28ft Boat 2.7m Inflatable - doable?

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finn77

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We have just purchased a 28ft cobra and intend keeping it on a swinging mooring west of Scotland, so windy conditions.I have bought a Seago 270 with airdeck and have a 3.5 hp o/b.

After inflating the Seago, I am slightly shocked by the size of it. It will need to transport 2 adults and four kids 11,8,5 and 1 to the mooring, so size and stability is a consideration, but what is the best way to keep it on board...it weights 36kg without outboard.

From reading other threads, I see some possible solutions are :
1. Tow it without outboard - it might flip
2. Stow it on coach roof deflated - weight issues for us to manhandle re inflate
3. Install davits - expensive and will it look silly on the transom of a 28footer?
4. Lash it to the transom ladder - not sure how to do this exactly?

All opinions sought! I could exchange it for a smaller inflatable, such as the 240 with airdeck, but will still have the same issues apart from a lesser weight of 28kg.

Thanks in advance.
 
Towing the 2.7 dinghy it is not a problem. Storing the dinghy on the coachroof its not a problem either; you need to take the airfloor off and carry them separately; the airfloor is at least 15kg; store the dinghy semi inflated, it is easier to handle.

I think davits is the best solution, easy to lift a dinghy and other things if need; also, like the looks of them
 
I have to say, each to their own, but I am rather against towing a dinghy anywhere except very short in-harbour hops.

When the thing turns over in any significant wind & waves, one will lose any items like oars left in it, and the drag is remarkable; even with the tender in upright boat mode, try feeling the resistance on the painter; that is all negative energy hindering the motherships' progess !

If one really has to tow the thing on odd occasions, pulling the bow of the inflatable up to the upper pushpit rail helps reduce drag.

An LVM 'high speed inflator' pump is rather useful, worth the dosh which might otherwise be spent on a Chiropractor, but do ensure to clip it directly to the battery not the switch panel, I know a 'pro electrician' who very nearly flambeyed his boat and ourselves by clipping his LVM onto the panel !
 
Interesting points so far...what do people think of Davits? Would it look crazy with the ends of the tender oversailing the width of the transom? Are davits easy and fast to use on a regular basis? Are they difficult to install (this would be a diy job)?
Thanks!
 
My first boat was 27 ft, for which we had a 3.10 tender. We were advised by an experienced friend that in our mooring location, quite exposed in Menai Strait with around half a mile to motor to get to it, we could hardly go too big. With two teenage children and stores for the weekend we were very glad of his advice when meeting fresh winds against the strong tide. We towed it everywhere and never regretted it.

We now have a 270 Quicksilver and have towed it most of the way from Holland to Greece. I have yet to complain that we have a large tender. In all the years we have owned it, it has blown over once, in wildly gusting conditions rounding Cape Malea, the 'Greek Cape Horn'. It took me less than a minute to right it.

We never leave the outboard on it. Even after a heavy night ashore we always take time to get the outboard off and stow it aboard. We use a genoa sheet as a safety line, lift the outboard with that, which saves lots of precarious effort.
 
Hi Vyv_cox...that is a very reassuring post...as we are on the Firth of Clyde the weather can be very unpredictable, hence the need for stability if we return from a weekend away to the mooring in inclement conditions.
Panic is beginning to subside!
 
Seajet said:
An LVM 'high speed inflator' pump is rather useful, worth the dosh which might otherwise be spent on a Chiropractor, but do ensure to clip it directly to the battery not the switch panel, I know a 'pro electrician' who very nearly flambeyed his boat and ourselves by clipping his LVM onto the panel !
Click to expand...

I have an LVM as well as a £10 pump.
The LVM is a bit faster and attains slightly higher pressure, but you still need half a dozen strokes of the foot pump to finish.
The £10 pump needs about 30s longer and a few extra strokes on the pump.

The downside of the £10 pump is that the lead has been a bit more fragile and needed some quick DIY repairs a couple of times.
The downside of the LVM is that it has blown so many fuses, and makes such a horrendous screeching noise, that I have consigned it to the bottom of a locker. I inherited it with the boat and I'm very glad I didn't spend £70 on it!


To the OP, we cruised with a Seago 240 airdeck all last year, on a 27ft Vega. Used the pole uphaul to get it on and off deck, always deflated it for passages. I think a bigger dinghy would have taken up the whole foredeck- can you measure to see if your 270 will actually fit forward of the bow and leave enough space for someone to walk round it?
 
CAPTAIN FANTASTIC said:
Towing the 2.7 dinghy it is not a problem. Storing the dinghy on the coachroof its not a problem either; you need to take the airfloor off and carry them separately; the airfloor is at least 15kg; store the dinghy semi inflated, it is easier to handle.

I think davits is the best solution, easy to lift a dinghy and other things if need; also, like the looks of them
Click to expand...

Towing any inflatable dinghy is almost always eventually a big problem...

Davits would work but would look silly. I'd stow it on deck rolled up. It's still a big package but at least you can lsh it down safely.
 
I got tired of the whole business...drag it to the car, where it takes up half the boot, get there, inflate it, get out to the boat, drag it on deck, trip over it afew times, then do the whole thing in reverse at the end of the weekend.

