towing walker bay 8

[Brian2]

I scuffed my WB10 bottom beofer painting, but my neighbor did NOT scuff, and the paint sticks just as well to his WB10.

[Steve Laume]

Brian,

To finish the story on the towing I ended up talking to a 10,000+ miles cruiser and he told me to get some floating line from West Marine, not the hard yellow stuff we all would think of, but a special line designed for towing, three strand, etc. He recommended for my purpose no more than 30 feet needed, tie off to one to a stern cleat and the other end with a bowline to the dink, add a few floats and I'd be all set. That's what I decided on chided by the "overthinking" comments. He thought I'd find it would ride nicely at no more than 15 feet off the stern. Should we face following seas he suggested pulling it close in to mitigate the running start slams into the stern. I'm really not expecting those conditions but will try that or lash to foredeck if necessary.


Dick

While 10,000 miles is rather impressive I would question the wisdom of anyone who told you to shop at WM instead of Defender. While 30' of floating line will be plenty for keeping the line out of the prop while maneuvering I would have another length of regular line available to add if the need arises.

Pulling it in close to minimize the impact sounds crazy to me. It would be an okay strategy with an inflatable but a hard dinghy hits hard and can do some damage even if it is just bobbing up and down. Add some water weight to the dink and it could be devastating. This is not something that could only occur while offshore. Inshore tidal rips can can be brutal for towing a dink. When the stern squats into a following sea the dinghy could end up in your stern pulpit and that would not be a good thing, even if it only had a ten foot run.

I would never pull it in close and accept the fact that it was going to crash into you, Steve.

[Dick Barthel]

Brian,

To finish the story on the towing I ended up talking to a 10,000+ miles cruiser and he told me to get some floating line from West Marine, not the hard yellow stuff we all would think of, but a special line designed for towing, three strand, etc. He recommended for my purpose no more than 30 feet needed, tie off to one to a stern cleat and the other end with a bowline to the dink, add a few floats and I'd be all set. That's what I decided on chided by the "overthinking" comments. He thought I'd find it would ride nicely at no more than 15 feet off the stern. Should we face following seas he suggested pulling it close in to mitigate the running start slams into the stern. I'm really not expecting those conditions but will try that or lash to foredeck if necessary.


Dick

While 10,000 miles is rather impressive I would question the wisdom of anyone who told you to shop at WM instead of Defender. While 30' of floating line will be plenty for keeping the line out of the prop while maneuvering I would have another length of regular line available to add if the need arises.

Pulling it in close to minimize the impact sounds crazy to me. It would be an okay strategy with an inflatable but a hard dinghy hits hard and can do some damage even if it is just bobbing up and down. Add some water weight to the dink and it could be devastating. This is not something that could only occur while offshore. Inshore tidal rips can can be brutal for towing a dink. When the stern squats into a following sea the dinghy could end up in your stern pulpit and that would not be a good thing, even if it only had a ten foot run.

I would never pull it in close and accept the fact that it was going to crash into you, Steve.

Steve,

Bad job of explaining on my part. Tom (the sailor with the 10K + miles) is the manager of the Mystic WM. I had gone to Defenders first and the person helping me was nice and all but I could tell he really didn't know much about it. He had me rigged up with a device that their rigger would built for me for around $150. Also they had no ready made kits so I went to WM just to see.

I told Tom what I needed it for (local coastal) and I also said that if I have following seas and it gets annoying we'll just lash it to the foredeck. HIs pulling close technique was really for inflatables which is what he uses all the time. I don't think he would disagree with your advice. But I guess you also don't want a hard dink getting a running start at the stern either - so to the foredeck it goes. He also told me I could add line if we wanted to let her lay well off the stern. I paid $62 for 30' of that special line and also got 3 floats.

The 10,000 plus is really 3,500 miles every winter for the last 7 years. He and his significant other live on a fairly big catamaran all year round (in Mystic) and go south each winter. They did say they were tiring of it and wish they could just fly down and meet it there majically some how.

Thanks for your usual right on remarks.

Dick

[Tom Keevil]

Two pieces of advice. One is to put a round turn through the eye on the dinghy before tying the bowline. This really reduces the chafe problem. Advice 1A is to look at the knot now and then to see how it's doing.

Advice two is to have two painters. One long one for towing, and one short one for normal tying up to docks and boats. Much more convenient. Also, you can tie a small anchor to the long one when you go ashore on a rising tide, and tie the two painters together if the tide is rising a lot.

We once bought a long length of the expensive line that had a floating core and a uv and chafe resistant braided exterior. That became two short lengths after it wrapped around our prop. Shorten the line when reversing.

[Joe Myerson]

Dick,
I have had a WB8 as my primary dinghy since the days when I owned a catboat. The little thing takes a beating, doesn't scratch the hull and tows fairly well, although I did have it slam into my transom a couple of times while towing it to Block Island last year (where I didn't need it at all). I've seen the versions with the inflatable ring, and one friend put simple WalMart swimming pool "noodles" around the gunwales. He drilled small holes and secured them with cable ties, which I'm not so sure is a great idea.

For the past three years I've been painting the bottom of the li'l dinghy. It makes a big difference, although it will flake off if I drag the boat on a dock or a beach too often.

Often on cruises I rely on others' dinghies, but I have towed the WB8 extensively.

