Top tip re towing your dinghy

[ylop]

If I'm tacking up a narrow channel, you'll be lucky to get 20cm to spare, if you're motoring. You're supposed to keep clear,

Kind of depends on the boat that’s motoring rule 9b would suggest you shouldn’t be impeding those who need the channel.

Unseamanlike, IMHO

Certainly no more so than passing another vessel with <20cm unless perhaps you are racing.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

I seem to recall a thread about a 90ft mobo in the river Hamble, on rule 9b. If he’s decided to take the flipping Cunard Queen Mary up there, then sure, I am bound to keep clear. But if it’s a little Merry Fisher, not so much, I think. A sailing boat motoring, slightly constrained by it’s draught, usually both boats understand each other, and that understanding sorts it out. Back to the thread title though, if you’re a 35ft, average, sailing boat towing a 3m inflatable on a 6m painter, I’d say that lacks any consideration for other users of said channel, 5 hoots would be in order, and you’d better wind it in pdq to avoid an unpleasant scene.

 

[Shaz77]

When in a channel ... I am a great believer in :

1. Slow down to meet general conditions of others and the channel you are in ...
2. Be prepared to act quickly and smartly when you meet that idiot who thinks he has god given right

Too often scrapes occur because two idiots insist on their right of way .. instead of accepting the channels limits and acting accordingly.
Remember that ColRegs state clearly that action by the GIVE-WAY vessel alone may not be suficient and then STAND-ON vessel is also obligated to take avoiding action to lessen the consequences.

I never insist on my right of way. I will explain why. Too many marina boats only go out twice a year and some leave it to the last bank Holiday and only go out once. I think they only do that to try to justify the expense of owning a boat and paying marina fees for the year so therefore you never know who is approaching and you do not know if they have ever heard of the
Col Regs. I boat as I drive.., Defensively

 

[shanemax]

I never insist on my right of way. I will explain why. Too many marina boats only go out twice a year and some leave it to the last bank Holiday and only go out once. I think they only do that to try to justify the expense of owning a boat and paying marina fees for the year so therefore you never know who is approaching and you do not know if they have ever heard of the
Col Regs. I boat as I drive.., Defensively

Makes sense.

 

[nevis768]

Why should you avoid a boat that changes direction? Because the colregs say you should. It’s movements are fairly predictable, and understandable. I won’t expect you to have a helicopter on standby to do it, but if I absolutely need to cross your bows, say, I would expect you to ease the throttle. 20cm is enough. Thanks in advance.

Not sensible ^ asking for trouble with that attitude

 

[winch2]

Mine would be. 'Avoid the need to tow a ten foot old 70's pram dinghy behind a 20ft gaff, away for the weekend. Our poor engine.....

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Not sensible ^ asking for trouble with that attitude

I find most people very understanding. I have to do this often, in a 20ft wooden classic racer with no engine. Do you have any other suggestions for how I’m going to make any progress?

 

[wonkywinch]

Oldy but goody ..

Americans: “Please divert your course 15 degrees to the North to avoid a collision.”

Canadians: “Recommend you divert YOUR course 15 degrees to the South to avoid a collision.”

Americans: “This is the captain of a US Navy ship. I say again, divert YOUR course.”

Canadians: “No, I say again, you divert YOUR course.”

Americans: “THIS IS THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN, THE SECOND LARGEST SHIP IN THE UNITED STATES’ ATLANTIC FLEET. WE ARE ACCOMPANIED BY THREE DESTROYERS, THREE CRUISERS AND NUMEROUS SUPPORT VESSELS. I DEMAND THAT YOU CHANGE YOUR COURSE 15 DEGREES NORTH. THAT’S ONE-FIVE DEGREES NORTH, OR COUNTER MEASURES WILL BE UNDERTAKEN TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF THIS SHIP.”

Canadians: “This is a lighthouse. Your call.”

 

[johnalison]

If you’re sailing, sure. I did mention motoring. If you’re sailing on starboard, you do indeed have right of way, and I’d let you know I was taking appropriate action. Of course, if the close hauled boat is on starboard, you’d be windward boat and should keep clear. But surely there’s some give and take, nobody should make life difficult on purpose. The only time we have any trouble in this scenario is when we are, by virtue of our speed, keeping pace with someone who is motoring to the same general destination, and we’re repeatedly crossing them. That is a pain in the ass. Solvable by the motoring vessel speeding up or slowing down for a bit.

