Manta Ray Towable

Ok, so in a drunk'n stupper I went ahead and bought one of these things cause it looked like fun, who wouldn't want to watch there buddy fall 20 feet out of sky right... We used it last Sunday and it was fun but we couldn't make it fly. Three of us tried and none of us were able to get this thing more than a 1 foot off the water for more than about 10 feet. I'm wondering if anyone else has one and how they set it up. Were you able to fly it, how fast were you going, how much did the guy riding it weigh, what rope length did you use, did you attached it to the tower or to the ski eye...

I'm about 6' 200 lbs, and the other guys that tried are all roughly the same size. Here is a picture of the tube and a link to the website were you can see the video. If you haven’t seen the video, check it out, this thing looks crazy.

http://www.sevylor.com/towables.html

I have one, well i did, i ripped it. Go faster than it says, like atleast 30. GO against the wind and tie it to the tower. I tied 2 tube ropes together. Now trhats probably why I broke mine but man did that thing FLYYYY

My neighbor has one and we've used it a couple of times. Like Manny said, you need to be going into a headwind. If there is not much wind, don't even bother.

Get as far back on it as possible and pull the front end up to catch air under it. Once this thing takes off it can flip and slam you down hard. As the driver, when it starts taking off begin to back off the throttle. Ideally, you want it to lift off and float, then settle back down on the tail end.

Here is the Manta at 35 mph behind the new MB 24V deck boat.

Gerry, that's about the same result we got... When we tried it we had a pretty good wind and could feel it trying to lift off but couldn't keep it level and it flipped us. Are you guys using the two handles on ropes? They seem too long but I can see how they might help once you’re in the air. I'm thinking about shortening them, what do you guys think? Has anyone been able to fly this thing like the guy in the video?

http://mail.sportsstuff.com/towables/wego/index.shtml

^this one works much better than the manta ray i think...

I've seen those things on our lake a good 10-15 feet up. They seemed to only get that high driving into a headwind!

We ere able to fly it at about 30mph, towing from a lwer postion and about 100 ft rope. It takes some from help from the driver, if you get out of control, just feather off the throttle. Our batteries ran out, but the next rider did great, he flew it for about mile and half about 5 to 10 ft off the water. Don't give up on it, you probbly didn't pick wakeboarding up right away.

i would like to try one out can i come by to borrow it.

dave hook me up with a better deal on the stereo install and i will buy you one... ha ha...
tyler with the Supra

Check out the video on the one Charlie mentioned,
http://mail.sportsstuff.com/towables/wego/index.shtml

I saw someone flying it, looked cool, so asked them about it - said they were able get airborne first time, took a little practice to stay up, but came down without crashing.

Looks cool, but $600? Ouch!

400 at amazon

$400? not bad, I think I'll snag one...

I have an Aquaglide Airstrip or whatever it is called for the people who don't board on the boat.

http://www.skitube.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=489

We have a chic that goes with us on a regular basis and she rides the airstrip alot. We put her out on a 100' line and she will get up about 30' before she chickens out and jumps off. She's crazy though and we have to pull her pretty fast to get it up there. We once did it with her in the nude at Lake Pleasant in the party cove. The Airstrip is 8' x 8' and makes a great bed when camping...

bocephus, you know you can't make a claim like that without photographic evidence

WSL (owned by the same company as Nevin and Helium) makes a tube called the Stealth that is supposed to fly and retails for more like 250, but I have yet to try one to see if it works. I will post my experience when I do.

Gerry we need to take the manta out behind a sugar sand at 50+ mph

Thanks for the info guys... I'm going to take it out on either Friday or Sunday and give it another try. I'll let you know how I do...

I had one, hated it, then sold it. You do have to go a lot faster than advertised, depending on the wind. But if the wind gets too much, it is dangerous. I almost got my arm ripped off trying to bring the Manta Ray back into the boat. It is also NOT for kids, they'll need diapers to keep from being embarassed when they get off it. It also keeps the inflatable cleaner.

aaron did you get any better results on your next manta ray flt check?

Had full intentions of trying again last weekend but brought the boat the launch on Friday afternoon and the starter decided to take a crap on me... Needless to say, we didn't go flying last weekend. I have to head out of town this weekend but hopefully the boat will be fixed and we'll be flying the following weekend... I’ll let you all know how we make out…

This is the trick to flying the MantaRay. small boat+longer rope+ faster speeds= 15-20 feet off the water

That tube sucks compared to the new flying tube pictured below

Maybe it is from it being resized or something but that picture looks really fake.

That pic does look fake, but chad's right, check out the video of it in action-

http://mail.sportsstuff.com/towables/wego/rmmovie.shtml

Surfside dealership near me has a video of a 12 yr old flying the Manta Ray. get up about 15-20 ft several times then the thing lists to the side he lets go and just drops out of the sky. Its so damn funny.

One of the disclaimers for the wego states"Do not fly any higher than you are willing to fall".

i think the kite tube is going to be great i bought one but have not used it yet

That is sweet. I wonder if you can do this behind a seadoo.

The Manta Ray is the way to go.But you have to be doing at least 40 to get any air.

The kite tube sucks.
Try THIS. tie a string to a paper plate and hang it out the window of the car. It wobbles and flips.
Same thing with the tube.

In the video they cut the sence when the tube starts to wobble. watch the video.

Maybe you need more boat?

http://www.sevylor.com/manta/index1.html





(Message edited by Boomerang on April 08, 2006)

I studied both videos and the tube seems more stable to me. Biggest difference is it looks like the Manta has to be going A LOT faster to get up, and doesn't stay up as easily.

Try THIS - cut a paper plate in the shape of the Manta Ray, tie a string to it, and hold it out the window. I'm sure it will wobble and flip also. Sorry, I just don't think it's a good test.

I think both are neck breakers, but I am sure it makes good entertainment as long as you try to play it safe. I am probably going to get the sport stuff tube WEGO. It looks more stable to me.
Brannon

I've been pondering both for quite some time... and I've decided to go with the WEGO. The wego "cups" the air, where as the Manta Ray channels it under its two "wings"... The Wego will fly higher if you push it to. It will also be more responsive to the rider than the Manta Ray... the "wings" of the manta ray move rather independently from the body (where the rider is), so it is less predictable and less likely to be recoverable if you started to tank it. The Wego is a single solid, semi-structural (if you can even consider calling a tube anywhere near structural... haha) piece and, though harder to learn, will be much more responsive. Wego= fly higher, more agile. Manta Ray= more stable, probably more consistent.

In order for the paper plate test to be even close to reflective, you would need to factor in appropriate wind resistance, weighting, and rider input. There is no way a paper plate can test this - they are very rigid for their mass and size, and do not have the same rigidity/mass/volume ratios.

I can't wait to see some of the pictures posted up of ways people have figured out to maximize these things... I predict lots of concussions.

They had a sequence of Parks in the last blast on that kite tube a couple of issues ago. Looks pretty sketchy.

exactly

Manta Ray= Hang a bird out the window. Watch it fly.