Tubing Poll

[68Slalom]

I'm in the same situation now, we have family coming from TX and the two little ones 6 and 4 years old have never even been on a boat. I wish I had not given my tube away 2 years ago so they could at least enjoy what it's like to at least try, I may have to bite the bullet and buy one just for this occasion

Edited July 2, 2009 by 68Slalom

[CBMAHBOI]

as long as i dont pull them from the tower, ballasts are empty and wedge is up, and that they chip in for gas i dont care to have tubers. they are hilarious if you can get them up in the air high enough.

good laughs good times

[WakeGirl]

That is exactly why we pull the tube around Tracie. Kids and adults who both dislike the water have used the tube as a way to get them out there having fun. Several have moved on to trying surfing.

Great job for you and the hubby to get the little man out there having a great time. That is what boating is all about, Family fun on the water!

When you have kids, you find yourself giving over to things that you never thought you would. I seem to remember one dad on here talking about finally caving & taking his little girl to see Miley Cyrus. I think that for some people the tube is the same thing. But if you are willing to invest some time & effort, you can use it as a really effective bridge to something else that will be as (or more) fulfilling/rewarding for them.

[Sixball]

I ski. I have footed but can't stand letting that kind of water go to wast! Give me a stick. I can board but don't think much of it and I will ride a knee board once in a great wile. NO TUBS Never never never!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ya I will pull some sometimes but I don't let anyone see me.

[luvtheBU]

I can wakeboard, kneeboard, ski, etc. but I still enjoy standing the tube up on end on a hard whip and doing barrel roles on the wake! Here's a pic of me and my 11 month old son getting ready!!

Nice shot..., but it doesn't look like your boy has developed your enthusiasm (yet)

He was getting tired but I was determined to ride with him before the end of the day. It was funny because we actually fell off and I held him up in the air and I don't think he even touched the water, kind of like when you fall off your barstool, flip twice and roll over and not spill a drop of your brew. How do we do that??!!

I am chuckling to myself right now. I told my hubby that if we let our teens tube then I was going to take EJ on it, (he's 14 months old) he didn't think it could be done. I did the exact same thing as you are describing with my P.I.T.A., Joe when he was around 13 months old and my EX didn't pull us fast enough and we started to rapala under the water and as we were sinking and getting pulled I had my rearend so deep in the tube that my knees were about to my chest and I was holding Joe high in the air, screaming go faster to the Ex cause I couldn't get out of the tube. They don't get wet do they???

[luvtheBU]

No tubes. Get some skills or some balls, I don't care which. Ride something that requires more skill than a blob of jello.

We have a friends who young daughter has spinal bifida. Being this little Angel (also her name) can’t walk, getting up on a wakeboard or the like just isn’t going to happen. I pulled her and her dad in the tube (rather slowly) and you couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day. The thrill and pure joy she experienced got me a little chocked up. Later, I let her drive the boat while I stood behind her. Neither she nor I will ever forget that day.

Our youngest son is autistic & I truly believe that we would never have gotten him behind the boat had it not been for the tube. He went from that, to being talked into kneeboarding on the surfboard, & now he's riding a wakeboard. He may never be great at any of it, but he has a great time. If that isn't the essence of why you're out there in the first place, then I don't know what is.

You all are choking me up reading this. Those are memories for life for those kids.

[jetskipro550]

I find it interesting how many people haul around their inflated tubes.. esp while towing on the freeway. Don't these people know there are pumps that can fill the tubes quickly, and they don't have to carry them inflated?

Last weekend we only had a hand pump on board so we left the tube inflated and tied to the tower above the bimini

[jetskipro550]

I'm in the same situation now, we have family coming from TX and the two little ones 6 and 4 years old have never even been on a boat. I wish I had not given my tube away 2 years ago so they could at least enjoy what it's like to at least try, I may have to bite the bullet and buy one just for this occasion

Costco! Buy it, use it, and return it

[martinarcher]

No tubes. Get some skills or some balls, I don't care which. Ride something that requires more skill than a blob of jello.

We have a friends who young daughter has spinal bifida. Being this little Angel (also her name) can’t walk, getting up on a wakeboard or the like just isn’t going to happen. I pulled her and her dad in the tube (rather slowly) and you couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day. The thrill and pure joy she experienced got me a little chocked up. Later, I let her drive the boat while I stood behind her. Neither she nor I will ever forget that day.

Our youngest son is autistic & I truly believe that we would never have gotten him behind the boat had it not been for the tube. He went from that, to being talked into kneeboarding on the surfboard, & now he's riding a wakeboard. He may never be great at any of it, but he has a great time. If that isn't the essence of why you're out there in the first place, then I don't know what is.

