The NEW tender and outboard MUD DISASTER... Got to love outboards !

[GregOddity]

I suggest you add a couple of propeller shear pins to your list.

yes.. i realised that i needed shear pins and 2 spark plugs as a back up. I really could have used the later...But thank you for reminding me.

 

[William_H]

Rowing an inflatable. I have told this story before but perhaps worth repeating. An elderly couple very experienced sailors anchored their boat some distance off the shore at Rottnest. Inflated the dinghy and rowed ashore for a get together. Later that night they rowed back to their boat in the inflatable. The wind was behind them when rowing back. It is assumed they missed grabbing the boat and were unable to row back against the the wind. Inflatable found next day empty about 10NM down wind one body found one not found. The lesson is that you need to sort out a decent anchor and rowing arrangement for an inflatable. olewill

 

[GregOddity]

Rowing an inflatable. I have told this story before but perhaps worth repeating. An elderly couple very experienced sailors anchored their boat some distance off the shore at Rottnest. Inflated the dinghy and rowed ashore for a get together. Later that night they rowed back to their boat in the inflatable. The wind was behind them when rowing back. It is assumed they missed grabbing the boat and were unable to row back against the the wind. Inflatable found next day empty about 10NM down wind one body found one not found. The lesson is that you need to sort out a decent anchor and rowing arrangement for an inflatable. olewill

Yeah a sad reminder that the Sea Always needs to be taken seriously. I'm working on the Anchor, lesson learned, the oars is a tad more complicated because of scope. But looking into it. I could not gain ground against the tide and wind. the tide was bad enough, but the wind just takes you where it wants and leaves you there.

 

[prv]

You have a point. My anchor needs a proper upgrade. Maybe not a 50kg Mantus but I do need something that will hold on mud. This one might as well have some bait put in it and be used for fishing in that type of bottom. We did not even notice slowing down. Which we did not.. So Yeah a New one needs happening.

For what it's worth, I got one of the smaller sizes of Fortress for an inflatable high-speed catamaran (ZapCat style) that a friend persuaded me to unwisely buy into. Of course it doesn't fold like a grapnel, but you can break it down into a few pieces that pack together neatly into a long narrow package and just need a couple of nuts tightened (leave them in place, just loosened slightly so they don't grip the stock and you can slide it out) to reassemble it. I made a bag for that one too, and put the necessary spanner on a lanyard inside it so it wouldn't get lost.

That anchor held us very nicely against a strong tide on a couple of occasions.

The only thing people ever say against Fortresses relates to the tide turning while you're asleep on board, so is irrelevant for dinghy use.

Pete

 

[GregOddity]

For what it's worth, I got one of the smaller sizes of Fortress for an inflatable high-speed catamaran (ZapCat style) that a friend persuaded me to unwisely buy into. Of course it doesn't fold like a grapnel, but you can break it down into a few pieces that pack together neatly into a long narrow package and just need a couple of nuts tightened (leave them in place, just loosened slightly so they don't grip the stock and you can slide it out) to reassemble it. I made a bag for that one too, and put the necessary spanner on a lanyard inside it so it wouldn't get lost.

That anchor held us very nicely against a strong tide on a couple of occasions.

The only thing people ever say against Fortresses relates to the tide turning while you're asleep on board, so is irrelevant for dinghy use.

Pete

I'm actually just starting to realize how big an issue this is on an inflatable. I had hard hull dinghys before and was never so much of a problem but the wind on an inflatable makes it damned near impossible to anchor without something sturdy. I’ll look into that fortress actually.
In the video you can see where we ended up.. its just soft mud.

 

[Uricanejack]

Please take a take a minute to reflect on this. I found an inflatable 23 Nautical miles of the coast, west of Sagres Point in Portugal in 1986. Inside there were 2 people in very bad shape. They had been adrift since 6 am when the outboard run out of fuel, they went out for night fishing, they took a sandwich and a bottle of beer each. I found them at 21 30 PM something if I remember right and only by pure coincidence as we had decided to tack for the hell of it. It was July, the temperature was above 40 Celsius the whole day and was still 36 when we brought them on board. They had NOTHING. no radio no water no tools no life vest not even anything more than a t-shirt to wear. They both survived, but one a German from Berlin spent 3 weeks in hospital after being flown to Lisbon the other also a German spent the rest of his 2 weeks holiday in Hospital in the Algarve where the food is great and the wine divine. He did not have any of that of course. They were both " well done" and crispy from the sun and dehydration.

