hanging the dinghy off the stern

[wotayottie]

My rubber dinghy is heavy, too big to go in a cockpit locker and takes up too much foredeck space blown up. So I would like to find a way of acrrying it strapped across the stern. But I have an aversion to bolting any permanent fittings to the mother ship so the question is how have others held a dinghy across the stern with ropes or straps and without permanent fittings. By the way, the dinghy has a chined floor so two ropes will need some sort of central connection to avoid slipping sideways hwne hoisting.

Ideas? Net? Car safety belt strapping?

Mother ship is a 35 footer monohull with a sugar scoop stern

 

[RichardS]

I suspect that the only way other than towing is with something like a topping lift which holds the bow of the dinghy up in the air whilst the two stern tubes rest on the scoop.

Not so easy to see how this would work when the mainsail is up unless the topping lift clears the sail and boom which would be difficult if the sail was roached.

Richard

 

[wotayottie]

I was thinking more in terms of sideways across the stern.

 

[RichardS]

I was thinking more in terms of sideways across the stern.

I understand that but was just explaining how I've seen other monohull sailors do it.

Richard

 

[Wansworth]

Do you need such a cumbersome inflatable,we manage on a 27 footer with a2.5 meter lashed on the foredeck inflated....there will be terrible windage with one strapped athwart ships.

 

[RupertW]

I've tried strapping a small rib across the stern of a 32 footer and the chafe and bumping was incredible- the foredeck just solved the problem. There's a good reason it's the most popular place after a locker.

 

[Zing]

Would this work for you?
http://www.snapdavit.co.uk
It worked ok on our former motor boat. On a sailing boat the dinghy really needs to be somewhere safer except in flattish water..

 

[TSB240]

We have an oversized dinghy so that I can more easily get an arthritic partner on board over our sugar scoop. For the last two seasons I have towed this backwards with the stern tubes pulled up under the bottom bar of the pushpit and resting on the stern. I have two ropes lifting and pulling from the dinghy transom that are simply attached to the pushpit uprights. I use the painter as a third method of retaining the dinghy bringing it back over the top and fastening it to the bottom backstay U bolt. I have been out in some very rough water and winds and have never had any concerns that the dinghy would flip or flood. The dinghy rides really well on the vee shaped inflatable floor. Most of its weight is taken on the stern and there is minimal drag usually associated with towing a dinghy. We can store this on the foredeck but this then makes going forward to anchor difficult and excludes us from using our self tacking jib.

 

[ashtead]

A few years ago I saw an article about a Bav 34 owner who had created a canvas sling to hold the dinghy on the stern and it was lifted by a pulley block system off the backstay. Might be worth consideration as you can float the dingy into the sling and then just pull up on the tackle by a winch or raw strength.

 

[dunedin]

Key thing with a saily boat is the length of the dinghy, and width of the stern at the lowest level the dinghy will be stored.
Unless the entire dinghy is well inside the stern width (with a margin of 2-3inches) the drag when heeled will cause damage.
We used to harbour stow a 2.6m dinghy across the stern of a 36 footer with widish stern. Weight taken on rope to pulley fixed to backstay split, and other ropes holding to stern.
OK for a short motor but attempting to sail the force of just the stern cone sticking out a couple of inches was amazing. Forced to stop and launch and tow dinghy before proceeding.
Lengthways upwards occasionally seen as harbour stow, but risky left up in gale, and I wouldn’t want to sail with that either.

Davits are the answer if can fit them

 

[Bobc]

Just get some davits. It's what you'll end up doing after spending ages mucking about with other things.

 

[SimonFa]

I've thought about it a lot and in the end settled for one of these: https://www.force4.co.uk/rule-12v-high-speed-dinghy-inflator.html and a pair of ear defenders. It takes about 2 minutes to inflate and deflate and I have a midships gate to make launch and recovery easier.

I also have a very long painter and some blocks with straps for easy fitting to the boom and a cleats which I use a winch it aboard. I then keep it strapped to the coach roof.

 

[Giblets]

No-one seems to have mentioned obscuring the stern light which is often fitted on the pushpit, sometimes quite low down.

