im a newbie to skydiving, but i have done around 100 tows on a paraglider, we used a payout winch on a boat with 3000ft of spectra line, a weak link and a 3 ring cut away on the tow bridle.
the payout winch allows the line to feed out at a consistent rate so that sudden acceleration by the boat wont jerk the line and increase the angle of attack too much, and if there is any hint of a lockout occuring, the winch operator can instantly release tension.
weak link is there incase the winch jams or the line gets snagged.
3 ring can be cutaway with either hand or foot.
boat slows down when the 3000ft of line has fed out, line is then cutaway without tension.
other equipment we had was hook knives, lifejackets, two way radios, airband radio
if you have the right equipment and information its great fun, if you dont its very dangerous
a static line behind a car or a boat is a bad idea, very likely to end in a lockout situation