You all are choking me up reading this. Those are memories for life for those kids.

Agreed. Those are some really cool stories that are awesome!

For me, I have a tube that lives in the bed of the truck and if someone can't ski or isn't to into the water I'll swing by the dock and grab it to make sure everyone gets in on a little fun behind the boat! That's of course after I have throughly cleaned out their nasal passages before they gave up on the skis or boards.

[WakeGirl]

No tubes. Get some skills or some balls, I don't care which. Ride something that requires more skill than a blob of jello.

We have a friends who young daughter has spinal bifida. Being this little Angel (also her name) can’t walk, getting up on a wakeboard or the like just isn’t going to happen. I pulled her and her dad in the tube (rather slowly) and you couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day. The thrill and pure joy she experienced got me a little chocked up. Later, I let her drive the boat while I stood behind her. Neither she nor I will ever forget that day.

Our youngest son is autistic & I truly believe that we would never have gotten him behind the boat had it not been for the tube. He went from that, to being talked into kneeboarding on the surfboard, & now he's riding a wakeboard. He may never be great at any of it, but he has a great time. If that isn't the essence of why you're out there in the first place, then I don't know what is.

You all are choking me up reading this. Those are memories for life for those kids.

And for Mom & Dad. I get goose bumps thinking about 'em.

[WakingMeHappy]

While we use tubes regularly there’s one type I will not own. It’s the simple round one without a seat. It’s like a donut with the hole through the middle. We had a 14-year-old girl who tried to sit in it and when she did her butt went through and her legs and torso folded into a “V shape. That wasn’t so bad accept she and the tube flipped over and she was face down and could not get out. Thankfully it happened right next to the boat and I was able to jump in and flip her upright. She was gasping for air and scared. It didn’t take too long though and she was ready to hit the water again. When we got home I took a knife to that tube as the design was inherently dangerous. If that would have happened away from the boat at the end of the tow rope it would have been a whole different story.

[Chef23]

I voted yes but I wouldn't say they are a lot of fun. My kids tube when they have friends over or the lake is really rough. Besides that no tubes especially when it is calm. I haven't even blown the tube up yet this year but I probably will over the next couple of weeks.

[Stanley Wheelhouse]

putting your kids in a tube is parents way of plugging their kid into a video game system on the water. they take no thought. and worse the whole goal of the boat driver is to create rough water so the tuber gets a rough bouncy ride and gets slung out of the tube on power turn.

the problem with this is the tubers have no consideration for other water sports. they find the smoothest of water and chop it with tubing. when they could go into some rougher water and achieve the same lame results.

there is no thought to riding a tube. there are no tube competitions. the tube has to be the lamest creation ever. teach your kids to ride a board of some kind. they will be much more confident and talented later and life.

as for two grown adult men riding one tube together, yes you look extremely gay.

PLEASE DONT TUBE IN THE SMOOTH WATER. BELIEVE ME YOU ARE HATED IF YOU DO.

[SacRiverRat]

the problem with this is the tubers have no consideration for other water sports. they find the smoothest of water and chop it with tubing. when they could go into some rougher water and achieve the same lame results.

PLEASE DONT TUBE IN THE SMOOTH WATER. BELIEVE ME YOU ARE HATED IF YOU DO.

I will agree that I wish tubers were a bit more courteous about where they tube, but to not just pick on tubers... I've seen plenty of people surfing in glass water, which I feel is even more egregious.. Seems to me that these people should definitely know better

[Slider]

I tube about once a year just to get my annual ab work-out. I laugh until I can't hold on anymore. Oh yeah, unless you are very sure that you haven't ticked off your wife in a few months, don't let her pull you.

Joe

[Addictedto6]

It's all about fun with the family. On the big lakes, the kids can do whatever they want, and they mix it up usually based on conditions - ski, kneeboard, tube.

We're respectful of calm water & rollers in the wrong direction when tubing - if it's already rough, all bets are off . But I am sure there are some folks not liking our tube. Then again, I probably have the same complaints about other boats' big wakes when I am trying to get a good long barefoot run in .

Oh, and I don't even bother bringing my slalom ski out on public lakes any more - too many big boats throwing wakes to enjoy it. I get that fix in at the local ski pond.

Edited July 7, 2009 by Addictedto6

[wakeup]

We wakeboard 98% of the time, but I've had plenty of fellow wake boarders ruin good water early in the morning and late in the evening; much more than tubers. But to be honest, as much as I hate having good water ruined, it's not my lake. Not everyone is going to have respect out on the water whether tubing or boarding. That's life.

