bike rack on dinghy

[Mathias]

Here is a challenge:
Does anyone know of a decent design for a bike rack that I could install on my dinghy?

I am imagining something that could be mounted to the transom. I fear the height of the whole thing with a bike loaded on it would make it all too top heavy. Though perhaps I could get in first and have someone then attach the bike to the rig.

How do others transport their bikes ashore when at a mooring?

-Mathias

[Russell]

Most people I have seen just carry their bikes in their dinghys. A folding bike will fit even in the smallest dinghy, but even full sized bikes fit okay in a decent sized dinghy (9' or more). Reguarding your rack idea, I honestly cannot even picture in my head what your suggesting, can you explain a bit more?

[Tod M]

pretty easy to do, depending on what you have to work with.

As Russell indicated, my first inclination would be to just lay it in the dinghy, so I'm assuming a more sophisticated arrangement is warranted for some reason.

Are you talking about a conventional men's bike?

Is the dinghy hard or inflateable?

More info would be helpful.

[Neil Gordon]

I just lay it across the bow of the inflatable and lightly lash it down.

The big risk is the transfer from dock to dinghy and dinghy to boat. I like to keep the bike tethered to at least one of those so I won't need to dive for it.

Keep the pointy parts facing up if your dinghy inflates!

[Mathias]

Okay, I was hoping to not have to be too specific here. The reason is that I have two dinghies. One is a nine-foot Avon inflatable. The other is a 7-foot Puffin.

But you folks are just so darn helpful that you want to know the specifics so we can right down to brass tacks. (Bronze tacks?)

I hadn't decided on which dinghy to take with me. (Believe me, I have read every single debate on RIB vs. hard.)

From your posts, I can already garner that I can get a full sized bike into the Avon. That is nice to know. Hard for me to imagine that I could get it into my 7-foot Puffin. This bike thing might be one more factor in favor of the Avon.

For the Puffin, I imagined some forked strut fixture that I could set onto the transom, and it would have a "hanger" for the bike (or bikes.) I imagined something similar to the bike hangers that you see on the back of cars where they plug a hanger fixture into the towing socket.

At least one of the bikes would be a full size bike. And one of the bikes could be a collapsible.

For those of you who have done this, what is your procedure? Do you lower the bike onto the dinghy with a halyard? If you do, how do you attach the halyard?

I am sure I can figure something out, but it would be nice if I don't have to (oh you know this coming) re-invent the wheels.

-Mathias

[Jim Davis]

I have both a nine foot Nautica inflatable and a eight foot Dyer Dhow and carry two folding bikes. For the inflatable I just place them in gently and pad for possible chafe. My wife helps hold them from moving. For the Dyer, I wouldn't even consider it. It is too small and unstable. I will suggest that if you try this with the Puffin that you put your life jacket on first. As to getting the bikes into the boat, we just hand them over the side. The only lines attached to the bike is a recovery line in case it gets dropped.

Inflatables, while ugly and a real drag to tow are stable, perhaps their biggest saving grace.

[mike ritenour]

For our bikes we use bike bags that allow us to place the bikes in the dink without worries of catching on stuff and hanging up.

The upside is the bikes are a lot more human friendly in the limited dink deck area and it makes them easy to hand about.

Ours bags just fold up into a small package and we leave them in the storage pocket on the dink.

Onboard, having them in the bag, protects the boat from errant scratches and also protects the bikes from spray.

Rit

[Tod M]

not good for serious cycling, but not bad for a quick trip in to town (i.e. a whole lot better than hoofing it). They are really inexpensive, too. Notice the black storage bag.

[Neil Gordon]

>>From your posts, I can already garner that I can get a full sized bike into the Avon.<<

I have an 8' rollup. I can't get the bike IN, but I can get it accross. I don't think I could do two bikes without stacking them.

>>Do you lower the bike onto the dinghy with a halyard? If you do, how do you attach the halyard?<<

I've just attached a line to the bike and hauled it up from the dinghy until it was within reach. The bike doesn't much care if it hangs upside down or whatever.

If you can, I suggest practice in advance to/from the dinghy to work out the details in calm seas, no rain and reasonable sunlight.

[Julian]

http://www.bikefriday.com


These might be a bit pricey but they are serious bicycles. We met a guy in Dangriga, Belize riding one. He came from Oregon, which is in the USA I believe.

[Kurt]

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product. ... id=5238216

[Dick Barthel]

http://www.bikefriday.com


These might be a bit pricey but they are serious bicycles. We met a guy in Dangriga, Belize riding one. He came from Oregon, which is in the USA I believe.

What a great thread. And I thought I was running out of ways to spend a grand on my CD.

Dick

[Mathias]

While I have been back and forth on the RIB vs. hard choice for quite some time now, this discussion has sealed the deal.

If I am considering taking a bike, it seems that an RIB just makes for sense. I can't imagine laying a bike safely across my Puffin.

And, Mike, I really like the bike bag idea. I know zippers corrode faster than beer gets stale, so I wonder if I might make a bike bag out of canvas and have stainless steel fasteners for closing.

[Judith]

If you're concerned about metal+corrosion and aiming to minimize contact between the inflatable and hard metal, perhaps velcro and/or drawstrings might good choices for closure of bike bags.

Love the Bike Friday link overall, but particularly the story of the business's evolution.

Judith