Fascadale
Well-Known Member
Excellent try, but not quite right.
Almost the same heading, but further north and a bit further west.
Towing an inflatable - re Jester
- Thread starter tarik
- Start date
Excellent try, but not quite right.
Almost the same heading, but further north and a bit further west.
millbeach
Well-Known Member
I towed my inflatable last season, got back to mooring and only the rope left.
My beloved "quicksilver lost to the sea", great tender.
Line chaffed through.
Put 2 lines on, for safety..
My beloved "quicksilver lost to the sea", great tender.
Line chaffed through.
Put 2 lines on, for safety..
Salty John
Well-Known Member
We make a webbing towing bridle, but I wouldn't recommend towing a dinghy for the distance you're proposing.
In following seas the dinghy often tries to get aboard - very annoying - and it does cut your speed.
A long painter with the dinghy one wave crest back, or the dinghy pulled halfway up the transom seem to be the most popular modes - some swear by one, some the other.
Searush
Well-Known Member
So whotcha gonna do? Some people think they've cracked it 
lots of others had problems. Do ya think yer good enough? 
Perhaps do it, but have a spare dinghy packed away below?
As I said earlier, if you want the dink that day, try towing, if not, it really is easier to stow it & unpack if needed. Personally, there are two types of people on here; those who've had problems & those who haven't . . . YET!
I think my issues have occured in shallow water, probably wind over tide, so short steep seas & the dinghy bow (or stern) comes out of the water as it crosses the crest so the wind gets under it. Have you ever tried carrying a dinghy in windy weather? Even with 3 people holding it down it gets to be a handful, now imagine it only has one person trying to hold the bow with a bit of rope . . .
Your call, the risk & consequences are all yours.
lots of others had problems. Do ya think yer good enough? Perhaps do it, but have a spare dinghy packed away below?
As I said earlier, if you want the dink that day, try towing, if not, it really is easier to stow it & unpack if needed. Personally, there are two types of people on here; those who've had problems & those who haven't . . . YET!
I think my issues have occured in shallow water, probably wind over tide, so short steep seas & the dinghy bow (or stern) comes out of the water as it crosses the crest so the wind gets under it. Have you ever tried carrying a dinghy in windy weather? Even with 3 people holding it down it gets to be a handful, now imagine it only has one person trying to hold the bow with a bit of rope . . .
Your call, the risk & consequences are all yours.
chinita
Well-Known Member
I was not being sarcastic. I just find it rather surprising that somebody contemplating dragging an inflatable halfway across the Atlantic and back is stupid enough to tell anyone.
Tranona
Well-Known Member
It really is a non-question. The great advantage of an inflatable (as a tender) is that it CAN be deflated and stowed aboard when not needed. Fine to tow it on day sails or coasting when you want to use it for its other main purpose, getting ashore, two or three times a day.
If you are going any distance and don't need it as a tender, can't understand why you would want to tow it with the risk of losing it and a definite loss in speed.
If you are going any distance and don't need it as a tender, can't understand why you would want to tow it with the risk of losing it and a definite loss in speed.
billcowan
Well-Known Member
As said, tow only if going a short distance.
If you cant be bothered to flatten it, just toss it on the foredeck.
It helps if you throw away all the useless extra weight, floor, seats, wheels etc.
I always tie mine upside down, makes the forpeak a bit dark, but when anchored I use the spinny haliard to lift up the bow of it to let some air in the hatch.
If you cant be bothered to flatten it, just toss it on the foredeck.
It helps if you throw away all the useless extra weight, floor, seats, wheels etc.
I always tie mine upside down, makes the forpeak a bit dark, but when anchored I use the spinny haliard to lift up the bow of it to let some air in the hatch.
Graham_Wright
Well-Known Member
I used to store mine athwartships across the transom.
Kelpie
Well-Known Member
That's weird, according to the website there are only 34 entries, but maybe it's not been updated (or maybe I'm being stoopit).
Seriously, I treat the tender as follows:
<5 mile trip and calm conditions: towed
5-10 mile trip: on foreeck
10+ miles: deflated
I don't suppose you are considering keeping it inflated for emergency purposes? That would seem more understandable than wanting to save five minutes on arrival at the Azores.