And if someone doesn't like to tube, that is their choice, but someone mentioned tubes are lame because there is no thought needed to ride a tube…well, there is no thought to most thrill rides at amusement parks either, but people love it. I don't hit the water to solve physics equations, we are looking fun for the whole family and not everyone likes wakeboarding.

Smiles on children's faces tell the story and I think adults should let children experience all the fun on the water instead of limiting them. If that is not cool, then I guess I'm in the uncool section.

I sum it up like this… Life is too short to worry about what other people think. Be respectful and mature, but do what makes you and your family happy.

[WakingMeHappy]

We wakeboard 98% of the time, but I've had plenty of fellow wake boarders ruin good water early in the morning and late in the evening; much more than tubers. But to be honest, as much as I hate having good water ruined, it's not my lake. Not everyone is going to have respect out on the water whether tubing or boarding. That's life.

And if someone doesn't like to tube, that is their choice, but someone mentioned tubes are lame because there is no thought needed to ride a tube…well, there is no thought to most thrill rides at amusement parks either, but people love it. I don't hit the water to solve physics equations, we are looking fun for the whole family and not everyone likes wakeboarding.

Smiles on children's faces tell the story and I think adults should let children experience all the fun on the water instead of limiting them. If that is not cool, then I guess I'm in the uncool section.

I sum it up like this… Life is too short to worry about what other people think. Be respectful and mature, but do what makes you and your family happy.

Well said.

[NorCaliBu]

Be respectful...

That, unfortunately, is the piece of the equation most often missing.

[Deke]

They're dangerous! To who? Me!

Seriously, they're probably fun. It's just that my only experience with them are weekend wallys doing circles 200' from our slalom course. I know it's public water but you can tube anywhere but you can't run the slalom course anywhere else. So who's in danger? Us slalom skiers that wind up with rollers while running the course.

Deke

[bobofthenorth]

Priceless boat moment - the kids had some friends along and everyone was having fun learning to ski and board except for one weinie who wouldn't try anything but kept whining about wanting to tube. This is a mid-teenage kid. Finally one of my boys shut him up by saying "tubing is what we do when the water isn't good enough to do anything else"

[Rechromed2]

Apparently it can be fun! Next professional tubers??

[Michigan boarder]

Priceless boat moment - the kids had some friends along and everyone was having fun learning to ski and board except for one weinie who wouldn't try anything but kept whining about wanting to tube. This is a mid-teenage kid. Finally one of my boys shut him up by saying "tubing is what we do when the water isn't good enough to do anything else"

We took the kids on a weekend a couple weeks ago, and after a 4 hour car ride they were going 100mph. They all wanted to tube. Trying to figure out who was going first, second, third, etc. the driver asked my 10 year old and his reply was "No thanks, I came here to wakeboard". I wanted to hand him a beer. Instead I opted for the hi five.

[Olivertuft]

Priceless boat moment - the kids had some friends along and everyone was having fun learning to ski and board except for one weinie who wouldn't try anything but kept whining about wanting to tube. This is a mid-teenage kid. Finally one of my boys shut him up by saying "tubing is what we do when the water isn't good enough to do anything else"

We took the kids on a weekend a couple weeks ago, and after a 4 hour car ride they were going 100mph. They all wanted to tube. Trying to figure out who was going first, second, third, etc. the driver asked my 10 year old and his reply was "No thanks, I came here to wakeboard". I wanted to hand him a beer. Instead I opted for the hi five.

Nice!

That kid is my Hero.

[SacKen]

Tubing with the kids is a blast. However, I only do it in the afternoon when the wind and chop are up and I stay out in the middle of the largest part of the lake. It's sacrilegious to do it if the water is nice!

Pissed me off to no end last weekend when I wanted to go out on the lake early to get some wake & knee boarding in while it is calm and quite, only to find this effing redneck in a 17' 1980's Bayliner doing circles on glass in the middle of the lake. (Note: As I am from redneck blood, that is not intended to be the derogatory part of the description.)

Then there was the doofus pulling double tubes about 100' from the shore where we all have our boats tied up along a shoreline known to be very rocky. One boat next to me had their anchor come loose, pushing his I/O beachward. Luckily, it was in a rare sandy spot and his outboard just dug itself about a foot into the mud instead of pounding against a rock. Oh, the boat that came loose just happened to be the same one that was doing circles in the A.M. Karma is a biotch.

I think surfing should only be done when the water is crap, too. That tears-up the water just as bad, yet it doesn't really benefit from the smooth water. I'm actually thinking of taking up surfing because I need something to do other than tubing when the water is crap for wake/knee boarding and skiing.

BTW, if you want something that can get pretty wild, but is stable and safe for kids, get the HO Formula 2. We whip the crap out of it and catch air over the wake. Yet in three years, I have never seen it flip.