home at the helm of the mud motor. Thanks guys.

Heres my setup.

IMG_6360_1024x682.jpg

 
Adam,

I have done a limited amount of "towing" with a 6hp long tail. Similar setup as yours. I've always just run a rope from the non-powered boat up thru the bow eye of the powered one and back to the guy in the non-powered boat. He keeps the rope pulled up tight so that the two boats are running (for the most part) side by side. While not pretty, it gets the job done. It does make changing direction harder especially if one is turning away from the towed boat. The extra boat along side creates a substantial drag on that side.

I've never tried towing directly behind. I was too concerned about the exposed prop on the longtail.
 
Adam- Let me put it this way. I used to tow a lot of disabled boats years ago. On the side and dragging behind. I have a mud motor and a regular outboard now for duck hunting. I switch to the regular outboard when I tow a layout. I've thought about towing with a mud motor but can't get myself to do it. It doesn't seem right. I'm sure its possible though. Good luck, be careful and let us know if it works out.
-
 
I'd have to agree with Dave, the Momarsh is rated for a 2 HP. You are already over that with the 5 hp.
It would be very easy to pull the stearn under. Just my 2 cents.
 
I have a 23 hp mud motor and I will not tow with a rope over the stern. If another boat is disabled and needs a tow I tie it alongside and run slowly with the two boats beside each other. I have also tied the bow of another boat to the port transom cleat on a very short line that was shorter than the length of the longtail. This worked fine as long as I didn't suddenly slow down or turn left. It severely limited my mobility and I still felt there was a risk of touching the other boat with the prop. It seemed risky but it was better than leaving the other guy behind. I used the port cleat as I face that way when running the motor and it made seeing what was going on that much easier. If I wanted to tow a mud box or other boat on regular basis I would use an outboard and stay out of the mud.

A few years ago I did some work with volunteers in the local public marsh. It involved using a cookie cutter and every now and then it needed a tow in slop. It was difficult and dangerous to do and I quickly realized that any rope near the prop was tempting fate.
 
i kinda agree with the possibility of pulling the other boats bow under. You could try and make a bridle for the other boat to pull from. thats how we tow our layout boat. its slow going but it keeps the bow up a bit. I haven't towed anything with my 25hp mud buddy yet so i can't help you there either. my question would be is the prop going to get wrapped up in the line or will it just cut it? i know i don't want to be on the business end of a longtail to find out.
 
A guy up here regularly tows his aquapod behind his river boat when setting up his temporary duck camp. He uses the same small long tail on both boats. He does not have a second person in the towed boat.

The tow rig consists of two full lengths of 2 inch ABS pipe (make sure it is the air-cell light weight sink drain stuff), the appropriate amount of poly rope, and three locking carabiners.

The rope is tied into a "Y" bridle with the upper arms of the "Y" being about 3 to 4 feet longer than the length of the long tail motor off the back of the river boat.

The 2" ABS pipe is slipped over each of the upper legs of the "Y". The rope is attached to each of the handles on his river boat using the locking carabiners. You will want to secure the pipe to the rope so that the pipe stays down at the bottom of the "Y" upper arms.

The third locking carabiner attaches the tail of the "Y" to the bow eye of the aquapod.

The ABS pipe floats (or is neutrally bouyant) as does the poly rope. The ABS pipe prevents the prop from wrapping the rope up. When turning the prop will knock against the pipe which is your warning to lower it. The pipe will keep the rope swinging over the top of the prop as long as you don't bring it up above the surface.

The only issue is to take it easy in corners and when slowing down since the towed boat can slip forward over the prop and the tail end of the "Y" can then get into the prop. Might want to run a third short section of pipe over the "Y" tail section of rope if you are slowing down a bunch.

Using something other than a locking carabiner on the bow eye of the towed boat can result in debris unlocking or unclipping the device and releasing the towed boat.

With your narrow stern you may want to build some arms that make the top of the "Y" wider. They will have to be strong enough to not break under the load of the towed boat.

There are other safety issues that have already been addressed by other posters.
 