 

[UK-WOOZY]

Would this work for you?
http://www.snapdavit.co.uk
It worked ok on our former motor boat. On a sailing boat the dinghy really needs to be somewhere safer except in flattish water..

thats a great idea, how would it cope with heeling and an outboard on the dinghy too

edit, those are a ridiculous price. could get some carabiners on some rope fixed to the sugar scoop to do the same thing?

 

[clyst]

Just get some davits. It's what you'll end up doing after spending ages mucking about with other things.

Second one for davits . Up and down in seconds and ready to go . ....... Good as an inshore life raft too if OB is ready mounted ...not to mention a stowage for fenders !! ��

 

[Quandary]

Our Redcrest is now 45 years old, it was last deflated in 2016 when we went racing, before that 2010 for the same reason. For the last four boats (since 1996) it has lived across the transom. I have no special attachments, just a rope through the stern handholds and one through the rubber eye inside at the bow. The lines are brought up to the pushpit and tied off there, the elevation is increased in strong weather or when expecting to heel going to windward. The attachment points continue to survive. When we drop anchor the two suspension lines are eased off and the dinghy floats across the stern so easy for man and dog to board it. The new 4 stroke outboard we bought a few years back has only been used about 4 times as the Redcrest came with proper oars and rowlocks, outbboard is now permanently resident in the garage. We have an anchor light which can be plugged in and hung under the boom which we prefer to the one at the masthead, underway in the dark (not often in a Scottish summer) it can be hung over the dinghy as a substitute stern light.
Has anything matching Avon's quality of manufacture been made in Britain since?

 

[burgundyben]

Why not switch to a solid dinghy and tow it?

 

[RichardS]

Why not switch to a solid dinghy and tow it?

Isn't a solid dinghy more hazardous/problematic to tow than an inflatable?

Richard

 

[duncan99210]

When making long trips, I carry the dinghy across the stern. I made a bridle out of jackstay tape: two long legs with a central lifting eye and a clip on the end of each leg. The central eye goes to a handy billy attached to the backstay; the legs go round the dinghy and clip to the boarding handles on the sugar scoop. Push dinghy into the bridle and haul it up. The bridle lifts the dinghy well clear of the water, the bridle keeps it snuggle in place.
Never had any problems with catching a wave, even when well heeled. Simple to rig and use, cheap as chips to make. That's with a 2.8m dinghy, so it is about the same width as the transom.
The outboard always lives on its bracket, even when towing the dinghy. I've got a hoist for bringing it up into the boat, made from stainless tube: the upright also serves as a mount for the stern light so It is higher than the stowed dinghy.

 

[Mistroma]

thats a great idea, how would it cope with heeling and an outboard on the dinghy too

edit, those are a ridiculous price. could get some carabiners on some rope fixed to the sugar scoop to do the same thing?

I also thought they were expensive and that close coupling dingy and stern wouldn't always be a good idea if there's any swell. It also requires fittings to be at just the right height above water.

I bought a cheap Rutgerson folding padeye on eBay and fitted it inside the sugar scoop on port side. When it is calm we tie up the dinghy using stern line through the pad eye and bow one under boarding ladder grab handle. This is a really stable configuration for loading/unloading. Stern line is attached to outboard tie down point in transom and other is just the normal painter. Both lines are led though existing fittings on the dinghy tubes and tied off on the pushpit. Very quick any easy to release or adjust.

Lifting and lowering is a very simple, quick operation. The stern line is pulled out of the fitting on the tube, flicked underneath the overhanging tube section on the dinghy's stern, pulled through the padeye to raise the dinghy slightly and tied off. The bow line is pulled tight to lift the bow slightly and also tied off on the pushpit. I then pull the dinghy up using some light webbing that's always tied to a loop on the dinghies thwart. Once the dinghy is up a loop of the webbing goes through the pushpit and round the end of the upper sponson. Finally, pass the loose end through a front fitting and tie off on other side of the pushpit.

It's not easy to describe and sounds messy. However, it is really easy to do and dinghy can be lifted or lowered in about 1 minute.

Downside:
Need to remove outboard (unlike davits)
Obscures stern light (we do little night sailing but store dinghy on foredeck 1-2 times each year)
Only works well if dinghy is small (or your yacht is huge)

Upside:
Cheap
Stable platform when loading dinghy
Much less stress on boat in bad weather vs. davits