What did I learn from that? I carry a white and red flare, 1 flashlight with a spare battery, 1,5 litre of emergency fuel 2x1.5L of water, small anchor, 30m 12mm line 2x kill chord a spare oar, VHF portable at all times. It all fits in the under the seat bag and hope to never need it. I did use the anchor and line and the flashlight and water in the last “incident” Everyone will also have a personal lifejacket with life line. Or they stay ashore. No discussions or even academic debates.
But hey thats me.

I have. Directly due to this thread.
My tender is possibly a bit smaller than yours. A roll up inflatable with slats, a plastic seat and those very annoying oars.
Rowing it can be quite awkward.
I chose a small rollup because I roll it up and take it home in the back of the car. so being able to carry it up and down to the car by myself dictated the small size. Only have to row out a couple of hundred yards in to the harbour. Not much current but its quite exposed to the wind.
But a small anchor is not a hard addition to make. If you ever need it. Sucks not to have one.
My main concern has been taking a tumble boarding the boat.
I have just checked my local requirements. human powered less than 6m. Anchor not a requirement but 15m line is. so I may be putting together a little tender pack.
Put a motor on it and the requirement list grows. But anchor or paddles.

I have a pack for my runabout which includes all required gear. including an anchor.
Which is probably more like the fishermen.
I downsized a couple of years ago. Its a bit small for offshore fishing. But it does have a fitted radio. In addition to my handheld. along with a simple tool kit and spares. My previous runabout I used to fish offshore. Radio just a hand held. I like the fitted radio now. Never used it but nice to have.
Being able to replace a split pin. Since I use it for fishing. Being able to remove a propeller to get line off. A spare pin for the prop is a good add to the kit.

I think if I used my tender as a small runabout in addition to just to and from the boat. I probably would have more kit.

 

[GregOddity]

I have. Directly due to this thread.
My tender is possibly a bit smaller than yours. A roll up inflatable with slats, a plastic seat and those very annoying oars.
Rowing it can be quite awkward.
I chose a small rollup because I roll it up and take it home in the back of the car. so being able to carry it up and down to the car by myself dictated the small size. Only have to row out a couple of hundred yards in to the harbour. Not much current but its quite exposed to the wind.
But a small anchor is not a hard addition to make. If you ever need it. Sucks not to have one.
My main concern has been taking a tumble boarding the boat.
I have just checked my local requirements. human powered less than 6m. Anchor not a requirement but 15m line is. so I may be putting together a little tender pack.
Put a motor on it and the requirement list grows. But anchor or paddles.

I have a pack for my runabout which includes all required gear. including an anchor.
Which is probably more like the fishermen.
I downsized a couple of years ago. Its a bit small for offshore fishing. But it does have a fitted radio. In addition to my handheld. along with a simple tool kit and spares. My previous runabout I used to fish offshore. Radio just a hand held. I like the fitted radio now. Never used it but nice to have.
Being able to replace a split pin. Since I use it for fishing. Being able to remove a propeller to get line off. A spare pin for the prop is a good add to the kit.

I think if I used my tender as a small runabout in addition to just to and from the boat. I probably would have more kit.

It’s the things we do often that place us in the most danger as we fail to recognise the danger. The Sea is ALWAYS the master and decides what happens and how. We are either prepared or suffer the consequences of our hubris.
I really am beating myself over the anchor. I just bought “an anchor” in order to have one on board without any consideration whatsoever how I may need to use it and in what type of conditions.
When the time came to use it. Off course it did not work. Wind and inflatables is not a very good combination. The Inflatable always loses. You row out fine 1000 times, then one day you lose an oar or hurt yourself and get swept out.
I had nothing to tie too and could not make any headway rowing like a crazy man. And I can row. That anchor is not fit for purpose for those type of conditions or bottom. So stupid me.

 

[Uricanejack]

It’s the things we do often that place us in the most danger as we fail to recognise the danger. The Sea is ALWAYS the master and decides what happens and how. We are either prepared or suffer the consequences of our hubris.
I really am beating myself over the anchor. I just bought “an anchor” in order to have one on board without any consideration whatsoever how I may need to use it and in what type of conditions.
When the time came to use it. Off course it did not work. Wind and inflatables is not a very good combination. The Inflatable always loses. You row out fine 1000 times, then one day you lose an oar or hurt yourself and get swept out.
I had nothing to tie too and could not make any headway rowing like a crazy man. And I can row. That anchor is not fit for purpose for those type of conditions or bottom. So stupid me.

True. Complacency may be my problem. Like I said I am looking at my actions again.