P.S. You could save another five minutes and not bother taking your fenders in at the start either
tarik
Well-Known Member
Inflatable
I would have done so normally, but I have now fitted an inner forestay
Thanks anyway for your input.
D
I would have done so normally, but I have now fitted an inner forestay
Thanks anyway for your input.
D
reginaldon
Well-Known Member
If not being sarcastic, it seems you wish to be unpleasant to the OP.
Fascadale
Well-Known Member
Are you going to have a windvane for this passage, and if so how do you plan to protect it from the dink being swept forwards into it by a following sea?
chinita
Well-Known Member
Not at all.
I am asking pertinent questions and reacting to his sensitive reactions!
I am just surprised that someone contemplating a seriously difficult passage, singlehanded, against prevailing winds and currents feel the need to ask what is - as others have intimated - a bit of a no-brainer question.
A passage from Plymouth to the Azores, non-stop. Why should the question of towing a dinghy even come into the equation? Is it really such a 'pain in the butt', as he says, to inflate the dinghy on arrival? Will he even need to inflate it at all is he is to arrive at an Azorean Harbour?
The ethos of the Jester Challenge is to prove that good seamanship, and good seamanship alone is the criteria for entry. The whole point about the JC is that good seamen do not require the nanny state rules and regulations which have become endemic since the first STAR.
IMO, towing an AVON several thousand miles across the North Atlantic is not just bad seamanship, it is foolhardy and dangerous - both to the individual concerned and those who may be called upon to assist in any mishap.
At best, he could lose the dinghy. At worst he could lose his life trying to sort out the mess created by such poor practice.
There are many who object to the principle of long distance minimalist singlehanded sailing in small boats. This sort of question can only add succour to their arguments.
Furthermore, I have to question that someone who gets shirty when exposed to a little critisism may not be temperamentally suited to several weeks stress and isolation.
So, there you are ....fire away.
Seajet
...
Chinita,
+1
+1
reginaldon
Well-Known Member
No wish to fire at anyone - many had advised the OP against the practice - just didn't want to have his face rubbed in it.
Hostage
Active Member
Maybe I am missing the point but why do you want to take the dingy with you at all?
It is likely to take you 14 days to get there and you could get some weather en route so the tow could become a safety issue.
Might be worth considering the desirability of increasing your potential problems against what you perceive as the advantage.
You are taking on a considerable challenge and I take my cap off to you but do give yourself the best possible chance of success.
It is likely to take you 14 days to get there and you could get some weather en route so the tow could become a safety issue.
Might be worth considering the desirability of increasing your potential problems against what you perceive as the advantage.
You are taking on a considerable challenge and I take my cap off to you but do give yourself the best possible chance of success.
tarik
Well-Known Member
Towing
To everybody who has replied - many thanks.
The purpose of the original message was to counsel your opinion and advice - you have spoken almost with a united voice - Don't do it !! I value your views and will pack the inflatable up and store it up forward. I want to take it with me as I intend to go to Gib after the Azores, and will use it there - at Catalan.
Many thanks
D
To everybody who has replied - many thanks.
The purpose of the original message was to counsel your opinion and advice - you have spoken almost with a united voice - Don't do it !! I value your views and will pack the inflatable up and store it up forward. I want to take it with me as I intend to go to Gib after the Azores, and will use it there - at Catalan.
Many thanks
D
Searush
Well-Known Member
Have a great trip, I for one am a lot happier with your decision. Please let us know how it goes, many on here will be jealous of you - well, at least I am!
Bon voyage.
Bon voyage.
VO5
Well-Known Member
It is time for me to step into what has become an unpleasant thread.
First of all, "where you are going", you will not need the use of a dinghy. I am preparing an information pack with contacts and details of facilities and who operates them with personal introductioms for you.
Secondly, you don't have to worry about a pump. I happen to have 2 of these foot pumps that deflate and inflate.
When you have been where you first intend to go and then go where you intend to go next, the pump you need will be delivered to you as a special present.
Now, how's that ?
