You can always cut piece of 1x4 or 3/4" ply to use as a backer. On the top side just go to some bigger washers. If you set it up correctly most of the stress will be on the pylon itself. When you install it you put some tension on the arms to keep them rigid. I totally disagree with the statements that you do not need it for tubing. Pulling a tube is much easier with the pylon and you have much more control. Getting a tube up on plane can be just as tough as pulling up a skier.

Sure it is, but it is NOT needed for tubing. You also do not use a 3/4" plain pin base. I know the pole itself is the threaded one but DO use a threaded base, LOL. I saw a guy get a pylon once and just plugged into his regular base. Yep, had the arm supports and all. The 250# biscuit eater he was trying to pull up pulled it out of the base and busted the cowl all to heck, LOL LOL LOL.

It is no needed for skiing either. In high we did not even know what a pylon was. Like I said in an earlier post I used to pull a guy slalom and he used a 50' rope tied directly to one eye.

it should say high school

I pull my kids on a tube from time to time in my bay boat. I use a harness attached to the transom eyes. Problem is that the rope on the tube is so low it drags in the water and creates spray which is miserable for the tubers. It also makes it hard to get the tubers outside the wake unless you really sling them real hard. I have a 7ft pylon that attached to the boat via steel cables we use to pull wakeboarders, it�s a pain in the neck to set up. The pylon works MUCH better for tubing at least on my boat. Keeps the rope out of the water and is much easier to get them outside the wake with little effort. Bad thing is most pylons are not rated for pulling tubes.

NO KIDDING! Look, pylons were made to pull skiers UP out of the water, not thru the water. A tube is already up on the water. I would not spend the $ for a pylon and drilling holes for the support brackets if I was only going to just tube. When tubing, you do not run the speeds normally run while skiing. Unless your boat can run slow while on plane(I used an Attwood hydrofoil and I could run on plane in my Champion at under 20mph)then you are putting lots of pressure at an angle on that pylon. I would use a harness for tubing and skip the $ on adding a pylon. Sure, it works and works good, but simply not needed for tubing. Pylons get a skier up much quicker and that my friend is what they were designed for. Uses a lot less fuel is what it results in in that application.

The tube is already up on the water until you put a 250 lber on it. I tubed at or above the same speeds that we did skiing. In fact when slinging someone I increased the RPMs a fair amount. The only time I really pulled a skier faster than a tuber was a crazy buddy that just liked the speed. I had him outside the wake at 60 mph. It made me a little nervous because skis can do some bodily damage if something bad happens. I had 13 stitches in my head once to prove it. We could go back and forth on this all day.

You are right we could. David wasn't talkin about pullin a 250# and being crazy trying to sling em off. These are kids, his kids. We all did and have done crazy things and tried to throw our buddies off by going fast and stuff, but you do realize that aint what we are talkin about. These are his daughters, OK?

I am just wanting to pull my kids around. They are 2 and 5, there aint gonna be no slinging.

David... I would wait till they start skiing for the pylon... tubing and such for now should be fine with a ski bridal...

I am just going to hold off on the pylon.

You wont even have that boat by the time they take skiing serious then we will be talkin about some dude in a wakeboard boat pulling some young things and to top it off the wakeboard boat had a TFF sticker on it with a special logo signifying first member with 1,000,000 posts. LOL