Dinghy Survey

[RON SCHERER]

I would like to hear from anyone who has done some cruising and how did they transport their dinghy??? I would like to hear from those of you who have some good ideas and suggestions. I currently tow my Walker Bay and I am not totally sold on towing. Has anyone out there put their shore boat on their Cat. 34 other than davits???

[Brad Costan]

Ron,

I usually transport my 9' Zodiac fully inflated upside down on the fore deck.  We use bungee cords to secure it down and leave the outboard on a motor mount on the stern rail.

I use the spinnaker halyard to lift it back onto the boat with a make shift harness that goes on the inflatable.

Hope this helps...

Brad

[RON SCHERER]

Brad I think you got the right idea putting your inflatable on the deck. I keep the W. B. on the deck at the dock but not out sailing. Im just about ready to trade the W. B. for an inflatable. Do you ever have any problems while underway or tacking with the boat on the deck?

[captran]

On Voyager we use the Achilles 10'3" with an 8 hp Yamaha.  Typically we tow the dingy from Ft Pierce to W Palm, then lash it on deck upside down using two lines for quick deployment, for the trip to the Bahamas.  The stern of the dingy is right up against the mast and the bow line is tied up to each side of the bow pulpit.  We just make sure the furler lines are over the lines that secure the dingy to the deck so there is no problem with sail handling, tacking, etc.   We tow it between Islands when on the Banks,with the outboard on the stern rail, unless it's very calm or a short distance, in which case we might leave the OB on the dingy.  If were making longer passages like the Berry Islands to Nassau,  the Exumas to Eleuthera, Spanish Wells to the Abacos, the dingy is secured on deck again.   In the NW we'll likely take a similar approach, lashing it on deck for longer open water passages.

[Stu Jackson]

The trick to avoid getting jib sheets caught up on, around, through or under the dinghy when it's on the foredeck is to keep the lazy jib sheet reasonably tight so that it doesn't droop and get caught under the dinghy.

On our Delta trip last summer, we had the deflated dinghy tied to the cabintop just forward of the mast.  We inflated the dinghy when we got to the Delta, and towed it behind us with the motor on in those protected waters.  Otherwise, I would never tow the dinghy with the motor on it.  We have the Garhauer dinghy motor lift, which should be considered a must for anyone who is cruising, other than a Sumo wrestler who needs some exercise lifting the motor.

Other times we have the dinghy inflated on the foredeck with the aft end up against the mast, with still plenty of room to get around and get to the anchor.  We do this for shorter weekend trips when it's easier to inflate the dinghy on the dock, rather than the foredeck.  Since it's a high pressure air floor, we also can inflate it on the foredeck.  

We, too, use a spare halyard to lift it, but generally just throw it overboard by hand when deploying.  If we forget to hold onto the painter, a crew member goes swimming after it.  

We don't have a special harness for raising the dinghy.  There are two internal D rings near the bow.  I use these to tie the two painters.  I just tie one side to the other and use the halyard on this connected line, the dinghy comes up bow first, over the lifelines and down on the foredeck.  No need to buy separate and overpriced lifting straps.

Ours is a 10'-2" Zodiac, with a (purchased used) 1990 9.9 HP 2 stroke engine.  Dinghy still planes with a good load on-board.  Great rig.

[Stephen Butler]

We have towed our 11+ foot Avon (inflatable/wood floors) for about 300 miles, using a simple double bridle, without any problems. Have towed in everything from 10 foot following waves, to glass-like conditions.  If the inflateable is at the proper pressure, and the bridle attended to, can't see too many problems on a coastal cruise.  Maneuvering in marinas can be a bit tricky, but again, just keep an eye on things.  We always keep the ob on the rail when under-way. Why risk a flip and ob rebuild?  The only real dingy problem so far, is the lack of easily reached cleats for securing the dingy when in port...will be adding these this summer.  Hope this helps.