I re-read your original post. You bought a new tender and motor so you would not be subject to wind and tide. A thought which crosses my mind to.
There are a few days where I don't go out to the boat. Because I don't want to try and row against the wind. There are quite a few more days where I am rowing out to the boat thinking I should get a motor because its taking a while and it would e a whole lot easier if I had a motor.

Just another way to look at it. Perhaps the anchor which wouldn't hold is not the problem? Or the oars which are awkward to row with.
Maybe the question is what if I have an engine failure? Could I still control the boat and get to a safe location? Using the crappy oars.
If not maybe the wind is to strong or the conditions to much for this tender.

So I guess what I am thinking is if the wind and current are to strong to row. Don't go even with a motor JIK the motor dies.
Which doesn't change the anchor question.

Life. Its a learning event. Then its Experience.

 

[Stemar]

Then its Experience.

experience[FONT=Source Sans Pro, sans-serif]: 1. The ability to repeat one's mistakes with ever-increasing confidence. (Patrick Hoyte) 2. What you get when you don't get what you want. 3 Something you only get just after you needed it[/FONT]

[FONT=Source Sans Pro, sans-serif]The oars on my 2.3m inflatable simply don't work. The pull stroke is fine, but the return either tangles with my knees or undoes all the hard work of the pull. If two up, we can paddle, but I doubt we'd make much progress against even a 4-5. If I'm solo and the engine fails, I'm basically going wherever the wind and tide are going unless my little grapnel holds. It's probably not too much of a problem in Portsmouth harbour, though see my post above, which was about a plastic dinghy with proper oars, but I avoid using the dinghy in open water.[/FONT]

 

[UK-WOOZY]

have a boat on swing mooring at my club along the thames near the dartford bridge (crayford marshes). very muddy banks. before i got a new outboard (honda BF2.3) in 2016 i had got caught 2 times on the mud after engine failure due to old crap engines. i cannot row as i end up in circles and dont have the strength as since i was injured in a motorcycle crash. i lost trainers int he mud but nothing more, i went on all fours, found if went quick enough on just legs found dont sink much or quick enough to sink until immobile. just ragged the dinghy and tender ashore then fetch trailer to collect dinghy, by which time it would usually be dark by then.

 

[Daydream believer]

The point about loosing an oar is valid. I have been rowing Avons since the age of 12 & right from the start I tied a cord across the handles & have done so to this day. An Avon is one of the few dinghies that can be rowed well once the technique has been learned.The first mistake is trying to do it with 2 people side by side. They can never get the right balance & get a clear sweep of the oars. Just one person so the action can be properly controlled.

I do not see the point in an anchor. If it was so rough that I could not row I should not be out there in the first place. Light anchors will not grip & the depth would soon be too great unless the line was long. Then having to transfer that back& forth to the boat every time would probably be more dangerous than not having one at all. I do have a rond anchor for the painter if I want anchor the boat on a beach or a bank. This is far better in an inflatable & can quickly be clipped to the painter when needed & is fairly light & safe

However, I do carry the pump when in a strange location. I always wear a life jacket & mine has a pack of 10 mini flares & a PLB attached. I always have an LED torch in my anorak pocket. So I feel that somehow I would either drift ashore somewhere, or at least be able to summon help.

 

[GrahamM376]

I do not see the point in an anchor. If it was so rough that I could not row I should not be out there in the first place. Light anchors will not grip & the depth would soon be too great unless the line was long. Then having to transfer that back& forth to the boat every time would probably be more dangerous than not having one at all.

A very odd point of view and totally against the consensus.

 

[GregOddity]

The point about loosing an oar is valid. I have been rowing Avons since the age of 12 & right from the start I tied a cord across the handles & have done so to this day. An Avon is one of the few dinghies that can be rowed well once the technique has been learned.The first mistake is trying to do it with 2 people side by side. They can never get the right balance & get a clear sweep of the oars. Just one person so the action can be properly controlled.

I do not see the point in an anchor. If it was so rough that I could not row I should not be out there in the first place. Light anchors will not grip & the depth would soon be too great unless the line was long. Then having to transfer that back& forth to the boat every time would probably be more dangerous than not having one at all. I do have a rond anchor for the painter if I want anchor the boat on a beach or a bank. This is far better in an inflatable & can quickly be clipped to the painter when needed & is fairly light & safe

However, I do carry the pump when in a strange location. I always wear a life jacket & mine has a pack of 10 mini flares & a PLB attached. I always have an LED torch in my anorak pocket. So I feel that somehow I would either drift ashore somewhere, or at least be able to summon help.

