If you tube, please read this post

I don't know how many of you guys pull tubers behind your boats, but I thought I'd share this story.

A couple of years ago, I was pulling my husband and our young son in a pretty big tube and they were goofing off on it a little bit. Well the nose started going under and took on some water which weighted it down and the rope broke. I realized the rope had broke when they stopped moving and I was still going, but what I didn't realize because it happened SO fast was it had hit our daughter, who was sitting next to me, square in the chest and knocked the wind out of her!

When I asked her if she was OK she couldn't speak and I picked up my husband and son and we laid her down in the boat. Being a typical 9 year old brother he said, "Is she dead?"

Anyway, she ended up catching her breath and when we took off her lifevest she had two huge bruises on her chest and stomach area. I swear it would have blinded her and knocked her teeth out if that rope had hit her face. My husband had to brace his feet on the dash to pull the rope out where it was wedged between the bottom of the windshield and the boat.

Needless to say, we got rid of that huge tube, bought larger ropes, and purchase the thing that absorbs the shock if a rope breaks (can't think of the proper name). If you tube, please consider purchasing one of these items.

Wow, thats crazy! I've never had the rope break that hard before, i'm glad she wasn't hurt worse!

I usually call 'em black eye ropes but it sounds like in that case if it would have hit her in the eye it would have been a cosmetic reconstructive surgery rope. Glad your daughter is ok. Image if they had been skiing and the end of the rope had a handle on it.

It's still gives both us a funny feeling sometimes when we are pulling someone even when they are wakeboarding.

Does anyone ever use one of the "shock absorber" attachments when they are wakeboarding with a tower? I know skiers use them with the poles, and we use it when we hook up the tubes, but I just wondered about wakeboarders?

that's why wakeboarders use non stretch ropes, it will not fly back into the boat when we lose the handle or if it breaks. Basically, it does not recoil.

We had a similar accident 3yrs ago. We were using a "tube" rope but small in size compared to whats out now, well short story is, rope broke while tube was in big waves and the rope came back in boat and nearly tore out my son Mac's eye out besides cutting his face up badly. 3 weeks in darkness,5 eye surgeries over 1 year and his eyesight is ok but he still has some issues. The Cincinnati Eye Institute did all the work and they were inredible. Also we got him to a optometrist immediately which also saved his eye. Your advise on this topic is timely as alot of people pull non boarders on tubes at some point. Get very heavy duty tube ropes and replace every 2 years regardless, was what I found thru research. We also use the shock absorber piece on the tube rope as well. BE CAREFUL ,the ropes of any kind mame and kill people in accidents.

I have a friend that worked as a professional witness in boating accidents. He often asked for my help with water towed sports and driving his RIB in the ocean. Seems like every case required video and pictures. Sometimes shots from land and sea, depth readings etc. We had a real close call doing one case, and almost wound up like the victim

So he calls me up one day and asks for my help on a case that happened at one of our local lakes, Lake Berryessa. Turns out some teenagers, shall we say, were tubing. They would slow the boat down inside the 5 mph zone between the island and then do a full throttle launch. Well the rope broke and took out one of the teenagers eyes, as in splattered it, GONE! Of course they sued the boat owners insurance, which is why we must carry insurance. Does your insurance have a clause for stupidity?

They conviently lost the tube and rope. Then lied about what they were doing. Seems like everytime my friend is a witness on a case, the people involved are caught lying.

Shane: We just purchase a wakeboarder non stretch rope for this season. So I am glad about that.

Brian: I am so sorry to hear what your son has been through. I hope he is able to recover fully. There is no doubt in my mind if that rope had been a little bit higher it would have damaged our daughter's eyesight.

last year we were pulling a small tree out of our woods after cutting it down with the atv, and the rope snapped because of the vines pulling it back and nearly missed my friend by inches. its really scary you can hear it go by but you dont see it at first. one of our tube ropes is cut a tiny bit but i'm going to spend the extra $15 bucks and buy a new one after reading this post.

whoa.. I think I might buy a new rope after reading this.. we are using 2 ropes tied together right now (I know.. we are stupid)

I had wakeboard rope break when my nephew was trying to get up the first time. The rope flew over the tower and front of the boat and got wrapeed up in the propeller.

same sort of thing happened to me we were using a almost new straight line rope when our camp director ran over the rope with his boat while we were picking up a rider. first it pulled the boat backwards then snapped the rope and it came back olny inches from my head.

Stretchy rope baaadddd grasshopper.
15 bucks? death rope special...buy the best quality rope you can. As Shane says above Non stretch rope like spectra or spectra fusion just do not buy a cheap poly E or P rope. I hate to say it but $80 or $100 is what a good rope costs.. $60 if you're lucky. Us barefooters use these non stretch ropes too. Although we use poly e for tricks but we pre stretch em with the car...

Always use non-stretch line... It's just soo damn dangerous.
When i come to think that we never had other kinds of rope. (luckily)

That happened to our rope one time but luckily didnt hurt anyone

We had a tube rope break so hard that when it hit the sundeck it "shattered" the vinyl. The rope then continued on hitting me in the shoulder blade and back. Big bruises and expensive repairs to the sundeck. Ever since the kids sit in the bow with the window closed and I bought a couple of monster tube ropes.

I got nailed by the bow strap on our trailer, square in my lowest rib on the right hand side. If it had have been about an inch lower I reckon it would have made a big impact on my liver, which wouldn't have been good...

We found out later a piece of the keel guard was broken off so the boat got hooked up on the end of the trailer. We actually broke the strap first then tied it back together and the bow hook broke and that's what hit me. Not the brightest move obviously.

It doesn't matter what kind of rope you're using or what you're using it for, recoil can seriously injure or kill people. I heard of a tow strap snapping when trying to recover a truck and killing a guy by splitting his liver in half at a First Aid course I went on.