Cathy Monaghan wrote:Hi Steve,
The weather can surprise you, sometimes it will defy the weather forcasters, and any winds above 30 kts can make towing a dinghy of any kind risky. We learned this firsthand while sailing home in 45 kt winds on Raritan Bay. (This was when we were still working, it was Sunday and we had to be to work on Monday morning.) The wind and waves were on our starboard stern quarter as we sailed on a broad reach toward home at over 9 kts. (I think our speed would have topped 10 if it wasn't for the dinghy!)
Our inflatable, an Apex weighing in at about 80 lbs, was engaged in acrobatic maneuvers the entire time -- flipping upsidedown, pitch poling, righting itself, and getting airborn. We could not get it aboard, otherwise we would have done so, and were really afraid of losing it. Luckily we didn't lose it and after that experience we will never tow it again for anything more than a short hop -- 20-30 miles or less -- and in light air only. We store the dinghy, rolled up, in the quarter berth when not in use. It only takes about 20 minutes to set it up, so it's not a problem. If the dinghy is going to spend the night in the water tethered to our boat's stern, we remove everything from the dinghy including the motor.
We've also watched the dinghies tethered behind other boats at anchor engaged in similar antics and this is NOT a good thing if the outboard is still attached to the dinghy's transom. Herb Reincke (CD330 Innisfail) can attest to this, as we contacted him over the VHF to let him know that his dinghy had flipped and the outboard was upsidedown and underwater! That happened a couple of years ago but it's not an isolated incident.
And if it's going to rain cats and dogs, the dinghy will fill up with several inches of water -- hard dinghies may sink (we've seen that happen too). While up in Maine in 2004 while in Camden we had several inches of rain overnight which sank nearly half the hard dinghies in the harbor, the other half were awash and the inflatables were all bathtubs.
So tow it when you can, but if the wind starts freshening, get the thing aboard before it's too late.
Fair winds,
Cathy
CD32 Realization, #3
Rahway, NJ
Raritan Bay
I can tell from this experience that you have learned the risks of towing a dinghy. Everyone take heed and read the above tale.
I have been on the water almost all my life and can also recall many tales of towing which went very wrong. My advise for your CD22 is to get a small inflatable that can be stowed in one of your lockers.
We have an Achilles LT series dinghy which we have had for many years with our CD25D. With 2 people aboard and groceries it works fine. This inflatable can be inflated and stowed quickly and will not present a problem in handling. It can also take a small outboard if you are so inclined to use one. We have cruised up and down the northeast with this dinghy and it has proven to be the prefect tender for a small sailboat with limited deck space. Another plus with having a small inflatable that inflates and deflates quickly is that it will not get badly weathered by the elements as it will be stowed below while under way most of the time. Because of this we have had our dinghy for many years while others have had the hypalon crack and deteriorate over time.
http://www.achillesinflatables.com/main ... roduct.cfm