Optimum length

[Rum_Pirate]

What is the optimum length for the towrope/painter when towing a dinghy?

Should it be really short, long enough fo the dinghy to be just in front of the crest of the second or third wave in the wake or longer?

Does the length affect the speed?

 

[pendlecats]

I'm not 100% on this but I think the tender should always be on the same wave as you, if too far behind you could end up with it becoming a sea anchor in a swell.

Standing by to be corrected though.

Just to add, I have never towed away from the coast or lake, there our rule was close in when maneuvering, out as far as poss during sailing (12mtr'ish)

 

[laurance]

The general rule for a tugs and tow is for a sufficiently long towline that the middle remains immersed most of the time providing good shock absorbing and reducing the loading on the towing points. If there is a problem with wave period or the towing vessel yawing too much and threatening to broach, it should can be adjusted accordingly with a view to the best compromise. This can result in a rather a long towline for a tender, so in congested waters it must be hauled shorter than the ideal for the sake of it still being there when needed rather than being adrift after being cut by a the prop a vessel passing astern or, my favorite, having taken a tide assisted turn around a buoy after you only allowed sufficient course adjustment for the mother ship.

 

[jonjo]

I hate towing a tender and a couple of weeks ago I towed mine against my normal policy for 15 miles. In force 4-5 reaching conditions it filled with about 2 bucket loads of water from spray landing aboard. For the second half of the passage I shortened the towline to lift the bow up in order to prevent any possibility of the tender becoming a sea anchor.

 

[Slow_boat]

if I tow my rubber duck, it's very tight up to the transon, with the bow well out of the water and secured by painter and a line from each bow and led back to the transom. It cuts down on drag, less likely to flip over or fill with water. The downside is it can be awkward to adjust with a transom mounted rudder.

 

[sailorman]

This worked lsat Saturday

 

[Ubergeekian]

What is the optimum length for the towrope/painter when towing a dinghy?

Whatever length it is, you should always have a spare 100' at the yacht end in case you meet a racing fleet. It keeps 'em on their toes, bless 'em. In general, and a little more seriously, I find that there is no perfect length, and it is worth taking the trouble to adjust according to point of sailing, size of waves, size of wash and so on.

 

[PetiteFleur]

If you get it the wrong length coming into the Deben it can follow you in and land on your rudder making a large dent in the dinghy - guess how I know! Fortun ately it didn't fill with water.

 

[dylanwinter]

tow rope

dinghy, whats a dinghy for

I am with Charles Stock

draft shallow enough to allow you to walk ashore in wellies

saves so much trouble

Dylan Mirror Offshore

 

[Tranona]

What is the optimum length for the towrope/painter when towing a dinghy?

Should it be really short, long enough fo the dinghy to be just in front of the crest of the second or third wave in the wake or longer?

Does the length affect the speed?

The answer is either all of the options or none of them! There is no ideal length. Depends on the dinghy, the yacht and the sea conditions. Just make sure that you have a long enough painter to exercise your options and adjust to suit conditions.

The answer to your last question is yes, it will affect speed, but the effect will depend on conditions and your choice of how to deal with them. Bit of a bummer really!

 

[Ludd]

Whatever length you use it will be a pain in the proverbial! I 've been towing mine round the Clyde for a month in sheltered waters and mostly good weather and it STILL PICKS UP WATER AND SLOWS YOU DOWN!!! When at anchor I flip it so it doesn't fill with rain overnight.

 

[mortehoe]

Towrope or a bridle .... ???

and the inbetween length is directly proportional to the distance between the height of the cleat on the towing vessel v the sealevel net LWL of the vessel being towed as a function of its potential inertial weight ..... (See USCG Master's License Examination syllabus)

 

[laurance]

and the inbetween length is directly proportional to the distance between the height of the cleat on the towing vessel v the sealevel net LWL of the vessel being towed as a function of its potential inertial weight ..... (See USCG Master's License Examination syllabus)

How? come you tease where is the rest of that fascinating load of nonsense...