Towing a rigid dinghy. Pros and Cons

[Poignard]

I've often fancied having a rigid dinghy because it would be easier to row and I could sail it. Only having a slim 28 foot yacht I cannot carry one on deck. Reading old yachting books and magazines suggests that it used to be quite normal practice to tow a dinghy astern but I can't remember when I last saw it being done.

Anyone got personal experience of the benefits vs pitfalls?

ps Before anyone suggests it, I definitely don't want to change the yacht!

 

[Lakesailor]

Cue picture: (I sometimes take my tender with me and my boat is only 18ft. You see it a lot on the lake, there again it's a fairly flat bit of water)

 

[absit_omen]

I used to tow a rigid dinghy all over the Menai Straits behind my Vertue. Never a problem. However, I have friends who lost theirs in heavy weather crossing Biscay. Just a matter of common sense I suppose.

 

[philip_stevens]

I've had both a little ply dinghy and a little grp dinghy, and used to tow them everywhere we went. On one boat, I could get it up on the foredeck, but the other boat had a baby-stay, and no room for the dinghy.

Last year, we bought a dinghy for a neighbour while we were away, and towed that back home with us. It didn't take on one drop of water, even though we were motoring into quite heavy seas.

If you tow the dinghy, make sure you get it to ride on the second wake wave behind you, or just slightly forward of the top of the wake wave. This takes some of the drag away from the tow. When manoeuvring, bring the dinghy in close to prevent the towline from getting into the prop.

You may also consider having a bridle from the dinghy to both quarters of your boat - this stops the dinghy from yawing about too much while under tow.

Go for it.

 

[paulrossall]

Had a difficult journey a few years ago with a following sea, force 6, coming down from the Deben to Walton. Had rigid dinghy right against back of the boat for going over the bar but made the mistake of letting it trail further behind going down Felixstowe foreshore. As we went across the deepwater chanel the dinghy inverted so slowed down but carried on as thought only 30 minutes before I turn corner into more sheltered water. Started down Hanford Water then 8mm rope broke and dinghy was floating on the wrong side of the channel and of course over the next 30 minutes about 20 boats came along , going against the wind, with the tide, and visibility was not good.
Tried to catch the dinghy and then realised how difficult it is to get a boathook onto an upsidedown dinghy. Eventually managed to lash it alongside until on the outside pontoon at Tichmarsh.
Lessons learnt.
Have 2 12mm ropes very securely fasten to the dinghy.
In any weather keep dinghy right up near the back of the boat.
Have decent fendering at the front of the dinghy.
I now have a 12inch loop of 12mm rope fastened very securely at each rear corner of the dinghy with a small fender attatched so I can hook onto inverted dinghy.
I did have oars and bailer clipped into dinghy and outboard removed, which I would do even on very short sea passages.
It goes without saying the dinghy must have very good internal bouyancy..what use is a dinghy that sinks?
Paul.
PS I now tend to use my Avon if sailing for more than 2/3 hours

 

[RupertW]

Done it many times in Caribbean but used to tow a dinghy when sailing with my father around East and South coast. It was a fairly substantial plywood dinghy and the boat was only 24ft hull length (plus bowsprit).

It's easy to do and we sailed in choppy/rough waters a number of times. The only hassle tended to be in a big following sea where we had to let the ropes out to about 60ft to avoid being slammed in the stern. This nearly caused a problem a couple of times in the Dover straits once when a crossing yacht didn't quite realise what we'd done.

Downsides

- drag, although less than you'd think provided you remove all oars/engine etc. but we weren't racing. Maybe it took half a knot, or even a knot off, worst if the waves snatched and braked the boat. I'd look for a boat that tows easily and has a couple of strong points

- water in the dinghy which never became a huge problem but we should really have fitted a draining valve to the stern.

We didn't think twice about overnight or open sea sails and all the old literature suggests that there is rarely a problem, but you do read about occasions where they've had to cast off the dinghys, in conditions which must be pretty extreme.

