[paulrbeers]

My Father-in-law has a 22 ft pontoon with a 70hp outboard. It's a great boat for floating up and down the Mississippi river, but at times I just want to go fast (its top speed with 4 adults is really only about 20mph). Because of this, I bought a 2003 Kawasaki 900 STX that could be towed behind the pontoon when I need a break. Couple of questions:

1. How long of a rope does everyone recommend for towing? Should I connect a heavy duty bungie cord to the end that would connect to my ski so it has some give during the initial pull?

2. What about a Towdster (http://www.towdster.com)? Anyone have any experience? Good or bad?

3. I know I will need to clamp off one of the lines from the pump. Which one is it? I believe it is the line connected to the Exhaust but I wanted to make sure. I have attached a picture to this post of the lines coming off my pump. I believe the line I marked with "Exhaust" is the one I need to clamp. The other line, I can't figure out where it is going...

4. Last item, can I use a cheap spring loaded plastic clamp available at any hardware store for clamping off the line? Do I need to be worried about excessive wear and tear on the line? What about installing a ball valve? If I go the ball valve route, what size would I need?

 

[paulrbeers]

Here are a few answers to my questions that I have found (but please feel free to chime in if any are wrong of if you have another opinion).

1. I found a post about using 3x times the length of rope for the towing vessel + the vessel being towed. That would require almost 100' of rope. Seems a bit excessive for a top speed of 20mph. I'll probably try somewhere in the neighborhood of 30'-50' to begin with.

2. Still looking for opinions of the Towdster. I won't have it for this weekend so I am going to use rope this weekend, but any opinions would be greatly appreciated.

3. It appears I am right that it is the exhaust one. It is the water that flows up that tube, into the exhaust and eventually into any open exhaust ports in the heads.

4. Still looking for opinions on the clamp. I may go that route this weekend, since I can't find anything else here that will do the trick. I will probably install a ball valve at some point. Do I need a half inch ball valve?