towing a sled behind boat

John, I have towed a coffin box behind my BBSB. I use a line attached to the box with a pulley and a single line to my boat. This allows the box to move freely when I have to make a turn. My line is around 25' in length. I put my decoys in the box.
 
With a sled it would be OK if it tracked well, didn't porpoise, you kept the speed down, had a small load (keep a low center of gravity) and you weren't going very fast/far. It depends how much you push the envelop. I would never, ever attempt to tow my Predator/sled coffin blind.

I do tow my empty Migrator marsh boat (see photo) on the "second wake" using a forty foot rope.


 
John~

I towed my coffins boxes frequently - probably at about 15 knots. I designed them with a lot of rocker in the bow so they come up nicely. I could fill them with decoys - but I always did it just one bird high - wanted to keep the center of mass low. Guns and ammunition and cameras stayed in the boat with me.

http://stevenjaysanford.com/sanford-gunning-box/

I used a 40' length of rope fastened directly to the bow painter.

All the best,

SJS
 
I would add to the above advice to fabricate a bridle tow yolk with a float attached to keep your tow line out of the prop. If you rig the yolk with a clip at the float, you can adjust your tow line length to place the object being towed just behind where your prop-wash breaks the surface to form the head of your V wake. This area is flatwater when you are running with a slight "peak" to hold the bow or front end of your towed container, coffin box, layout boat, canoe, etc., a bit higher, keeping it from nosing-in when you are under way. Decoy sleds don't have a great deal of hydrodynamic stability, so keep your tow speed low.
 
I completely agree with the above post, go slow with a sled as they are not really designed as barges. I've swamped and rolled mine several times while towing it, a snug fitting cover goes a long was to keeping the water out.
 
I used to do it often. What I would do is use a "Y" yoke. Then I add a would add a buoy to the apex of the "Y". The "top" of the Y would go to each corner of the boat, while the single leg went to the tow. I had snaps at all ends. I remember playing with lengths to get it just right, but when I did, I could fly. A also loaded the sled a little heavy in the rear to keep the bow high. As Steve wrote-all of the valuables, or items that would sink, went in the boat with me. Only decoys in the sled.
You have to remember to start and stop slowly though, or things would get crazy quick.

Jon
 
I used to do it often. What I would do is use a "Y" yoke. Then I add a would add a buoy to the apex of the "Y". The "top" of the Y would go to each corner of the boat, while the single leg went to the tow. I had snaps at all ends. I remember playing with lengths to get it just right, but when I did, I could fly. A also loaded the sled a little heavy in the rear to keep the bow high. As Steve wrote-all of the valuables, or items that would sink, went in the boat with me. Only decoys in the sled.
You have to remember to start and stop slowly though, or things would get crazy quick.
Jon
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Important advice right there to keep the weight slightly rearward. I use a camo XL Jet Sled by Schappell, if you browse their website you can order a matching camo cover that has elastic around it's perimeter giving it a snug and mostly watertight fit - if you do get the dreaded nose dive from quick deceleration it should keep your sled from swamping. It took a few mishaps and lots of floating gear to prompt me to buy the cover but it's worth every cent.
 
i just bought a jet sled and i ran into your post while i was deciding wether or not to buy one. long story short is yes it floats i have used it multiple times now. i pull it behind my kayak but i put an extra 6 foot of rope so it rides on the flat water and my padddle swells dont go up ove the front. only problem i had was last monday busting ice haveing to pull it behind me it caught on ice and took on water luckly i thought ahead on that and drilled holes and criscrossed pvc decoy cord so i didnt loose any deeks and it still kind of floated. but my guess is that the goose floaters is what kept it up. hope this helps someone else out in the future. i use my sled all the time now i find it way better then dragging a decoy bag when wading out to set decoys you can carry a ton of crap i wouldnt put anything that cant get wet in it. last thing i got the bigger one for ice fishing cost me about 40 bucks and then i just used some spray paint i had in the garage gave it a custom paint job. saved me 20-30 bucks rather then buying the camo jet sled that isnt the greatest camo pattern in my oppinion.
 
I have pulled a fiberglass pond box behind my kayak with great luck and short rope of 8-10 ft. Under power is when you will have issues with a repurposed sled if you are not careful. I have pulled pond boxes under power and had to travel at idle or no wake speed. Trial and error.
 
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