I know that when you say right of way you really mean stand-on, but there are some fussy old women on these sites and you can't be too careful with them.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

I know that when you say right of way you really mean stand-on, but there are some fussy old women on these sites and you can't be too careful with them.

Thanks for that warning

Anyway, Refueler has it right, which is what I mean by give and take. You have, in any case, to give room and opportunity to any give way vessel. You can’t expect them to be beamed up by the starship Enterprise. But I maintain that, if you’re tacking across a channel, then it’s perfectly reasonable for someone to ease their throttle to let you past. I don’t expect them to go hard a starboard and run themselves on the putty. And towing dinghys just makes you longer, and harder to avoid, as well as lessening your ability to manoeuvre. Though as a stand on vessel, you'd be quite unobservant not to see what was happening. Whether, having spotted it, you can take any action that doesnkt make the situation worse depends on other traffic, moored boats and weather. Going head to wind to prevent a collision in the Lymington river will result in loss of control fairly quickly. Us raggies are rather dependent on the consideration of mobo drivers, as well as the colregs.

 

[davidmh]

Lots of interesting views. I have a 27ft longkeel yacht and need at times to tow my inflatable. The inflatible is 2.3M long with transom back for an outboard, The yacht has a transon hung runner. I wiould like to tow it close to the transom but the rudder stock mske this difficult. If I tow it close up on one tack it will be nearly in the water and on the othertack it woiuld be well clear of the water, What would the forum suggest. Towing is only on coastall day sails
David MH

 

[BobnLesley]

And if I am sailing down the middle of the channel on a starboard tack, minding my own business, the boat charging at me on a port tack still thinks he has right of way.
Poor sailing in my opinion.

Then again, some might consider your sailing down 'the middle' of a channel none too clever either.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Don’t motor up a narrow channel with it on a long line. Open water, if you choose to sail slowly and risk losing it, that’s up to you. You don’t get to feel my itching teeth.

 

[wonkywinch]

In a narrow channel, mooring field, anchorage, the dinghy comes alongside on short painter so it stays within the length of the boat whether I'm going forward or astern.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

In a narrow channel, mooring field, anchorage, the dinghy comes alongside on short painter so it stays within the length of the boat whether I'm going forward or astern.

You are a model dinghy tower and I applaud you What y’all need is some extra wide side decks. We just pull ours on board and sail away.

 

[BobnLesley]

You are a model dinghy tower and I applaud you What y’all need is some extra wide side decks. We just pull ours on board and sail away.

I've often thought the same and have bought dinghies and ribs of a size to fit the foredeck stowage space rather than one to carry the extended/once in a blue moon crew in a single trip. That said we have friends who've towed their 11' rib, complete with its 20ish hp outboard from Canada to the Caribbean and on across the Pacific to Australia (so far). The only time I know they (reluctantly) hoisted it aboard was through the Panama Canal; don't ask me why, they have a blooming big catamaran which even has davits

 

[Rhylsailer99]

My advice from experience is to not tow it. I have have seen mine flip uspide down and once got the towing rope caught around my prop. As soon as i stopped towing my dinghy I was shocked at how responsive tbe steering is, and that my boat can go a lot faster.

 

[shanemax]

Not sensible ^ asking for trouble with that attitude

There are loads out there who believe sail over steam and will try their luck with a ship (not in a channel and not constrained by its draft) I am more, to the opinion, if it goes wrong who wins and who sinks who. I know the captain will be charged with man slaughter but I will be dead.........no brainer really. There are also loads out their who get angry with learner drivers, I don't understand their logic either.

 

[Gixer]

When I first started chartering in the Med I always pulled the dinghy onto for foredeck and lashed it down. This was to keep the performance both under sail and motor but mainly I didn't want to look like a tourist!

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Getting yourself run down by a ship, yeah, there’s kind of a maximum size that’s ever going to give way to a yacht even if it technically should. And of course, it’s a much bigger deal for them to make a substantial change of course than it is for us. Keep clear of them from a long way off. The only hassle is when such a ship appears in an unexpected place and time. A couple of times a year some ship will take it into it’s head to proceed up the western solent on a Saturday afternoon, when both RSYC and RLYC have racing fleets out there. Mayhem ensues. We’ve had to scrub the results on the odd occasion. Fortunately such ships are rare to us yotties, most of our colregs interactions are with other leisure craft. Like cruisers with no apparent watchkeeping.