Easier than I thought (thanks Cathy!)
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More on dink options on small boats
Moderator: Jim Walsh
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Richard Bell
- Posts: 46
- Joined: Feb 7th, '05, 14:03
- Location: CD33 Pegasus
- Contact:
Dinghy Tow Pic
Rick Bell
CD 33 Pegasus
CD 33 Pegasus
-
Richard Bell
- Posts: 46
- Joined: Feb 7th, '05, 14:03
- Location: CD33 Pegasus
- Contact:
More thoughts on towing
These not very humble thoughts come from carrying and towing dinks over too many years. Currently I only tow for short distances since I have davits. For offshore, the dink comes on deck and upside down over the skylight (half deflated). The outboard is lashed on deck where it can't get loose.
Prior to my current boat I towed a Dyer with reasonable success. In my opinion most rigid towing eyes are too high and even Dyer doesn't make them strong enough. I like the towing eye at the waterline and inside the boat beefed up with additional cloth and a backing plate. In settled to moderate conditions I will stream it out till there was almost no strain on the painter. If it starts to yaw badly I bring it in real close to the transom. To keep it from goosing the big boat I use a swimming noodle on the painter which stiffens it enough (also helps keep it out of the prop). Two painters, each with a noodle, and attached to the quarters. The Dyer I towed behind a CD25 and an Alberg 30. I could put it on deck with the Alberg if I really had to.
My experience with inflatable's with soft bottoms, including slat bottoms, would be best described as expletive deleted. As has been pointed out they will fly like a kite if there is any great amount of wind. They are also excellent sea anchors. The soft bottom creates way too much drag. To cut the drag I've seen people haul the bow up to the top of the transom - this works in light air, but they can really fly and spin when the wind kicks up. The soft bottom dinks are not known for their rowing ability. Their saving grace is they make up into small packages that even a Typhoon can stow on deck.
As to the question about "Dinghy Tow". I have seen a few and one friend who has it likes it. It does seem to present a windage problem and I watched him back into an anchored boat. To me the biggest problem is vision - especially in crowded waterways like the ICW during the migration season.
RIBs and high pressure air floors do a better job being towed. They also row almost reasonably. For smaller boats these have the drawback of weight and size of the package for putting on deck.
As to outboards. They are worth having, but don't belong on a dinghy being towed. The smaller ones can usually be handled with no more than a safety line to get up and down. Larger ones need a block and tackle (a boom vang or the mainsheet) to lift. Be careful if there is any surge in the anchorage. Outboards will swing like crazy and ding the gel coat and any fingers they can get.
My suggestions would be for smaller boats staying inshore and limited coastal, either a rigid with a low towing eye or a slat floor that would be carried on deck. The inflatable will handle heavier loads, but not provide the rowing pleasure or tow well. For larger boats that can get the dink comfortably on deck, either a RIB or air floor.
Personally I like the Dyer and I use it for weekend trips where it is used more for fun than transportation. For serious cruising I take a RIB and leave the Dyer at home. Here the dink is used more as the family car than a boat. I guess the best analogy is the Jeep often seen being towed by a Winnebago.
Prior to my current boat I towed a Dyer with reasonable success. In my opinion most rigid towing eyes are too high and even Dyer doesn't make them strong enough. I like the towing eye at the waterline and inside the boat beefed up with additional cloth and a backing plate. In settled to moderate conditions I will stream it out till there was almost no strain on the painter. If it starts to yaw badly I bring it in real close to the transom. To keep it from goosing the big boat I use a swimming noodle on the painter which stiffens it enough (also helps keep it out of the prop). Two painters, each with a noodle, and attached to the quarters. The Dyer I towed behind a CD25 and an Alberg 30. I could put it on deck with the Alberg if I really had to.
My experience with inflatable's with soft bottoms, including slat bottoms, would be best described as expletive deleted. As has been pointed out they will fly like a kite if there is any great amount of wind. They are also excellent sea anchors. The soft bottom creates way too much drag. To cut the drag I've seen people haul the bow up to the top of the transom - this works in light air, but they can really fly and spin when the wind kicks up. The soft bottom dinks are not known for their rowing ability. Their saving grace is they make up into small packages that even a Typhoon can stow on deck.
As to the question about "Dinghy Tow". I have seen a few and one friend who has it likes it. It does seem to present a windage problem and I watched him back into an anchored boat. To me the biggest problem is vision - especially in crowded waterways like the ICW during the migration season.
RIBs and high pressure air floors do a better job being towed. They also row almost reasonably. For smaller boats these have the drawback of weight and size of the package for putting on deck.
As to outboards. They are worth having, but don't belong on a dinghy being towed. The smaller ones can usually be handled with no more than a safety line to get up and down. Larger ones need a block and tackle (a boom vang or the mainsheet) to lift. Be careful if there is any surge in the anchorage. Outboards will swing like crazy and ding the gel coat and any fingers they can get.
My suggestions would be for smaller boats staying inshore and limited coastal, either a rigid with a low towing eye or a slat floor that would be carried on deck. The inflatable will handle heavier loads, but not provide the rowing pleasure or tow well. For larger boats that can get the dink comfortably on deck, either a RIB or air floor.
Personally I like the Dyer and I use it for weekend trips where it is used more for fun than transportation. For serious cruising I take a RIB and leave the Dyer at home. Here the dink is used more as the family car than a boat. I guess the best analogy is the Jeep often seen being towed by a Winnebago.
Jim Davis
S/V Isa Lei
S/V Isa Lei
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Richard Bell
- Posts: 46
- Joined: Feb 7th, '05, 14:03
- Location: CD33 Pegasus
- Contact:
Jim,
Not sure what you mean by windage and visibility problems. The dinghy is only suppose to be up in the stow position after you dock. The rest of the time it is down in the tow position, which does not alter the issues you raised. If your friend is operating his boat with it up he is operating incorrectly. The only drawback I have had with it is it increases overall length at the waterline which makes turning in some confined channels a challenge.
Not sure what you mean by windage and visibility problems. The dinghy is only suppose to be up in the stow position after you dock. The rest of the time it is down in the tow position, which does not alter the issues you raised. If your friend is operating his boat with it up he is operating incorrectly. The only drawback I have had with it is it increases overall length at the waterline which makes turning in some confined channels a challenge.
Rick Bell
CD 33 Pegasus
CD 33 Pegasus
A few months ago I did some experiments while towing our 8' light weight fiberglass dinghy. I attached a fish scale (up to 30 lbs) to the tow line and varied the distance of the dinghy behind our CD 32 while under sail. The least force (9 lbs) was when the dinghy was just aft of the wake wave, with the bow a bit upward. I wasn't concerned with the maximum force, but I did measure it somewhere in the trough as 15 lbs.