The pipe method Ray describes sounds interesting but I don't think I will try it. The upper "legs" would neet to be 8' or longer to leave a pocket big enough for me to safely lift my prop out of the water. Remember, there is no neutral or reverse on the motor. If you want to slow down you have to lift the prop and there better not be any obstruction.
 
The upper "legs" would neet to be 8' or longer to leave a pocket big enough for me to safely lift my prop out of the water.
Click to expand...


You are correct. As I stated you need to use the full 10 foot long stick of pipe on each arm and make sure there is at least another 3 to 4 feet of "Y" area between your prop and where the "Y" joins. So each arm of the "Y" is really 13 to 14 feet. The tail of the "Y" should be pretty short making the "Y" almost "V" like. Depending on bow eye placement and tow boat design a "V" might work better than a "Y".

If you experiment you can custom rig the bridle system to your boat and shorten up the distance between the prop and the join of the "Y". If it is too long then the angle of the join becomes narrow. If you shorten it up then you will end up with a steeper/wider angle of the join which will give your prop a small amount of additional side to side room.

With this long length you need to have a wide boat. The Fat Boy is so narrow that the two pipes would trap the prop between the pipes.

Having seen this system in action I would recommend it for any small long tail. The 2 inch ABS is nearly 2.5 inches on the outside diameter and with the curve of the mud motor prop blades the pipe is too large to be trapped in the prop. As long as the pipes are free to move the prop just pushes them away. And you get a nice "thud thud thud" warning sound.

As I mentioned, but might not have made it clear - a towed boat does not have any way to brake. It will keep moving and when you lift your prop out of the water it will run into the prop. The pipe bridle method will prevent this from occuring if properly built and tested to determine how the boats react. Don't test the system at 4am in the dark.

I am going to see if I can find one of Bob's posts on another forum about his rig. I think he has a video posted showing his pod being towed.
 
Thanks everyone for their input. Not to start a pissing match at all but I've always understood the risks involved with bigger motors then what the boats rated for. The way I have always looked at it, is the same for high performace car engines. Growing up around cars I dont see much of a difference in putting a big block chev into something small. Just becuase the engine has twice the power and twice the weight doesnt mean you're gonna go double the speed limit down the road. Sure you could be its the operator behind the wheel.

I have thought about the Y pipe method but not sure if i want to rig it up for our boats. I can just see being out in the water and dicking around with the pipe. Probably not that bad just figured for something different.

I'm still thinking about something like a square stock pipe long enough to attach across each boat and strap on to each sides of both boats so theres no flex and both boats bow would sortof ride the same as I go slow.
 
Adam Just before hunting season ended a friends airboat broke down about five miles away out in the marsh ( thank God for cell phones) we were almost back to the dock but turned around and ran out to them. My boat is 17 feet long and has a 24 hp longtail at first I tried a bridle tied to my stern, cleats they are about two feet ahead of my transom as my boat has a hunt deck. Had very little control. Moved the bridle up to my bow cleats which are about three feet back from the bow. Handled great, had perfect control,before I was traveling twice the distance due to the zigzagging. with the towing point forward I had all the control i could ask for. We had a double rope tied to my bridle and one guy in the airboat would pull in the slack when needed. I never tilted my longtail up, just shut it off while it was still under water. Towing well forward is the secret. That is why commercial tugs always have the towing bit well ahead of the rudder! Rich
 
Adam Im a car guy too! have been driving a 32 ford with a 375 hp smallblock in it. Been driving this car for 20 years and can still talk about it!
 
rope through the fronts of both held tight and keep them side by side. guy getting towed keeps ahold of the rope and the cockpit side of your boat. make sure he is not putting any weight on your boat. you will not be able to run wide open 1/2 throttle is about tops. I always sit as far forward when towing I can and in the center. you will get a lot of drag as explained by Mr. Dave but you will also get set up faster than having to wait on a paddled layout. I have not done it a hundred times but probably close to it in my 4Rivers without problems. The only issue is heavy standing cover such as cattails, smartweed or rippy type grasses you cannot get both of them through side by side through very thick cover. My 4R is only rated for 2hp and have never felt unsafe running my 6hp hyperdrive.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top