Dinghy towing

Jmckamey · Post by **Jmckamey** » Wed Apr 13, 2011 4:44 am

Getting everything ready for a trip to Fla. with the C22. My question is this, have any of you guys pulled an inflatable dinghy behind a C22. I would like to have some real insight as to how much of a negative effect it has on performance. The dinghy we plan to take is a 6 foot inflateable with simi ridgid bottom at around 100 lbs. On it we'll have a 5hp 2 stroke, maby 40 lbs. As an alternate plan we could take a small inflateable raft with oars and carry it on board and inflate as needed, but what a pain.

lecker68 · Post by **lecker68** » Wed Apr 13, 2011 9:54 am

I agree on a pain but it will depend on the area you will be sailing if you are going to be tacking alot every time you come about your painter will go slack and jerk it would depend on the dinghy for a place to tie your painter will it hurt to get tugged again and again. I would check that with the inflatable in the water push it out and pull it back repeatedly and see how it acts. If it is going to hurt it then deflate and if you are going to motor then have some deep pockets for the oil companies and the Government to reach into.

CaptainScott · Post by **CaptainScott** » Fri Apr 15, 2011 9:55 am

Dinghy towing.

Now that is a subject I've played a LOT with.

Here are my thoughts as they pertain to ME. They may have no impact on your decision however it might be helpfull to see where I have been.

As far as towing a dinghy, I very strongly believe you MUST be capable of getting the dinghy safely aboard or you risk losing your dinghy. Now I'm not talking that one time trip where weather is projected to me great. I'm talking towing in general your dinghy as a most of the time situation. I had a very nice fiberglass 8' dinghy I used to tow behind my ole 28'er. We lost it in a squal with 50 kt gusts. We had a 30' painter to keep it from slamming the stern of our sloop. Unfortuantely we dropped into a trough and the dinghy fell behind us a full wave length and into a seperate trough. She was out of sight when suddenly the painter went extremely tight and then SNAP! It was gone! I presume she somehow swamped. Maybe flipped. I saw it two more times as we sailed at 10.9 kts surfing away from it. Another time we were in our 40'er. Our 10'2 inch Avon 310 RIB on the bow. The waves were so steep and high the dinghy lifted completely off the bow higher than the life lines as our bow dropped into troughs. YIKES! I had to go forward to strap it down. So if you are fond of your dinghy, I really believe you need to be able to get it on the bow. Yes, these instances are rare however if you sail enough, mother nature will eventually challenge you.

As far as performance goes. Destiny looses about 1/4 to 1/2 knt towing our RIB without the outboard on it and even more with it on. Painter length can help. As you motor you make a stern wave. Try to adjust your painter such that this wave pushes your dinghy along. The dinghy will likely wander back and forth as it is pushed and it will likely bug you however you can gain some speed by using this wave. The other option I've tried is to pull the dinghy right up against your stern. Even lifting the bow of the dinghy up on your stern if possible will help. This however will leave you exposed to following seas and you just might have your dinghy SMACK the stern of your boat. I prevent issues with a pair of fenders. That works great.

Also try to tow your dinghy as flat as possible. IE if you tow it fast it may try and plain or ride with the bow very high. positioning any weight in the dinghy forward will help level it

If you have any other questions as to what dinghy and why, I'd be happy to ramble on about that also! LOL! We've had many dinghys and types as we looked for the perfect dinghy for us! Just remember, our choice is likely different than yours! I can only explain our choice and how we've arrived at it!
Scott

caz · Post by **caz** » Mon Apr 18, 2011 3:24 pm

I don't think you should ever tow your dinghy on a chrysler, while coastal, except for very short spans. After years of cruising in chryslers, I keep the dinghy motor on the stern rail (on my c26), in a mounting block and my 10' inflatable lashed and broke down on the deck. After safely anchored, the dinghy is inflated, motor is mounted, and we're good to go.
Caz

hotdot · Post by **hotdot** » Mon Apr 18, 2011 5:45 pm

Whether to tow your dinghy is dependent upon where you sail, how far offshore you go (think big waves vs. little waves) and dinghy type. I have one of the original walker Bay 8 plastic dinks and have towed it all over the gulf coast of Florida, down the east coast inter-coastal, through the keys and to the Bahamas as far as Georgetown in the Exumas with no problems. Yes it slows the sailboat by 1/2 knot or so, but I'm not racing. The biggest advice I would give is to keep it empty, no motor, gas or trash. It seems that a little weight greatly increases the dinghy drag.

