Dinghy, stowing, or towing?

[Nessy]

Good Evening!

Due to the design and size of our seahorse, Benetau Antares 9.80, we (69+68) have no davits and stow our dinghy and the outbord engine in the lazarette under the aft deck.

It‘s always a struggle to take the dinhgy out of the lazarette, to inflate it, to fix the 2,5 HP Suzuki.

My thoughts are about towing or stowing on the foredeck.

The former owner fixed the dinghy with special hooks after the rear panel, but removed this, as he could not use after door to walk on the pontoon.

What’s more, the bonnet wouldn’t close anymore.

Due to I have no experience with this items, I hope to get some advice from the forum members how to manage this.

In advance many thanks for your input!

Cordially!

Stefan

MY Nautic, WYC Wiesbaden Yacht Club, currently Barneville-Careret/Normandy

 

[Nessy]

I want to add, the dinghy is a no name chinese type, 2,5 m long with an air bottom.

 

[Arcady]

If you can live without the transom door access, then the Weaver snap davits or similar would seem to be the best solution.

 

[Phil_boat]

I’d go for snap davits too but I’m not in Normandy and don’t moor stern to…

We have to store ours under the cockpit and it is a bit of a faff but having an outboard makes any kind of davits a pain.

 

[Boathook]

Store the dinghy on the platform lifted up and invest in a foldable step for on the pontoon (tie to the boat) and enter boat through the side.

Foldable step https://www.screwfix.com/p/essentials-plastic-1-step-220mm-folding-step-stool-with-platform/5076p I've seen them in different heights elsewhere or even a fender step.

 

[14K478]

Stow, don’t tow. Deflate if you must.

 

[greeny]

What is the stern of the dinghy tubes shaped like. Could you fix the snap davits on the rear of the tubes and store the dinghy stood up rather than on the side? Then it's not as wide when stowed and the rear access could be left clear maybe.

 

[john_morris_uk]

Why are davits a pain? Get some robust enough to lift dinghy with outboard attached. We have this arrangement on our (sailing) yacht and it’s transformed our dinghy use.

 

[Iliade]

How about a single small davit on the coachroof to help getting the dinghy out of the lazarette and the motor onto it?

 

[Stemar]

Why are davits a pain? Get some robust enough to lift dinghy with outboard attached. We have this arrangement on our (sailing) yacht and it’s transformed our dinghy use.

Yep, same

 

[ylop]

You still need to do something with the OB - if you need to fit / remove for each use and only travel moderate distances the latest wave of really small lightweight electric outboards are a game changer - they’ve been designed with ergonomics in mind rather than having to work around the engine - so not only are the lighted but they are less awkward.

 

[Nessy]

Good Evening!

Since Wed we‘re back aboard in Carteret and step by step we fix the to dos for the next season.

Due to the design of our Beneteau Seahorse, Antares 9,80, with the rail-mounted sliding rear bulkhead

there is no stable point to fix the davits.

Therefore we need to inflate/deflate the dinghy always, a very hard task if often done, to remount the 2,5 HP Suziki

and try to fix the dinghy on the fordeck.

Or to refrain from anchoring and go to a marina with pontoons as in the last years.

As I’m not as agile as a young deer anymore, I’d like to leave the back door open so I can get out onto the pontoon.

In any case many thanks for your very interesting thougts and inputs to this item!

Best Regards!

Stefan

MY Nautic, Wiesbaden Yacht Club, current Barneville-Carteret

 

[ylop]

I don’t know the details of your boat - but have you ruled out:

Google Image Result for https://ringed-davits.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/slim.png

Or

Google Image Result for https://c320.org/images/staticpages/C320-Snap-Davit-Installation_BCD0/clip_image001_thumb.png

 

[Nessy]

Many thanks!

The preowner of our boat had remounted the snap-davits as the 2,5m dinghy blocked the aft door.

As I have the same problem with my mobility I prefer to use the aft door so often as possible.

A 32 ft. boat is really to small…..

Sleep well!

Stefan

 

[ashtead]

Can you mount telescopic davits by any chance give absence of what you describe as a stable point?

 

[ylop]

Many thanks!

The preowner of our boat had remounted the snap-davits as the 2,5m dinghy blocked the aft door.

As I have the same problem with my mobility I prefer to use the aft door so often as possible.

A 32 ft. boat is really to small…..

Sleep well!

Stefan

Ok I’m not sure what you are hoping for input on.

- you can tow it, but you’ll still want to remove the o/b in most conditions. It will be in the way for berthing stern to, and there are risks/complications of towing. It might work for you hopping between a couple of friendly anchorages though.
- you might be able to put it on the foredeck, but it obstructs access to the anchor, will likely obstruct the view and will be quite awkward to lift into position.
- storing on the transom makes stern-to marinas difficult (imposssible? - if I understand your boat it has a small “door” at the port side if you used the rings and mounted a right to starboard could you find a dinghy narrow enough to leave the door usable?) - but you could move to the foredeck or deflate for that? - it doesn’t need to be one or the other, perhaps it would even fit vertically on the side deck when you are in a marina which might give the option for a pulley to hoist it?
- otherwise I think you are looking for the easiest approach to inflation and storage of if deflated. I wonder if the transom again offers some option there to store it deflated, a bit like a liferaft: Google Image Result for https://www.proboat.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/060619_0236.jpg so you have less lifting?

 

[Nessy]

Good Morning Ylop!

Many thanks for your detailed thoughts to our „problem“!

Just discussed the points with my first mate.

Due to the many expieriences the forum members shared with us,

we think we must keep the old routine inflate/deflate and mounting/remounting the outborder.

Santa Claus let a small 12 V air pump under the chrismas tree, perhaps this will improve the set up a little.

Wish you a nice day and say many thanks again!

Cordially!

Stefan

 

[ashtead]

We deflate our tenders but haul out from locker using a halyard but you need a mast to do that but with an electric winch it takes a lot of effort away. You could use an outboard crane to same effect maybe . Stand alone outboard electric pumps like used for car tyres with rechargeable batteries eg ryobi are a help in pumping .

 

[vyv_cox]

We towed our inflatable tender, Quicksilver 2.8 air deck, most of the way from the Netherlands to Greece. Never with the outboard attached, or even overnight in anchorages. We were unable to fly the spinnaker with the dinghy on the foredeck, so this location was largely ruled out. If we expected lumpy open sea passages we would deflate it but otherwise towed. In all the years we owned it, 12 or 13, it only flipped twice, in unexpected big gusts.

 

[14K478]

We towed our inflatable tender, Quicksilver 2.8 air deck, most of the way from the Netherlands to Greece. Never with the outboard attached, or even overnight in anchorages. We were unable to fly the spinnaker with the dinghy on the foredeck, so this location was largely ruled out. If we expected lumpy open sea passages we would deflate it but otherwise towed. In all the years we owned it, 12 or 13, it only flipped twice, in unexpected big gusts.

Very interesting and quite surprising.

How did you arrange the painter(s)?

Did you use a drag rope?

Did you put any ballast in the dinghy?