I went back and searched Towing Bridles and found the in the thread boat towing safety 4/14/2014 by Irishrover Don references the one by Nalu 2/19/2009 Your need a tow offshore-now what?-ropes and bridles. In that one Nalu ask is if anyone is interested in ordering the Tow Bridles. Not sure from where but the prices are about the same. Thanks for researching and finding a maker for those and posting it. Great piece of safety equipment.

 

I assume you're aware that...the bridle is only half the system. The bridle doesn't get attached directly to the boat being towed; there is a second, straight line from the apex of the bridle to the bow of the boat being towed.

The exception would be towing a dingy / skiff that belongs to the towing boat. But that's not what we're talking about here.

 

I also have a towing bridle from Top Knot as you described. It has been used several time (I was doing the towing) and can't say enough good things about the product.

 

A Y-bridle for towing, especially if attached to the tow boat near the stern, has a significant drawback. Maneuverability of the tow boat is reduced or even eliminated under load because when pulling at an angle to change or correct the heading of the tow, the pull transfers to the opposite side of the tow boat, pulling it back to straight. (the inside bridle line goes slack and all of the pressure is on the tight outside of the turn leg of the Y.)

This isn't easy to explain.

This isn't a major problem when the tow boat is larger than the boat being towed, but if of similar size or the smaller boat is attempting the tow, it can be a big problem. Unfortunately, the inability to change direction gets worse as power and pressure are increased, causing the problem just when control is needed most.

In these situations, you can usually achieve the direction change by slacking the tow line then turning the tow boat to tighten back up with the rope at an angle to the bow of the boat being towed. (kinda counterintuitive)

Make no mistake, this effect can completely stop the attempted turn, especially if trying to make headway against current.

It is important to actually use that new tow bridle before it is needed. There is a learning curve.

A smaller boat can successfully tow a larger boat and effectively maneuver with a bit of practice and understanding of the mechanics involved with a Y bridle, but there is another option.

Towing from a single point, a simple strap around the main engine, greatly enhances control of the tow. Direction changes become simple and intuitive. Pulling from directly over the prop is a game changer, IMHO.

 

A Y-bridle for towing, especially if attached to the tow boat near the stern, has a significant drawback. Maneuverability of the tow boat is reduced or even eliminated under load because when pulling at an angle to change or correct the heading of the tow, the pull transfers to the opposite side of the tow boat, pulling it back to straight. (the inside bridle line goes slack and all of the pressure is on the tight outside of the turn leg of the Y.) .

Very true. And that's why you need a system that equalizes the pull between the right and left legs. There are different ways to accomplish this. Someone above referred to a 'sliding bridle'

 

I had the tow lines with built in bridles made at Englunds. They were 150’ long I believe. I researched, talked with my CG friends and ended up using 5/8 Samson Blue Steel floating polypropylene that Englunds rigged.

Just so you guys are aware, 50’ is VERY short for the length of tow line, and really not sufficient for the ocean in anything but nice conditions. Recommended tow line length is 8-10 times the length of the boat being towed. As this is a little prohibitive space wise, I made the tow bridles at 150’. These are fixed point bridles as is recommended for the tow boat side with a loop on the other end that the boat being towed can attach to bow loop or forward cleats in the manner of their choosing. Using their line, a sliding bridle was suggested and the Samson line is highly abrasion resistant.

The length of line is needed to be able to adjust for swells size to attempt to keep boats in sequence. Also, with a short tow line, you have very little time to react should a problem occur. This includes the boat being towed taking on water and capsizing, the towing vessel losing power/wrapping a wheel, and having the towed boats forward progress creating a collision, and other items.

The tow lines I had made for people have been thoroughly tested. Dick (Tuna Time) has used his out of Garibaldi on a number of occasions. I was there one day in my boat when he towed in Brian Williams from about 40 miles out in 15-20 knot winds with 4-5 foot wind waves with TunaTime 2. He had just got the boat and still had his tow line on TT1 so I had to do an at sea transfer of my line. It would have been impossible to do that tow with a 50’ line.

Food for thought.


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I have a cat C-Dory Tomcat. With the widely spaced engines of a cat, there really isn't a good attachment point for a bridle that won't rub against the engines. I have well fixed and backed D-rings for trailering straps at each aft corner of the stern but affixing a bridle there won't work as the engines are in between and on a bracket (set back a bit from the stern). Any suggestions on what to do for this situation?