Windward · Post by **Windward** » Tue Apr 19, 2011 3:44 am

I'm in the "tow when it's safe, but not usually" camp. Locally I tow, but not if I want to sail fast. On the coast, I'll sometimes tow if it's not blowing and not likely to, but it does slow me down and I'll haul on deck or disassemble if I want to make miles. If there's any chance of a blow I disassemble the inflatable and lash it to the deck between the mast and forward hatch. It's really not that bad to do (OK, it's a pain) and is much easier than dealing with a problem in 5 foot seas with 20 kt of breeze.

I've seen a number of boats with dinghy problems in sudden squalls, either filling with water or, once, becoming airborne and trailing like a kite behind the boat (that was some big wind!). On the other hand, Guillaume, who took his C26 from Quebec to Cuba and back, appeared to tow a dinghy for his entire trip and did not have problems.

Windward actually has a couple of dinghies. On the local lake I use a Backwater 7.5 , a smaller, lighter and less stable (!) version of the Walker Bay. It's marginal for anything but harbor use on the coast. I also have , a massive Plastimo 260 Hypalon inflatable with large tubes, a plywood floor and inflatable keel (about 115 lbs. Yikes!). Towing either slows Windward significantly, with the big inflatable having a larger impact. I can haul either up and lash it upside down on the foredeck, which complicates anchor handling but is secure. When I tow the Plasti, the engine goes on the stern rail and most gear comes out.

The Plasti's a great dink, especially with 6-10 HP on it (I have a 3.5 hp Nissan 2 stroke, which is OK with 1 and slow besides that), but if I had it to do over I might look for something quicker to setup and stow, like a slatted floor rollup or (bigger bucks) a high-pressure inflatable floor.

lecker68 · Post by **lecker68** » Tue Apr 19, 2011 4:38 am

I sold my 12' Sears Gamefisher (the one in my avatar) and picked up a 8' Newport Ensign which is small enough to haul on deck and I also have a 9.5' Sea Hawk inflatable also when I go on my trip in June I will also take my 10' kayak.

Jmckamey · Post by **Jmckamey** » Tue Apr 19, 2011 6:05 pm

Thanks for all the input guys, I think I'm going to scale back on the dinghy idea for this trip. Going to take a small inflateable raft that can be stowed in one of the sail lockers, and if we need it we can inflate and row it. Hope we don't need the real thing.

Franklinp40 · Post by **Franklinp40** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 4:21 pm

Where ya goin down here?

Jmckamey · Post by **Jmckamey** » Fri Apr 22, 2011 5:01 pm

Going to sail the choctawhatchee bay around Fort Walton beach and may head west on the ICW. Just loaded the boat with everything but the kitchen sink and she's hooked to the truck and ready to go. It's been a busy week, installed a new VHF with antenna, rewired the mast, installed new spreader brackets, made some real nifty screens for all the hatches, installed a couple new seals in the lower unit and installed a bimini. The bimini turned out very sweet, stand up head room and with the main reefed can be used while sailing.
Would like to send out a very large THANK YOU to thepartydog for his help in locating a marina for us to bounce in and out of, and his helpfull guidance.
I'm still old school with pc ussage, gotta be at the desk top, so we'll check on you guys in a few.

mcrandall · Post by **mcrandall** » Fri Apr 22, 2011 5:11 pm

Gotta see some pics of the upgrades--please! Really like to see the hatch covers and bimini!