I disagree on the anchor. I carry 30m of 12mm line, that should very well give me purchase on most bottoms and coastlines and if adrift on a delta somewhere it would still be able to reach bottom.
The point of being prepared is to be able to use it in need. Off course I do not intend to challenge weather or Sea as they tend to always win. But I did get caught on weather NOT of my choosing and seas not of my choosing on a powerboat with a crippled engine that was barely running. Did I want to be there? NO, would I ever go out in that weather? Hell no. But there I was in the thick of it and I fought like hell not to end up on the rocks of the shore for 18 Hours praying that the engine did not die completely. The point being that once on the Kingdom of Neptune, you are his subject and he does what he does with total disregard for you.
So if I’m on a dinghy that can be taken by the wind, I do think that having the means to at least slow my drift so that IF I get caught in a bad situation turning worse I can at least slow down the drift or be able to stop in place and ride it with oars working at the same time if needed until I’m able to raise help.
The thing is: without an anchor to slow you down, Whoooooosh you go where the wind and tide decides. I rather not.

 

[Daydream believer]

I disagree on the anchor. I carry 30m of 12mm line, that should very well give me purchase on most bottoms and coastlines and if adrift on a delta somewhere it would still be able to reach bottom.
The point of being prepared is to be able to use it in need. Off course I do not intend to challenge weather or Sea as they tend to always win. But I did get caught on weather NOT of my choosing and seas not of my choosing on a powerboat with a crippled engine that was barely running. Did I want to be there? NO, would I ever go out in that weather? Hell no. But there I was in the thick of it and I fought like hell not to end up on the rocks of the shore for 18 Hours praying that the engine did not die completely. The point being that once on the Kingdom of Neptune, you are his subject and he does what he does with total disregard for you.
So if I’m on a dinghy that can be taken by the wind, I do think that having the means to at least slow my drift so that IF I get caught in a bad situation turning worse I can at least slow down the drift or be able to stop in place and ride it with oars working at the same time if needed until I’m able to raise help.
The thing is: without an anchor to slow you down, Whoooooosh you go where the wind and tide decides. I rather not.

As I understood it the OP's original post was about his TENDER which suggests that he wanted to get from shore to a moored boat. I was not talking about being out in a powerboat especially offshore. That is a totally different scenario

 

[GregOddity]

As I understood it the OP's original post was about his TENDER which suggests that he wanted to get from shore to a moored boat. I was not talking about being out in a powerboat especially offshore. That is a totally different scenario

you mistake intention. "If it was so rough that I could not row I should not be out there in the first place" that is what I meant with the power boat example. Sometimes the weather chooses you. and it is for those times that I think an anchor is a must on a dinghy, not that we would go out in it, more like "what if ? "

 

[Daydream believer]

A very odd point of view and totally against the consensus.

I say this with all due respect, & i am not trying to score a point at your expense in particular but:-

If it is the consensus, just walk round & have a look & see how many tenders ( as opposed to dinghies used for fishing etc) you can find with an anchor on board.

It is OK sitting in the armchair in the lounge watching Eastenders, whilst typing on the forum, but actually DOING it is sometimes something totally different I suspect.

That sort of makes a mockery of the " consensus" does it not?

 

[GregOddity]

Well if it is the consensus, just walk round & have a look & see how many tenders ( as opposed to dinghies used for fishing etc) you can find with an anchor on board.

It is OK sitting in the armchair in the lounge watching Eastenders, whilst typing on the forum, but actually DOING it is sometimes something totally different I suspect.

IT is NOT the consensus, most will have a BARE dinghy. The idea perhaps but implementation? how many do I know with even tools inside the dinghy? not many .. if at all.

 

[GregOddity]

I say this with all due respect, & i am not trying to score a point at your expense in particular but:-

If it is the consensus, just walk round & have a look & see how many tenders ( as opposed to dinghies used for fishing etc) you can find with an anchor on board.

It is OK sitting in the armchair in the lounge watching Eastenders, whilst typing on the forum, but actually DOING it is sometimes something totally different I suspect.

That sort of makes a mockery of the " consensus" does it not?

I understand what you are saying and actually agree with you on the fact that most do not have anything on board or even tie the oars. It's just a small short row to the boat type of thing. What we were discussing is nevertheless what you should have and does it make sense in light of accidents that have happened and will certainly continue to happen since people are not in the least prepared.
I was caught literally with my pants down carrying what I thought was a good safety kit. The mud wind and tide showed me the error of my ways. If I just had an anchor fit for purpose, I could have stayed on the main channel and row to a place of my choosing or even restart the engine again.
That choice was removed from me by the fact my “anchor” did not know it was supposed to hold me. Had I been at Chichester harbour, I would have had to call the coastguard and have them come get me or the wind and tide would have sent me to either France, ( bad.. I forgot my passport) or the Isle of Wight ( also bad.. the ferry back costs a mint)

 

[prv]

I do not see the point in an anchor. If it was so rough that I could not row I should not be out there in the first place.