 

[Robin]

Many moons ago in the early 70's I used to tow a pram dinghy as it was all we had at the time. It actually towed very well under normal conditions but downwind in a bit of a blow it was terrifying. Downwind the dinghy would sit menacingly on a wave behind poised ready to pounce, then just as you dared to look forwards for a second would take off on a wild surge intent on joining us in the cockpit but fortunately stopping (just) short before falling back in line again. Upwind well if you think going upwind is slow anyway, just wait until you try it towing a dinghy, it also increases weatherhelm.

In my case I bought an inflatable as soon as funds allowed and the rigid was relegated to mooring use only. BTW I've never had problems making Avon inflatables row, the secret is in having oars that are long enough. All the Avons I owned I bought with extra length oars, one size longer than the standard. Nowadays we use a Zodiac with naff aluminium oars but it has an inflatable keel/floor and surprisingl rows well also.

At one time also we had a Puffin sailing dinghy which was about 7 or 8ft long and had collapsible PVC sides so stowed on deck just about on a 30 footer, the kids loved it but it was still a pain to lift and stow on board. You could try a Tinker sailing inflatable, they are better than you think and row well, but they are a bit heavy and you would probably need to stow on deck deflated unless you have a large locker but they also tow well in normal conditions.

 

[Guest]

Dinghy towing ....

Used to do it all the time till I got the flubber ...

Trick is to have a long painter ... bring it up too close will give snatch and drag increase. But as you let her drop back you will suffer yaw.
I used to find about 10ft back was close enough ... making sure that you shorten right up hard when going into harbour ...

The flubber as you probably know - should be bridled and hard up to the stermn to stop it being flipped ... not like most you see (and I admit that even I do it !!) on a long painter like a rigid !!

The downside is the drag ... whatever you do - it will knock serious knot or so out of your speed on a boat like yours ... in most weathers ...

Oh and make sure ALL gear is out of it before towing ... and outboard is locked - actually best to take O/bd off as it will probably get a wetting ... best not to tilt either - I used to do it and regularly had fuel slopping around in bottom of dinghy .... funny how some things you always forget and then end up in same mess!

 

[Talbot]

Used to tow a mirror for my kids. Main problem - make sure the towing eyes are through bolted to something solid, not screwed! we used to detach the tender with urchin before berthing in a marina as it certainly made thae procedure a lot easier!

 

[FullCircle]

I towed one for about 5 years. I had a 9ft lightweight and then 10ft medium weight GRP dinghies. Both were towed behind my Corribee and Evolution 25. I had the painter line in an eye in the bow about 4 inches above the waterline so that there is an upward force.
I had problems in a following sea in quite heavy weather going into Brightlingsea. Short steep breaking seas. The dinghy got picked up and came over the pushpit rail. Then again, so did the wave that brought the dinghy up. Wellies are good in this situation.
I shortened the line so that the dinghy was up tight to the stern of the yacht, and, although it took a bit of water in over the dinghy stern, was no further problem.

I also used to store a bit of kit well lashed down, as me, the girlfriend and 3 kids did not easily fit into a Corribee. I think it towed better, as the boat was a bit more dug into the water and seemed to track better.

 

[Ruffles]

We usually tow our 8' gf tender. It's a sailing dinghy and has a long keel which I think helps keep it pointing the right way. It has a centre board slot which needs to be blocked or it will slowly fill. It definitely slows us down - but not as much as the kids...

I fitted a U bolt low down in the bow for the painter. My thinking was that this would help to lift the bow when any sea is running. You will also need one or two bow fenders to stop it arriving in the stern cabin.

On a long trip you're quite likely to have to bail it out. This can be an alarming job - especially when single handed. It helps if you have a line already attached to the thwart so you can pull it sideways on to the stern of the yot. If there's any sea running you may find it impossible so be prepared to lose it. For that reason I don't have a loop in the end of the painter.

A trip up the Yar just wouldn't be the same in an inflatable...

 

[Lakesailor]

I'd quite like to put a U-bolt lower on the stem, but the forward sections are filled with foam, so I haven't any access.

