Listening to the discussion on cleats reminds me of a cool thing I just tried out.

The Latest edition of sea kayaker Magazine had a technical how-to artical about a different kind of towing rig. I recommend it highly. I wish I had the author's name at hand. He oar she had a fantastic idea!

The idea is to clip a small length of thin perlon rope in to a cleat in front of the cockpit. Drop it in the water. Do a draw stroke to pull it under the boat. Then use the paddle to fish it out of the water under the boat Its good to have a visible color to help find it under water. after you have fished the other end of the perlon out of the water, clip it in on the other side of the boat.This makes for a simple harness that is under the boat clip in your tow bag and toss the float or clip it to the boat your going to tow.

Under the a load of hte tow the perlong becomes a triangle under your boat with the apex attached to your throw line which running right down the keel of your boat.

The advantages are your towing off your keel rather then your deck making your boat much more stable. Secondly, in an emergency, it easier to ditch the rig. One clip and your out to reset . Two clips and your free and clear. Another huge advantage is that all of the finger work is in front of the cockpit not behind as in many tow rigs. That greatly decreased my set up time. Less twisting trying to look over your shoulder etc.

On my recent outing, we played around with this rig in 35 knot winds and big seas. We found we were able to realize more power and had tons more control over maneuvering for both boats. It was much easier on the long haul too.

I've switched my rig. Its a great idea. Play around with it and see what ya think

!RUSS