What is the largest dinghy that anyone has towed with a 34?
I have a 13' Boston Whaler with a 40 hp outboard that I would like to try towing for weekends on the bay not long distance cruising but say 20 miles at most.
Does anyone see any problems towing a boat of this size?
If your OK with losing a couple knots...or more in weather, you should be fine.
Just be careful it doesn't "run you over" when you slow down or stop! A heavy hard sided craft, with a big motor attached, equals a lot of inertia, and can make quite a thud if you miscalculate or someone isn't assigned to catch it/fend off.
We've occasionally towed our 12' AB center console RIB w/ a 25hp outboard (total weight around 400lbs), but it's only for a couple miles at time. We more frequently tow our 10' RIB (w/ motor stored on stern rail) when conditions are good and I'm too lazy to lug it onto the foredeck.
We tow our Whaler 130 Sport with a 40 hp Mercury EFI (that I keep down in the water) to Catalina from Long Beach each May and then tow it back to LB in late September at the end of our sailing season at the Island. We give up about 1/2 knot when towing. I use approximately a 100 ft rope that slides over a horseshoe rope that is attached to both stern cleats of the sailboat--both boats ride easy. I also keep the steering wheel of the Whaler tied off to the BW's rail which keeps the BW tracking straight behind our sail boat. Others that I see, keep their motor out of the water, but I notice their boats don't seem to track as well as ours does. Once we get to the Island I pull the Whaler in to the sailboat and often remove it before we head into the mooring area.
I towed our 13 foot Boston Whaler with a 35hp for one cruise, and that was once too many. With the current, in mild seas all went well going to our destination, about 3 hours away. At our destination my daughters enjoyed tubing behind the Whaler and going faster than 5 knots. Our return voyage was a different story. Motor sailing against the current, in choppy seas, we had to push our little 21hp Westerbeke to gain any ground. It was that trip that convinced us to upgrade our 2.5 inch heat exchanger for the 3 inch as our engine was on the verge of overheating. Now with only the two of us cruising, I have a small 8 foot inflatable dingy, that I frequently row when I'm too lazy to take the motor out of the lazerette.