Line for towing an inflatable

[Stemar]

Even a lightweight 2.3m inflatable is too big to stow on board comfortably in my little Snapdragon 24, so it's towed everywhere. It tows fine on a 3m bridle, but having to leave a pontoon astern recently, I watched the current sinking line drop down and head off in the general direction of the prop. No issues that time because I saw it happening and was able to slip the boat out of gear, but it set me thinking, Should I change the non-buoyant polyester for a floating line?

Polyprop floats, but it's usually pretty nasty stuff and degrades in UV. Are there any other suitable floating lines about?

OTOH, it's not unknown , especially in a bit of a breeze, for the bridle to escape when we're in the dinghy. Since we don't go very fast, it doesn't matter with a non-buoyant line, but it seems to me that a floating line would be drawn magically to the OB prop and the flubber's oars are so badly designed it's almost impossible to row, so we'd be in immediate bother.

Any thoughts? Were I perfect, I'd always remember to pull the dinghy in tight before going astern, but ...

 

[Ardenfour]

The line on mine floats. I don't know what material, but it looks like polyester braid. If polyprop, it's been in use for 5yrs without turning nasty...

 

[sarabande]

Polysteel floats and is available in a bright blue

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_...A0.H0.Xpolysteel.TRS0&_nkw=polysteel&_sacat=0

Not as easy to splice as nylon.

 

[alahol2]

We've got something like this on our towed dinghy... https://www.dinghy-rope.co.uk/10mm-floatline-safety-rescue-boat-rope.html?gclid=Cj0KEQjwmv7JBRDXkMWW4_Tf8ZoBEiQA11B2fi6y98iM7MBUImZKiLD5LhyLUZOBn1oTA2YsSx-ZXvAaArTO8P8HAQ
It could reach the prop on the outboard but we have a large snaphook on the end which sinks if dropped in the water and takes the painter with it. The snaphook is ideal for a quick hook-on when coming alongside.

 

[Kukri]

I've never had much luck towing inflatables - they are very inclined to flip over.

 

[PuffTheMagicDragon]

You could consider threading the line through some egg-shaped floats like those used on fishing nets, fixing a float every metre or so. This would prevent the sinking line from ever reaching a submerged prop. These floats are produced in such ginormous quantities that they are cheap as chips. A friendly chat with a commercial fisherman would probably provide you with the four or five that you would need, quite often for free.

 

[dunedin]

Longer ropes are best for rigid dinghies (as they do a lot of damage if overrun and bump into stern) - but IMHO towing inflatable dinghies is best done on a very short rope - a metre or less. Seems to tow better, and no risk of getting in most props. (Having towed the dink quite a lot round bumpy west Scotland - extremely rare to flip, but outboard always off)

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

Even a lightweight 2.3m inflatable is too big to stow on board comfortably in my little Snapdragon 24, so it's towed everywhere. It tows fine on a 3m bridle, but having to leave a pontoon astern recently, I watched the current sinking line drop down and head off in the general direction of the prop. No issues that time because I saw it happening and was able to slip the boat out of gear, but it set me thinking, Should I change the non-buoyant polyester for a floating line?

Polyprop floats, but it's usually pretty nasty stuff and degrades in UV. Are there any other suitable floating lines about?

OTOH, it's not unknown , especially in a bit of a breeze, for the bridle to escape when we're in the dinghy. Since we don't go very fast, it doesn't matter with a non-buoyant line, but it seems to me that a floating line would be drawn magically to the OB prop and the flubber's oars are so badly designed it's almost impossible to row, so we'd be in immediate bother.

Any thoughts? Were I perfect, I'd always remember to pull the dinghy in tight before going astern, but ...

One of the basic things you learn on a Powerboat Course is that the painter should not be long enough to reach the prop (of the powerboat, or tender, in this case). I agree with Dunedin regarding towing an inflatable very close to the stern, so the painter shouldn't need to be very long anyway.

 

[jac]

One of the basic things you learn on a Powerboat Course is that the painter should not be long enough to reach the prop (of the powerboat, or tender, in this case). I agree with Dunedin regarding towing an inflatable very close to the stern, so the painter shouldn't need to be very long anyway.

Although that leaves a ridiculously short painter for use when coming alongside or when securing to a pontoon

 

[theoldsalt]

I tow my Avon R280 everywhere and never had it flip. I tow on a very short single painter so the dinghy rides comfortable on the first stern wave of the yacht and when a motor astern the line is not long enough to get anywhere near the prop. I see many yachts towing the dinghy on a very long painter and I just don't see the point/advantage but I can think of several disadvantages..

 

[billcole]

The bow painter on my inflatable is kept tied in a very large bowline loop, so that it just can't reach the inflatable's outboard propeller, but if I unexpectedly need a longer painter for some reason I can just untie the bowline and immediatly I have a painter about twice as long as usual

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

Although that leaves a ridiculously short painter for use when coming alongside or when securing to a pontoon

Better to have the permanently attached painter of a non-prop-tangling length, for general purposes, and attach a longer line when necessary, to suit different situations

 

[gordmac]

Why not pull it right in to the stern when reversing?