In the end I got an old rigid dinghy which I left at the yard and then left it on the mooring when I went sailing. For the odd trip ashore I had a £40 thing, plenty of the like on ebay. PAcked up pretty small and very light.
Didn't take an outboard of course but I never needed one, despite having one.

Eventually I moved to a club with a launch service which was far more civilised again.
 
There really is not an ideal solution. You need the size for your payload - in fact you could probably do with a 3.1m to get to the mooring. It is then really too big to tow or to deflate and stow on board. If you are only going short hops towing is OK but does slow you down and the possibility of flipping.

Another compromise is to use a larger rigid dinghy for the run out to the boat, leave it on the mooring and use a smaller lighter inflatable for runs ashore when cruising. Unlikely to be able to take whole family in one go, but that is just the constraint of having a "small" boat.
 
ridgy said:
I got tired of the whole business...drag it to the car, where it takes up half the boot, get there, inflate it, get out to the boat, drag it on deck, trip over it afew times, then do the whole thing in reverse at the end of the weekend.

In the end I got an old rigid dinghy which I left at the yard and then left it on the mooring when I went sailing. For the odd trip ashore I had a £40 thing, plenty of the like on ebay. PAcked up pretty small and very light.
Didn't take an outboard of course but I never needed one, despite having one.

Eventually I moved to a club with a launch service which was far more civilised again.
Click to expand...

+1

Has always been my preferred option. Get the biggest dinghy that you can keep cheaply near the boat. Scruffy, cheap and secondhand is good. Even marinas in expensive places will have "reasonable" rates for dinghies up to about 4 metres. Add buoyancy bags if it hasn't got them, an all round fender. Use it to carry the full crew and bags etc out to the boat. If weekending, leave it on your mooring. If away, take it back to the shore before you leave.

Then get a second "on board" dinghy. The smallest that will carry the full crew and maybe a rucksack or two- basically the stuff you need for a run ashore etc.

That way you can have a dinghy that you know will be up to the job of getting you all ashore at the end of a cruise when perhaps the weather is less than ideal
 
28ft Yacht and 2.7 inflatable

I have exactly the same set up of 27ft yacht and 2.7 inflatable Seago. With a 10hp engine towing is really not an option as the Seago doe not tow easily. Towing inflatables is generally not a good idea unless on short hops in the conditions often experienced on West of Scotland. The dinghy when rolled up tight as possible sits between the coachroof and guardrail on the foredeck. I use the spinnaker halyard to lift onboard if single handed.There is no problem with this set up, no need for any extra stowage arrangement. The yacht actually sails better with the dinghy stowed forward in this fashion. I would agree about the electric air pump if you to make life easier.
 
+1 for two tenders.

I have a Redcrest with bottom boards which I use for the trip from the club to the mooring...no way would I deflate that bugger every time! I have a small XM 230 which stows onboard and I just resign myslef to shuttle trips if there's a few of us aboard...but in Yarmouth/Lymington etc this is fine.

And for some reason just found out that the dinghy sits perfectly across the back of the cockpit on my Sabre right out of the way...always used to stow it below in an unused bunk...not ideal.

I've got some davits which I am going to try...I think at 27' with a small dinghy I can just about get away with it looks wise (a few Sabres have them) but agreed it might look a bit odd on something racier like a Cobra.
 
Well, tried the 270 out today and it was great....looked half the size once it was in the water and too much space is definitely NOT an issue, by the time we had 2 adults a five year old and a baby on board we were pretty full.

I think we will just see how we go with towing the dinghy to begin with as it will only be short hops and thereafter try to semi deflate it on the coach roof.

It is great to hear all the different solutions people have used to combat what seems to be a universal problem!
 
Just don't be tempted (ever) to tow with an outboard on the dinghy, or leave it on the dinghy overnight tied off astern. Leave nothing movable on the dinghy - seats / oars etc etc. been there once.. :rolleyes:
Towing ? - pull close in to your stern, add an extra line...
Otherwise it's not a huge deal.

graeme
 
Thanks Graeme, definitely sound advice, I've already been given the tip this week about when towing to pull dinghy up as tight as possible to the stern when towing. After paying handsomely for the outboard its going to be treated with kid gloves!
 
I have a 28ft yacht on a swinging mooring and a Seago 290 tender so I appreciate your dilemma. Stowing the dinghy on the coachroof is a real pain so I usually tow it in most conditions. The towing D rings on the Seago are next to useless and they will part company very quickly if the tender starts to snatch at the lines. I've put some towing 'eyes' on the transom and lead the towing lines through 2 D rings bonded to the bow. I leave the engine on in benign conditions and bring it and the oars aboard it the conditions are a bit livelier. I accept that there will be drag from the tender but it is better than manhandling a tender and engine onto the boat especially when i'm singlehanded !! View attachment 18491
 
Thanks john for the photo, its great, we will definitely add a few rings to increase the strength of the lines.
Today was day two on the dinghy...managed with 2 adults, a 11yr old, an 8 yr old, a 5yr old (very grumpy!) and a baby with no major issues. All deflated and back in the car in under 30 mins.. not bad considering the amount of kit we need to make sure not to leave behind!
 
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