Towing a Person With a Jet ski Legally

• No person is allowed to be towed behind before sunrise or after sunset. Towing is specifically a daytime activity.
• For any PWC ride, there should a spotter who will observe the person being towed or vessel must have clear visibility behind either through wide-angle rearview mirror.
• Towing is not allowed if jet ski is unable to accommodate 3 people together.
• Not by law, but all passenger along with individual enjoying tubing must wear USCG-approved PFD all the time during the ride. – Source

Apart from above there certain rules and laws that every person onboard on jet ski should be aware, here are few of them :

• Strictly avoid towing in public place where lot of swimming take place, also avoid areas where boats are docked.
• Keep in mind any part of watercraft rope or surfboard shouldn’t come within 100 feet to nearby PWC. 
• It’s absolutely illegal to manipulate the towing rope or any other device that is being used to do this activity.

The observer must:

• Continuously keep on checking the vessel and watch the person being towed.
• Tell the operator about stoping towing tube at the same moment if required.
• Should raise the flag, if anybody from towing team need to return to boat or jet ski.

What hours is it legal to tow a person on water skis in Florida?

Everything is legal during certain hours of the day, one can enjoy tubing till half an hour before sunset and one hour after sunrise. None of civilian in Florida is allowed towing during the night time or after sunset.

Jet Ski Seating Capacity & Rules For Towable

There are strict rules to follow for tubing, and one of them is seating rules. Towing is allowed for only those jet ski which have seating capacity of 3 or more person. This is reasonable rule, since tubing involve 3 person in action, one of them being jet ski operator, other being observer and third person being towed.

So what it takes for 3 or more seater jet ski eligible for tubing? The reason is simple, 3 seater jet ski can occupy operator, observer and person being tow behind all together. If 3rd passenger (Person towed behind) drops plan or willingly disagree or in case situation isn’t good for towing, this person can easily occupy vacant seat available on jet ski.

How Much Weight Can a Jet Ski Tow?

On an average, a jet ski with higher engine capacity can pull more weight than the one with lower engine capacity. A normal jet ski with average horsepower can easily do towing without any hassle.

In case, you are towing with family, means 3 or more person being towed on tube, a high power jet ski is required. Also, jet ski with lot of accessories adds more weight for towing, So it is always better to have more horsepower jet ski for towing activity.

To get rough idea, as per stevensales.com, a minimum of 110 hp engine is required for towing. Not more than a person weighing 200 lb should be pulled using a jet ski.