[Ted Pounds]

Here's a trick I use for marina maneuvering when towing our dink.  I put the ladder in the water and lead the bow line through the middle of the ladder and tie it off so the bow is snugged against the ladder.  Then run two lines, one from each side of the dink's stern to each stern cleat on the 34.  The dink is held in that spot perfectly while backing down.  When we're done maneuvering and heading out  I cast off the two stern lines and toss them in the dink.  Then the only tricky part is pulling the bow line out of the ladder and tying to the stern cleat without losing hold of the line.  having the helms person go slow makes this easier.   Then pull up the ladder and sail off into the sunrise.  

[RON SCHERER]

THANKS to everyone that responded to my topic on the dinghy. The reason I put this ? on the airways is because if my wife had her way we would have our dinghy with us every time we left the dock. After what all of you had to say about keeping your dinghy on the deck I think I should sell the Walker to the highest bidder and get a rubber dinghy that will ride on the deck of the boat. Thanks for the info. and suggestions. Ron S.

[Jim Brener]

When I purchased Wind Spirit is came with a Dinghy-Tow.  It is a great way to tow a dink but a bit of a pain to get the dink secured to the Dinghy-Tow.  It is secure, you can back with the dink on it, and  remove water from the dink by raising it vertical or against the back stay.   You can raise the stern to mount the engine while standing on the aft locker, I have a 3.4hp outboard..  I don't know how it would work with the newer boats with the sugar scoop stern.  

See  http://www.dinghy-tow.com/ or contact the mfg. for more information.

[Randy and Mary Davison]

We keep our AquaPro 10 foot on the foredeck and a 9.8 two stroke Tohatsu on the aft rail.  The dinghy is hoisted with a halyard and the engine with a Forespar removable hoist.  A snatch block on the halyard and a line around the windless makes hoisting effortless at the cost of a little more setting up.

Like Captran and others, we tow the dinghy in protected waters but hoist it onto the deck for exposed or long runs.  It costs us about a half knot to tow it with the engine on (tilted part way up).  There are lots of horror stories about adventures with towed dinghies in high winds and we've had a few ourselves so we try not to get lazy about hoisting it up!

[mike lofstrom]

We also tie the our Avon inverted on the foredeck.  I usually set the transom on a throwable cushion so it won't mar the deck.  This arangement seems to work very well in most conditions, but make sure you check the foredeck hatch before you set out.  If it is open, you can't see it from the wheel.  30K of wind + open foredeck hatch + rough San Francisco Bay = Wet V-Berth.!!!     Other than that, It works very well.

[John Langford]

I have the Zodiac 285 fast roller which lives up to its name when being towed in windy conditions. With the inflatable floor it is so light that it is prone to flipping over in a strong beam wind. I have to keep it tight against the transom on the leeward side to keep it upright. But when I have to pull it up the beach or on to the dock, my back says thank you!

[Ken Heyman]

Ron,

While your question seems to be directed at alternatives to towing, we towed our Walker Bay 8 footer last year for aprox 400 miles up, back and across parts of Lake Michigan. We had some pretty stiff breezes and seas for some of this journey. I was expecting to have to haul the dink on board occasionally but she performed admirably in a variety of conditions. (minimal yawing and the dink stayed dry).I received some good advice from other members last year (you may want to search the topic and look for responses from last June/July). Keeping the centerboard out during towing is critical. Also she tracks a bit better with the tow line tied off on the leeward side. As I recall, best results were obtained with sufficient tow line deployed to allow the dink to settle on the "down wave" side of the second wave off the stern.

[reedbr]

I couldn't tell from your post or profile, but if you've got a MkII and an 8' dink (or less) then Weaver Davits on the transom are perfect.  Basically, the dink is latched on to the transom sideways and tilted up.  No fuss when backing, easy to deploy, and it doesn't collect water.  Oh, and they are only ~$200 from what I remember.

Here's the full info:
http://www.c34.org/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=1624&highlight=weaver