A dinghy with an outboard motor is an essential piece of cruising gear since it allows independence when you to anchor out or pick up a mooring and it is the best way to carry out and set a second anchor. And, when you are moored somewhere it is your car for getting around. But what to do with it when making coastal runs between ports? If you have davits on your stern, you simply hoist the dinghy and go. Or, you can lift the dinghy onto the foredeck, where it can be lashed down upside down.
But, most of us prefer to tow our dinghies on short coastal runs of 20 miles or less unless the weather is predicted to turn bad. Smaller, lighter dinghies have a bad habit of flipping over in rough conditions, which can ruin an otherwise pleasant day of sailing. Here are a few tips to make towing a dinghy easier and safer.
1. If the dinghy is a smaller inflatable, remove and stow the engine, fuel tanks, oars and other gear. In pleasant weather you can tow the dinghy with two long lines attached to the boat’s bow rings. But if the weather is rough, haul the dinghy right up the your boat’s stern and make it fast right against the stern so the bow is out of the water and the stern tubes are trailing in the water.
2. For fiberglass dinghies, larger inflatables and RIBs, remove the engine and fuel tank. Use two painters on the dingy that are long enough to let the dinghy ride well behind your boat. Secure the painters on either side of the boat’s stern to the stern cleats so the lines make a V. This will help prevent the dinghy from skating from side to side. Polypropylene line floats, so it makes a good painter for your dinghy. In rough weather, let the painters out until the dinghy rides one full wave behind your boat so it is not prone to surfing down the wave right behind you.
3. Getting a dinghy painter wrapped in your main propeller is all too common and a big problem. So, it is vital to pull in the dinghy painters to put the dinghy close to the your boat’s stern when mooring, anchoring or docking so there is no slack line in the water that can be sucked into the prop.
Sound good, but lots of practical experience says, DO NOT put dinghy in Davits when under way in any kind of rough weather, especially going to weather. No matter how hard you try to hold the dingy tight she will move sideways when your bucking into a sea, Normally the davits will take the strain for a short while, then you will lose one, then the other and the dinghy . Ruins your day.
If you need a big dink, there are plans out there for a 14′ nester(i have no interest same). It breaks down into 2 pieces, the longest is 7’6″ can be launched and put together in the water in 15 minutes. Keep it on deck. weighs about 65-75#
Just sound advise from someone who’s been there done that
ole salts view
geneWj
Sound advice, but when towing a dinghy astern in rougher weather where offset on 1 cleat may cause handling problems, simply extend painter to length by bending a longer line to painter using a Dbl sheet bend. Put a bowline on a bight in the painter behind the stern and lead a bridle from one stern cleat through the bowline on a bight and to the opposite cleat where the length of the bridle can be adjusted. The rest of the painter from the bight to the boat is slack. This will keep the dinghy dead astern and provide towing load to be distributed at 2 strong points. Simply grab slack painter at stern to haul dinghy close when entering harbors, etc…
Capt Dirk.
Capt Dirk has an excellent point. When I am teaching ASA Bareboat Charter classes, one of the problems students must resolve is towing a dinghy. The “best answer” is to build a bridle that drops just above the waterline and runs from stern cleat to stern cleat. A bowline is tied in the painter and run out to a bridle on the dinghy, similarly set up as the towing boat. Finally, if available, a buoy is secured to the painter (2′ behind the bowline) near the towing boat so if we need to drop the dinghy off for any reason, we can retrieve the painter easily. When approaching docking / anchoring time, we just reel in the painter…and we’re ready to dock / anchor. Something that all sailors should practice is towing and retrieving a dinghy. Consider rigging a second line as a safey line when in rough weather.