The idea makes me uneasy, but I can sort of see where you're coming from if rowing is your main motive power. The most likely reason for me to need an anchor unexpectedly (ie, not just securing the boat on a beach, etc) is to stay put while I fix a problem with the engine - change a shear pin, put more fuel in, replace the spark plug, etc. Apart from losing an oar or misjudging the conditions such that you can't row against them, you don't really have an equivalent loss-of-power situation, and yours can't be fixed at anchor anyway.

the depth would soon be too great unless the line was long.

So make the line long. It doesn't have to be all that strong to hold a dinghy, so can be thin to avoid taking up too much space. My dinghy line is 6 or 8mm rope (can't remember), but the ZapCat one was paracord on a plywood winder and I think I had about 40 metres of it. The dinghy one isn't as long but I do have extra line I could add to it.

Then having to transfer that back& forth to the boat every time would probably be more dangerous than not having one at all.

My dinghy anchor and warp is one small mesh (to allow it to dry) bag with a handle and a drawstring closure. It's about the easiest item of the dinghy kit to pick out of the locker and drop into the bow section ahead of the inflatable thwart.

However, I do carry the pump when in a strange location. I always wear a life jacket & mine has a pack of 10 mini flares & a PLB attached. I always have an LED torch in my anorak pocket. So I feel that somehow I would either drift ashore somewhere, or at least be able to summon help.

Yep. I always put the pump on board - it goes in the same bow segment with the anchor and the fuel can, I don't want someone sitting there anyway as weight right in the bow tends to make the ride wetter.

I made a flat bag with internal pockets that's secured to the inside of the transom and holds smaller items -

- engine toolkit including spare plug and pins.
- security wire - an old mizzen shroud that's long enough to secure the dinghy without being an antisocial short painter. I don't normally use it, but it's there if a place seems dodgy.
- two padlocks keyed alike, one for the engine clamps and one end of the wire, the other for the shore end.
- LED torch (though if I'm going ashore I probably have my phone which also has a light).
- one hand-flare.
- stainless jack-knife.
- puncture repair clamp.
- 100ml bottle of 2-stroke oil, in case I end up buying or borrowing extra fuel somewhere and only 4-stroke is available.
- length of spare line.

We generally don't wear the normal yacht auto lifejackets in the dinghy because I don't want to have to carry them around town or leave them where they might possibly get nicked. So I have four sound but rather scruffy-looking buoyancy aids for dinghy use which I'm happy to leave out. If someone were to fall in while crossing a harbour, a buoyancy aid is arguably better anyway for swimming and climbing out.

Oars are mounted on the tubes, and the boat is rowable with them. I upgraded the flimsy plastic rowlocks to ones with stainless pins, and it rows about as well as can be expected from an inflatable.

Pete

 

[Stemar]

It seems to me that the general consensus is that, with a few exceptions, inflatable dinghies don't row very well - most are just about OK for going across a pond in F3 or less, a few are better, but still not what you'd choose to row half a mile in a gale.

For those of us whose boats live on moorings, we're liable to find ourselves using the tender in the kind of conditions we don't want to be sailing in - "Hell, I don't like this, lets go home" and that's aboard a seaworthy (we hope) yacht. We get back to the mooring, but then have to get ashore. We should probably stay on board, but the forecast's changed and the 4-5 we'd expected is now 6-8 and worse to come. It'd be a cold, uncomfortable night on board and we've got work tomorrow, so we put the boat to bed and set off. As long as the engine keeps running, we're fine, but a gust blows us across a mooring and the shear pin breaks. I carry spares and the tools to change it, but how long does it take to do that with cold hands, when you're doing 5 knots sideways in 18" waves?

That's how most accidents happen - a series of little incidents and wrong decisions that just add up to big trouble. If you're lucky, you grab a moored boat as you go past and call the coasty or the harbourmaster, but your luck isn't running that way, the current's taken you clear of the trots and those cold hands drop the phone into the puddle that's rapidly forming around your feet...

I reckon an anchor's a good idea. At least it buys you some time. Put the above scenario in Chichester Harbour and next stop is the bar (the wrong kind). Add a good spring ebb against a southerly gale and it's a bad place to be. It's how incidents we should be laughing about in the right kind of bars turn us into statistics