Dinghy towing

[Baggywrinkle]

Can only re-iterate about the boat being accepted as a tender.

My brother borrowed my last boat which had a 2,7m rib with a 6hp outboard as the tender .. it also says t.t. with the mothership name on the transom. He got stopped by a police launch on his way back to the mothership with the family on board and was asked for the papers for the rib ... took a while and some unpleasant interaction with the police before they believed him and let him go. This was in Croatia. Many people bring ribs with their camper vans to explore the islands but don't pay the dues for the boats so the police can be quite agressive in seeking them out.

Your boat is big enough for a decent sized rib which will fit on davits or deck so I'd go with that. Towing generally is a pita ... and with a rib that size there's no guarantee that if you anchor out that there will be space for it in the port - it sounds like more of a chase boat than a tender.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

The correct answer is to buy yourself a Dragonfly. We never, ever, tow our dinghy. It’s wasteful on fuel, it restricts your manoeuvrability, it risks losing it, it looks slovenly, it’s slow under sail, what’s not to hate about it. We put ours on deck even if it’s 100m. In fact it goes on deck overnight regardless of if we are going to move. You just need the deck space. I did smile at a cruiser towing a giant inflatable flamingo, but dinghies are not for towing.

 

[Refueler]

Sorry photo is not taken a bit lower ... but you can just make out the tow line made to the bridle line at bottom of photo ...

I know its not towing a tender ... but shows the bridle idea ...

Here's the usual tow many do ... note painter to the cleat directly below the Lifebuoy.

That's my oldest son many years ago !!

Its funny actually because the boat being towed in Sweden is a friends Alacrity 19 ..... the boat my son is helm and towing dinghy is my Alacrity 19 of many years ago.

OK .. towing where painter is to one side .. as long as boats are proceeding at reasonable pace and no serious manoeuvres etc .. all should be good ... with hard dinghys - make sure enough painter length to allow towing boat to act before dinghy affects it. With an inflatable - that bow should be lifted and hard on the cleat so it does not skid about or flip.
Of course making painter to one side will load that side and cause a turning moment ... but if painter is long enough - the dinghy tends to ease off with the waves etc.

But at end of day - the bridle is best ... but IMHO unnecessary if you tow an inflatable with its bow raised up hard on transom.

Of course - each to their own ...

 

[Mudisox]

No real answer to this question as it depends upon the characteristics of both the towing vessel and the towed dinghy.
You don't need a trimaran, just a multihull to pick it up and carry it.
I started in the 50s with my mentor who had a 26' clinker wooden boat with no engine and we towed a 14' clinker dinghy to enable the old man to row us into the harbour with me standing on a box steering. Took a long time to get anywhere but that was not the point of the exercise, - sailing on the sea was.

 

[Rhylsailer99]

I have learnt my lesson towing a dinghy.
once caught on a mooring buoy at 1am in the Menai straits.
Towing rope wrapped around the prop almost lost control near a bridge.
Have seen it take off and flip upside down in a big sea that was not expected.
Now I only tow If going a very small distance, and always remember to use a floating rope, put the wheels up and not to trust BBC weather. Now use predictwind with gust forecast.

 

[B27]

No real answer to this question as it depends upon the characteristics of both the towing vessel and the towed dinghy.
You don't need a trimaran, just a multihull to pick it up and carry it.
...

Or a bigger yacht or a smaller dinghy.

If I had a much bigger boat, I'd like a small RIB on davits.
As it is, a slightly smaller dinghy would be better, but we cope.

 

[The Q]

We had a motorboat go through our regatta towing a dinghy on a long rope..
The dinghy swung out from behind and captured a 20 ft sailing boat going the other way...

 

[Chiara’s slave]

We had a motorboat go through our regatta towing a dinghy on a long rope..
The dinghy swung out from behind and captured a 20 ft sailing boat going the other way...

We’ve been hooked by a few fishermen in our time, but that takes the biscuit.

 

[Refueler]

We had a motorboat go through our regatta towing a dinghy on a long rope..
The dinghy swung out from behind and captured a 20 ft sailing boat going the other way...

There's sensibly long .. and ridiculously long ... and anyway - anyone with a brain cell would shorten tow when getting into 'crowded' waters ...

 

[William_H]

There's sensibly long .. and ridiculously long ... and anyway - anyone with a brain cell would shorten tow when getting into 'crowded' waters ...

Seems there are some vacancies for the odd brain cells here on Swan River. Often see a 40ft MOBO towing a 14ft mobo tender on very long 20m tow line. We have to keep eyes peeled for MOBO and tender when tacking across the narrow water way. ol'will

 

[Refueler]

Seems there are some vacancies for the odd brain cells here on Swan River. Often see a 40ft MOBO towing a 14ft mobo tender on very long 20m tow line. We have to keep eyes peeled for MOBO and tender when tacking across the narrow water way. ol'will

At least you are aware of such an idiot !!