While I don't agree with Russell's entirely negative review of the little plastic boat, I've got to acknowledge that it is very tippy. I've had a few close calls, but have never actually taken a swim. Also, when he heard that I used a WB8 as my primary tender, Darrell Nicholson (now editor of Practical Sailor, but a former boss at the late Offshore) warned me that the towing ring is not the strongest around.

Still, if you're going to tow a dinghy, I would not rule it out.

Another negative: Towing a dinghy, any dinghy, really slows you down. But, heck, you're cruising.

Hope this helps,

--Joe

[Neil Gordon]

Often on cruises I rely on others' dinghies, ...

Note: Will row Myerson any reasonable distance in exchange for single malt.

[Joe Myerson]

Note: Will row Myerson any reasonable distance in exchange for single malt.

Note: Single malt is a cruising necessity, especially if Vice Commodore Gordon is present. Don't go anywhere without it.

[Russell]

Often on cruises I rely on others' dinghies, ...

Note: Will row Myerson any reasonable distance in exchange for single malt.

I think I need to invite Joe to crew if he is known for providing single malts.... I was eying the anchorages around Islay last night, you know Lagavulin provides free mooring balls in front of their distillery?

[Tom Keevil]

Often on cruises I rely on others' dinghies, ...

Note: Will row Myerson any reasonable distance in exchange for single malt.

I think I need to invite Joe to crew if he is known for providing single malts.... I was eying the anchorages around Islay last night, you know Lagavulin provides free mooring balls in front of their distillery?

We sailed to Islay three years ago in Jenny Howell's CD33 Ragtime as part of a boat swap. The approach to the Lagavulin buoys is rocky and intimidating. After trying out the product, along with nearby Ardbeg and Laphroaig, you would almost certainly crash the boat on the way out. We didn't want to crash her boat. We chose to stay in nearby Port Ellen - a much more conservative approach.

[Dick Barthel]

Report on towing WB 8

She tracked beautifully the entire approximate 120 nm with a fair amount of following seas. It doesn't slow you down because it is so light. I kept her at approximately 15 feet the entire trip. I had a larger eye installed and backed with a piece of starboard. Absolutely no issues there. The 30 feet of WM floating line worked perfectly too.

Alone it rows like a dream, with two not so well but certainly better than a roll up. I had the longer oars for the WB 10 and that didn't help. We were dry except for taking on a wake off the port beam which was mostly my fault and could have been avoided. With two in the boat the stern is lower.

It is tippy getting in but you learn techniques to minimize that problem (e.g. tie from center seat to boarding ladder, etc.). Always board from the side and never from the bow.

Back in Noank I easily pulled it out of the water and stored it in a rack on the dingy dock. The WB 10 was just to big and heavy for that.

Resolved: I am going to purchase a RID kit and sell my RID WB 10.

Thanks again for everyone's ideas.

Dick

[gates_cliff]

Have to chime in here.

I have had a WB8 for I guess about 10 years. First, it is tippy. I know from personal experience when trying to use a small outboard on it, and I shifted my weight, fortunately the boat didn't flip, but it flipped me out! Fortunately, for me again, it was only in about 4' of water and I had good laugh at myself. As to rowing, well one time I had to row several miles (the reason for which is an entirely another story ) and I felt it rowed quite well. On that particular day it was quite blustery and I didn't have any problems, albeit I had learned about being careful about shifting my weight. I haven't had any towing issues but don't tow all that often.

I have conidered getting the inflatable collar and would be interested in others' experiences with one.

I would like to get one of the higher end dinks but it's not that high on the priority list.

[Sea Hunt Video]

I have considered getting the inflatable collar and would be interested in others' experiences with one.

Me too

[Klem]

Steve, are you able to stow the 10 footer on deck when you're offshore? Or do you have an inflatable for offshore trips?

There is no way a 10' or even 8' dinghy will fit on the deck of a CD-30. I towed it once, offshore to Maine and vowed, never again. It might work for a trip like that if you had a good cover.

I finally broke down and bought an air floored inflatable for long trips. It sleeps on the starboard settee berth while underway. This keeps the weight low and eliminates any chance of it washing overboard.

It is an imperfect world, Steve.

I realize that you have a CD30C so this is not directly applicable but for anyone with a CD30K, an 8.5' dinghy will easily fit between the traveler and the mast provided it isn't too deep. We have a Walker Bay 8 there and it works pretty well. It does significantly reduce visibility forward and the WB8 is definitely not a great dinghy but given the trade-offs, I think that it is the best solution for us. On a cutter, you could probably get a 7.5' or even 8' dinghy there if you don't mind overlapping the mast a bit. When we had an inflatable, we would stow it backwards so that the ends of the tubes stuck beyond the mast. This stowage was actually the deciding factor for us when we were looking at ketches versus cutters.

[Dick Barthel]

I have considered getting the inflatable collar and would be interested in others' experiences with one.

Me too

I intend to get one but almost choked on the price on West Marine site when I took a quick look. I retrofitted a RID kit on the WB 10 and it made it much more stable. It doesn't effect the rowing either and gives you a nice cushion when she bangs up against the mother ship at anchor.

I'll let you know how it goes. If I can't find one cheap enough I might try to find a smaller sized hard bottom inflatable. But that's a last resort because I like to row.
Or maybe a better quality hard dink that won't be so tippy.

Dick

[ch.ocallaghan]

I use swim noodles lashed on the side with nylon twine on my WB8. Works great to improve stability, and the price is right. If I wanted to spend real money I'd get a Dyer or a Puffin instead of the WB8 collars.