 

Joe I understand what you are saying with all but I am curious about the strap around the main motor. Problems with steering? how does the strap attach to the motor? I understand what you are saying about the pressure as you turn but with a long tow rope and a slow turn wouldn't you relieve the pressure? Slow is good? The reason I would want a bridle is to get my ropes out past my main and to place the center in the middle behind the main, understanding the turn.

 

An 8 ft flat strap looped around the lower cowl works fine on motors that I've looked at. There may be exceptions. I have noosed the motor but am currently rigged to attach both ends of the strap to the tow line. Just have to pull a strap around your motor and see if it interferes with anything.

If you can make it work, and I assume that it will on most boats, the difference in control is remarkable. Towing can get complex quickly in current and swells. It is good to be able to make your boat go where you tell it.

If a reliable equalizing bridle could be worked out, it would really help with control and make a more universal solution than the strap. Seems like a lot of pressure for a slider, but the right design could work. Some wear would be acceptable. It's not like we would be using it a lot. Worth looking into. A pulley on a bridle loop would do it , but adds complexity over a slider.

 

I had Englunds build about a dozen of them at the same time. Think it was around $150 or something like that, but that was in 2009 and in bulk.


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I still have my tow rig. I've never used it for a boat. It came in handy when my tractor was stuck, and the closest firm ground was 100' away. Very stout.

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Towing is fraught with ethical, legal and technical challenges. There's no shame in declining to tow another boat, and instead calling for help and standing by until help arrives. What are the challenges?

* You have no idea how strong the towing eye is on the other boat. If it pulls out under load, and rubberbands back to your boat, the flying metal can injure your crew or damage your boat.

* Similar problem if the towing hardware on your boat fails.

* Similar problem if any part of the towing bridle or towline snaps. Broken towlines are common, especially when something like a a crab pot line is used.

* In big swells, the towed boat and towing boat can slide down, or climb up, the face of swells at different times, causing the towline to alternately go slack, and then suddenly snap taut with tremendous force.

* Towing is generally at 5 knots or so, which means you might be out there far longer than you planned, even into the night, or into an unfavorable tide on the bar.

* You don't know what else is wrong with the towed vessel, or their crew. Are they drunk, inept, or in over their head? Can they be counted on to act prudently under tow?

* If anything goes wrong, you might get sued by the towee or their estate.

* Does your liability insurance cover towing?

* Do you have a proper towing bridle, and strong attachment points?

Yes, we want to help a salty brother. But consider carefully the risk before you do.

 

All VERY good points. Thanks Tinman. In my tow truckin' days, if we had to pull the cable for a recovery, a jacket or blanket would be laid across the cable (four wheeling too). Good points on other crew and shape of the ship it's in, standing by...good strategy for stranded boat if towing is out of the question. My buying this tow bridle is because I'd be 'that guy' who would use a crab pot rope

 

Following this thread I have some confusion. I thought the bridle was to distribute the force on the boat doing the towing and the tow line was attached to the bridle. So can the bridle be something shorter, like 20 ft and then the tow line be attached to the bridle and the tow line can be whatever length is needed. This discussion often seems to be that the bridle needs to be long enough to do the towing instead of a tow line attached to the bridle.
ron m

 

Ron-the bridle needs to be long enough to get around your motors, kicker included, so it can’t be too short or the angle may cause it to rub on your motors.

You are correct the towing bridle doesn’t need to be as long as the tow rope. The tow rope then needs to be of sufficient length so that you can generally maintain sufficient catenary (curve) in the tow rope and have both boats in step regarding when they are on top and the trough of the waves.

When you get to a dock area , if you’ve never side towed you will be surprised how hard it is and little things like how you position your boat on theirs matter a lot.


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Thanks Larry.

I've only towed someone once and just did it slowly to get them way from the surf until the CG arrived on scene. It was quite a few years ago and I think we used on of my ⅝ in dock lines to make a bridle and attached his line to that. Towing much boat very far is something I'd much prefer not to do, but to keep someone out of the surf or to start them on the way back to port until the CG arrives would be doable.

 

This is from Denver ropes web page, hope it clears up some confusion. This is one of the two sources that states 2-3 boat length's as well which is why I bought into the 2-3 boat length tow rope length, won't be hard to add another 50 ft to my existing 50 ft if needed.

 

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Seems like a fair article.

 

I can't believe I read the whole thing. Good stuff, Randy. :applause:

 

I tried to post the Coast Guard manual but couldn't get it small enough. Just google it up.

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Some times the choices are to take a boat under tow or watch them die. I've been there a couple of times.