Tender protection

[Cyclistbruce]

Apologies if this is an obvious question.

Just got a small sail cruiser that now lives on a swinging mooring on the Exe.

It came with an old 6ft inflatable tender that is too small for what we want.

I was thinking of getting a GRP tender to go from shore to the swinging mooring which I can leave there and have the inflatable aboard for when needed.

Here's the silly question, how do I stop the GRP tender filling with water and sinking if it chucks it down with rain if I'm away for a few days?! Do you stick a cover on? I know inflatables can cope with being filled and usually have a drain hole on the transom, but solid don't?

 

[LiftyK]

You can get a small (really small) diaphragm pump that operates through wave action. Force 4 Drainman Wave Activated Bilge Pump | Force 4 Chandlery

 

[billyfish]

It takes a lot of rain. Just keep a hand pump aboard. I've left mine for weeks . Better without a outboard on.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

We keep an open dayboat on a mooring for 6 months of the year. Whilst it has a solar system, battery, and electric bilge pump, that has little use, because the boat has a cockpit cover. That keeps 95% of the water out. Your little boat is unlikely to sink in just a week or 2, but a cover would have it afloat for months, and save you the bother of pumping out.

 

[Minerva]

As above - provided the tender has positive buoyancy - either build grp / canoe buoyancy bags / or even fenders lashed to gunwhale then it’s not going to be a problem.

Remember, even if in the unlikely situation it does sink( I bet it won’t) the painter will still be tied to your mooring buoy so you can still recover it and refloat it when you get back.

 

[Stemar]

Alternative idea - get a bigger inflatable and tow it behind your boat, so you can get ashore anywhere. Bonus, it doubles as a liferaft for coastal sailing.

We did this for years with our 24 footer. Yes, it will slow you down a bit in light airs, but will you really notice? We didn't. If you have an OB for the dinghy, put one of these on your transom

Keeping the OB on it when towing will reduce the drag significantly, as well as providing a backup if the main engine doesn't want to play.

 

[doug748]

Consider getting a bigger inflatable for the trip to the boat.....stick with me here...

You can often pick up an old tatty Avon 10ft with solid transom for about 100 quid. These are bombproof for a long trip on an exposed river and bottom boards make it perfect to transport stuff, 3hp engine is fine. Because they are rough few people are likely to want to nick it.

Here are the best bits: you can flip it on the mooring so it does not fill with water even more important this means seabirds will only foul the bottom and when you flip it back the inside is a clean as a whistle.
Honestly, if you leave a rigid dinghy for a couple of days it, or it's cover, will be minging.

I have a nice 8ft rigid GRP dinghy (Tamar 8) for you collect Plymouth £150......but don't buy it, get a cheap inflatable.

.

 

[dansaskip]

Just make sure it has built in buoyancy - or add some and then even if it fills with water it won't sink. Where I am sometimes seals climb aboard the dingy , tipping. it and filling it with water but it still floats. A rigid tender can be a good idea , although often more tippy than an inflatable so care needed they are far better to row with some decent oars and you might even find you don't need to use the outboard to get out to your boat. And you know that that rowing exercise is good for you.

 

[johnalison]

Maybe I’m missing something, but we always stowed our dinghy ashore inverted.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Consider getting a bigger inflatable for the trip to the boat.....stick with me here...

You can often pick up an old tatty Avon 10ft with solid transom for about 100 quid. These are bombproof for a long trip on an exposed river and bottom boards make it perfect to transport stuff, 3hp engine is fine. Because they are rough few people are likely to want to nick it.

Here are the best bits: you can flip it on the mooring so it does not fill with water even more important this means seabirds will only foul the bottom and when you flip it back the inside is a clean as a whistle.
Honestly, if you leave a rigid dinghy for a couple of days it, or it's cover, will be minging.

I have a nice 8ft rigid GRP dinghy (Tamar 8) for you collect Plymouth £150......but don't buy it, get a cheap inflatable.

.

Genius. As long as you don’t leave it upside down for long enough to foul.

 

[doug748]

Genius. As long as you don’t leave it upside down for long enough to foul.

The only other problem is that well meaning people will flip it the other way up for you

 

[Aeolus]

If you were to buy a BIC 245 dinghy, then you could leave it with the drainage bung out and it would float and not fill with water. When the dinghy is empty, the drainage hole stays above water level. I'm sure there are other plastic dinghies that can achieve the same but I know it for certain about the Bic, having had one for over 10 years.