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Towed by a boat

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
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Huan

New Member
Jul 4, 2004
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I was watching some old spearfishing videos and in one of the french movies the guys are using a device that I would call a paravane.
basically it is a board configured so that you can tow it slowly behind a boat with a diver attached.
the diver controls the angle of attack and therefore the rate of descent/ascent.
It looked to be useful for prospecting big areas, as you wouldn't need to kick down just aim the board and fly down.
As soon as the board was released it came to the surface allowing the driver to stop and wait for the returning diver.
has anyone else used one of these? or perhaps made one?
 
I was in NZ at Christmas and a friend had a homemade device made out of wood which he used successfully in the marlborough sounds.
I have to say it didn't look very 'aerodynamic' Aquadynamic?????
It had a handle above and below a flat piece of wood, and you just pulled the right one to go up or down. Crude but effective (and very cheap)
However, I didn't watch much Blue Peter as a kid so don't expect any intricate drawings or instructions.........
 
I saw that one on ebay yesterday and wondered how deep one could go on one of these i suppose it depends on th length of the rope.
 
I made one a little larger than the picture above, with a half circle cut out of the center for downward vision. Handles were V shaped aluminum that I could hook my elbows into and take the strain off my arms.

It works great at 20-30 feet with 100 ft of rope, probably deeper with a longer rope. A very fun gadget that found a lot of fish for me. Bigger is better, less force required to dive and big wings provide a shadow from the water flow. Small vanes can get very tiring.

Connor
 
My friend and I made a large version when we were kids.
It worked really well. Except algae blooms are very unperdictalbe to kids.
We finally got tired of slamming into the bottom...hehe.

jim
 
I wonder if you dived deepish then shot up as fast as you could how far out of the water would you go? (dont try it please, just a daft question)
 
Hmmm , Interesting I suspect that the Miserable bugger in me will make one out of Marine Ply.
thanks for all the pics though.
Huan
 
Not to far. Because of ur mask squishing against ur face, u have to go slow.
but with ours we poped up a bit

jim
 
Just don't try those boards in any places where GW sharks are present. :duh
 
it is much nicer to have a pice of rope in the paravan with at t bar in the end to go betwen your legs so you don´t have to hold your own weigth ind the arms. Do you understand? I am to lazy to do a drawing; )
It is getting real cold real fast but that is another point
 


I believe the right phrase is hydrodinamic!


Said
 
The standard rope length to depth ration is up to 2.5 - i.e. you need at least 2.5 times your depth of rope to be anywhere near efficient. So if you want to go to 30m, it would need to be at least 75m long.

I'd absolutely love to have a go with one of these...need a boat first, mind....
 
I think I will make one out of some old 1/2" ply first of all.
once I have the shape sorted I will make a marine ply one and glass it for strength.
I kind of like the idea of a toggle seat something like the little round seats that you find on skifields(we used to call them nutcrackers)that way you could take a lot of the weight off your arms and instead use them for steering the board itself.
anyone have any dimensions?
 
I dive behind the boat with just a water ski rope all the time. You can easily use your body to dirrect you up or down. I suppose the "wing" thing would make it easier but it's not at all required. We call it "scuba skiing" but I like to do it freedive style because the scuba equipment creates so much drag. The longer rope makes diving deep much more practical.
 
tried the links above but no joy does anyone know where to get one of these things in the uk. i have got to try this out it sounds amazing

Many Thanks

Jono
 
Hey Jono
theres [ame="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7141484622"]this one[/ame] current on ebay but its in the US, cost a small forune in P & P looks like its not a hard thing to make

Edit: Did I say current?? :duh
 
Last edited:
Yes, this sort of thing I was thinking about in relation to Jan Ploeg's "waterwing".. wouldn't something of a hybrid between these two inventions plus a monofin be very cool? ...thinking of some kind of underwater slalom race...?
 
Alison

thanks for the reply yes DIY would be a better option, i can task a boat builder friend with that one

thanks
 
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