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There is a really good descriptional story by one member that explain the right length of line to use when towing a 17 Montauk... Can I have the link again?
I respectfully submit, there is no "right (standard) length of towline".
Length varies with towboat HP/Prop vrs what you are towing and weather.
Just keep an open mind, be prepared to adjust the length for best performance.
Generally, I prefer to tow close behind just far enough back the towed vessel bow is lifted and following straight but I almost NEVER get it right the first time I lay towline & pull.
I really do not think you will have a problem with the set up as is. When we towed our Montauk we used the OEM bow D ring with out issue. Below is part of a Narrative I wrote about how we delevoped, tested, and used the set up.
My father and I spent a good 2 days laying out and testing our bridal set up. We wanted to tow our Montauk around on our 10 day family vacation on Lake Erie and use it to tool around the islands down there. Our bridal consisted of heavy weight floating yellow nylon line. The line has a good strech to it and helped with abosrbing jarring shocks. We had two ropes coming from the stern of the tow vessel to a single tow line that was 50+ feet behind the tow vessel. Then with me in the whaler and my father and my friend in the Wellcraft we began testing lengths of the tow line, speeds, and motor up or down. This took a couple hours of testing and we found that the motor must be up, and if the tow line was to long or to short the whaler would wonder back and forth in the tow vessels wake. We found that a length of 100’ of tow line was just right (50’ back of bridal and 100’ tow line putting the whaler a total of 150’ behind the tow vessel). We also found that the higher from the water line the tow lines attached to the stern of the tow vessel the better. Also the lower to the water line the tow line attached to the towed vessel the better as well. With this set up we could cruise at 25 maybe 27mph with the whaler tracking straight behind the tow vessel. With twin 454 big blocks in the Wellcraft you never knew the whaler was behind you.
Now the time can for vacation. My father brought the Wellcraft down from Port Huron to our family friend’s house on Grosse Isle where I trailered the Montauk to. The next morning was so nice my bother and I decided to drive the Montauk across Lake Erie to Sandusky. That was a fun ride across the lake! So, no towing that day. But every where else we went we towed the Montauk with us. It towed great however, you would have to back down and stop to unhook the whaler and have someone drive it in when entering port. So long as we could tie the whaler up to the stern of our boat we never had to pay to dock it anywhere. We went from Sandusky to Kellys Island to Put-in-Bay and back to Grosse Isle where my brother trailered the whaler home and I drove the Wellcraft back to Port Huron. It was great having the second boat with us to go island hoping. Out of all the 20 plus years of family trips on our boats, this was my favorite by far! Probably because the next year I had to become an adult, graduate from college, got engaged and bought a house. That was my last summer of no real responsibilities.
Michael k I agree with the trail and error method but Jeff has aready resolve the formula for a Montauk. Keep posted so you can read his descriptional story on this subject. It's very interesting.