 

[Guest]

Lake sailor .... foam filled bow ...

Have you thought about driiling thru from one side to other - then fitting a tube through .... fix and seal .... this then gives you possibility to pass a painter through and make fast.

 

[Ruffles]

Could you not cut a hole in the foam with an old bit of pipe? The stuff for TV aerials would do. Make a notch in it for a cutting edge. Trouble is you'll need a backing plate as well...

 

[Lakesailor]

It doesn't worry me. The tender will still climb up on the wake. The foam bouyancy chamber is a couple of feet deep.

 

[Mirelle]

Good Lord! Something I actually know about!

(unlike electronics, fibreglass, etc!) I towed a pram for my first 15 years of sailing. I very occasionally tow a dinghy now, but I can stow it on deck so I usually do.

1. Strong, long, painter to eye low down on the bow transom or stem of the dinghy. The eye bolt should be good and solid.

2. Lash the oars in; wedging them under the thwart is not really safe as the hull may flex and they can work loose.

3. Have the bailer on a lanyard.

4. If the dinghy has a dagger board slot, be sure that it is effectively closed, either with rags/a sponge or with a fitted wooden plate on top held down with shock cord.

5. Likewise, stow sailing gear and rudder.

6. DO have, in the boat, a long stout stern painter, made fast, but do not stream it.
Coil it in teh stern sheets. The idea is to be able to pull the tender alongside and flick the stern drag painter over with a boathook if you find yourself running in a sea, so that the dinghy starts running into you. (thank you Maurice Griffiths, for that one, and it works).

7. SHORT painter in sheltered water; LONG painter at sea.

Incidentally I fancy you can stow a pram on deck on a Twister. You may lose the ability to walk up one side deck, with the dinghy half on deck and half on the coach roof, but it's worth it.

 

[Gargleblaster]

I have a 27' boat with a babystay and a plastimo 2 metre dinghy [the one with an integral wheel on the stern], which I can easily haul over the safety lines single handed and stow on the foredeck. I can even sort of push it to one side to get at the anchor. The genoa and sheets don't bother it at all. The big thing in any sort of sea or breeze is to tie it down well otherwise the wind gets under it and it tries to take off. However for pure stability I much prefer the blow up Avon, plus I can get more of a load into it. But the Plastimo dinghy is better to row in any sort of tide flow. For me the biggest thing against towing a dinghy is the drag it creates.

 

[graham]

As a kid on my fathers boat we allways towed a rigid dinghy.never lost it completely but have vivid memories of hanging over the side bailing it out in bad weather.

A lot depends on the shape .We had one dinghy that towed badly and another very similar that towed really well.In a following sea they will occasionally surf past you or ram the transom /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

The tow line should be attatched to a U bolt on the stem of the dinghy low down near the waterline.

Going to windward cleat it to the leeward stern cleat on the yacht and it will survive extreme weather. running downwind needs either a very long painter to stop it hitting the yacht as the dinghy surfs forward or a very short one and good fendering on the dinghy.We experimented with some success towing a small bucket astern of the dinghy to stop it surfing forward.

Some dinghys tow better with a bit of weight in the stern.Sandbag or similar.

Personally I think a towed dinghy is just one more thing to worry about in fresh weather so now we lash an inflatable on the foredeck.

Give it a go .All part of the fun /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[michael_w]

It's daft to tow a dink when you don't have to. I vividly remember having an 8'6" pram arrive in the cockpit of my father's boat. Apart from the damage it inflicted on the mother ship, the dink was a write-off. Luckily it didn't land on our heads.

 

[Cruiser2B]

It's a fairly common sight out here on the West side of Canada. Beside all previously mentioned points, thought I'd add one possible benefit - it acts like a drogue, so keeps you from yawing about. I guess that can also work against you. Definitely have a good length of towrope and easy means to adjust it. Let it out in a following sea - and keep an eye on it; to be hit by your own dink is daft imo.

Kevin