Whetman Equipment River Bean 3m Towline

The River Bean is a short tow for getting hold of a boat and moving it. Three metres of floating line sits in a pouch on a waist belt, worn loose enough to spin round your body so the bag ends up behind you and the buckle stays where you can reach it.

Whetman built it for slow moving water, estuaries, lakes and canals rather than for whitewater. If you coach or guide on flat water, or you spend any time rounding up kayaks, canoes, SUPs and sit-on-tops that have got away from somebody, this is the tool for the job. For a longer tow out on the sea you want considerably more line than this.

The Kraken karabiner is included and stows in the pouch alongside the line, and there is a shockcord damper in the system to take the snatch out of a tow. The flared opening means you can repack it afloat rather than having to land first.

It is worth setting up properly before you use it. Put it on wearing the kit you will actually have on the water, get the buckle central at the front and the bag central at the back, then trim the spare webbing down to roughly 8cm so the release stays quick when you need it. Melt the cut end so it cannot fray.

• 3m floating line with a shockcord damper
• Stainless snag free Kraken karabiner included, stowed in the pouch with the line
• Compact ergonomic pouch with a flared opening for repacking on the water
• Adjustable 40mm waist belt with a quick release buckle
• Line connects directly to the main belt
• Released by pulling and punching the toggle forward
• Suited to slow moving water, estuaries, coastal water, lakes and canals
• For kayaks, canoes, SUPs and sit-on-tops

For a long tow on open water, the Whetman Equipment Sea Bean Elite Towline gives you 10 or 14m. For close contact work between two sea kayaks, look at the Whetman Equipment Sea Contact Tow MK11.