Basic Ropework for my tender painter

[tanimola]

Have just inherited a 'new' inflatable tender.

There are 3 towing eyes at the front - one on the bow and two offset just down the tubes on either side.

Have had to repair the front as it has seen a bit of abuse over the years!!!

Looking for the best way to rig a 3 way bridle so that the pull on the painter is equal on all 3 rings - diagrams would be much appreciated.

Thanks

 

[William_H]

Painter/Bridle

Certainly 3 attachments will be much safer than one.
Make a single painter with spliced or knotted attachment to the centre long enough to go to the boat.
Make up another painter about 1.8 metres long with splices each end onto the side attachements.
Tie a bowline in the middle before you make the last splice. You can adjust this last bowline to get
the small loop so made exactly in the middle of the rope.
Put a bowline knot in the main painter at a suitable distance from the bow whose loop goes through the loop of the painter to the sides. This last bowline is adjusted in position to give the correct pull on side attachments equal to that of the middle attachment pull.
I reckon this should serve you well and will continue to provide redundancy even if one attachment fails.
good luck olewill

 

[Salty John]

I'd use a conventional bridle from the two outside rings and then use a painter from the centre ring as a back-up, tied off separately. That way you have two lines attaching the dinghy to the boat - belt and braces.

You should use floating polypropelene line - a bit of a pain to work with because of its slippy surface, and it's very vulnerable to UV degradation - or add a float to the bridle.

If you run aground whilst towing your dinghy on a sinking line there's a danger of getting the line in the prop as you try to back off with the dinghy hard up against your transom. Ask me how I know!

 

[philip_stevens]

Like SJ, I also use two separate lines. The outer two eyes are used for towing, with a loop at the end to either go over a cleat or have a longer towing line attached.

The middle eye has a single line with a combination "tie-off" at the end. This has an eye at the end with a spring clip spliced into it, and another loop a foot down the line spliced in with a crow's foot splice. Therefore I have the option of putting the end loop over a pontoon cleat, or running the loop with the clip through a cleat and clipping it back on to the lower loop.

Next time on the boat (maybe tomorrow) I will try to take a photo of my splicing arrangement.

When towing, the towing loop and mooring loop are both onto a cleat, with the towing loop taking the strain.

 

[ctva]

I use a bridle between the two outer eyes with a line on a plastic eye permenantly tied and whipped in place. The central eye only has a short rope loop to which I attach a crab from a longer line if needed.

One important point to note is that the central line on the bridle is short. This is measured so that if it goes under the boat it will miss the prop by a couple of inches!

When towing, I actually have a crab on the pushpit of our SO and we pull the tender up so that the bridle just clips into the crab.

 

[tanimola]

I use a bridle between the two outer eyes with a line on a plastic eye permenantly tied and whipped in place. The central eye only has a short rope loop to which I attach a crab from a longer line if needed.

One important point to note is that the central line on the bridle is short. This is measured so that if it goes under the boat it will miss the prop by a couple of inches!

When towing, I actually have a crab on the pushpit of our SO and we pull the tender up so that the bridle just clips into the crab.

Brilliant - thanks.

Would this be the best solution to attach an anchor to as well?

 

[ctva]

Yup, I carry a small grapnel with a couple of metres of chain and a warp which is just cliped to the middle eye with a screwgate crab.

 

[Ross D]

If you want a really safe tow fit a couple of U bolts to the transom then rig a bridle from there, using the rings on the bow to hold it at the front and in position. The transom is designed to take the force and push the dingy through the water the rings are just glued to the tubes.

 

[mikemonty]

Have just inherited a 'new' inflatable tender.

There are 3 towing eyes at the front - one on the bow and two offset just down the tubes on either side.

Have had to repair the front as it has seen a bit of abuse over the years!!!

Looking for the best way to rig a 3 way bridle so that the pull on the painter is equal on all 3 rings - diagrams would be much appreciated.

Thanks

The basic principle of the three eyes - and the way it showed me in my oringal "manual" was that one single line was attached at each end (bowline, splice - whatever) to each of the side 'D's. so that you have a bridle. THEN the bight is led through the front, centre ring with no knots, it just runs freely.
You can either use a long bight and no connecting single painter, or tie a longer painter to the midpoint of the bight.
The reason is that the adhesive that the patches the 'D's are attached with is not strong in a perpendicular pull but are very strong in shear so the two side 'D's take their load completely as shear because the front 'D' lnsures it by leading the load forward along the sides of the boat.
The front 'D' takes some perpendicular load - but not much - and if you use it directly to tow it will likely peel off at some inopportune moment.