Will a mile dinghy ride to swinging mooring be a culture shock?

[StUrrock]

Hi All,

After 13 years on the Blackwater we are are moving to the Orwell on a swinging mooring with a mile ride from the club pontoon to the mooring.

We have a small inflatable with a 2.5 hp Mercury two stroke. We have only ever had really short dinghy rides when visiting places, as we have always used water taxis to our previous home moorings at Mersea and Brightlingsea.

Not quite retirement age and reasonably fit (but no Gym goer!!), part of me is thinking this is going to be a bit of a culture shock!!

When sailing we do tend to go for a few days at a time, and on the plus side there are a lot of marinas nearby with all tide access where I can pick the Mrs up!

What are your experiences?

Thanks

 

[Boathook]

I think a culture shock. Possibly a 20 minute journey, etc. Doesn't sound much but when dark and wet ....

 

[Minerva]

It wouldn’t necessarily put me off, but I’d probably be looking for a v floored tender with a >8hp outboard that can plane easily - if that wouldn’t be too anti social / going though lots of moored boats

 

[fredrussell]

Shouldn’t be too bad- maybe sell your current inflatable and get one with bigger tubes for a drier ride?

 

[adamstjohn]

Coincidentally that is exactly my situation, Orwell yacht club -freston, probably a mile - its fine in fine weather but in a blow against the tide, the river can kick up a bit. Usually do it with 2 adults and 2 kids and gear for a few days so we have a big hard dinghy. There were a few times when we didnt want to get into the smaller dinghy before we replaced with a more sturdy one, loads of people use inflatable tenders on the river, i just find them a bit wet.

 

[adamstjohn]

Another thing to consider is getting the motor on/off the dinghy and lowering it to dinghy transum, havnt done it yet (touches wood) but dropping the motor happens. Lowering it off boom or hoist type thing or at least putting a line around it seems to make sense if the worst happens, we have a 3.3 2 stroke and are thinking of going to a 2 hp for weight reasons, wont affect speed which is 6 mph anyway, you do need to power up if you get the wash from a stink pot (looks for smiling emoji) but most slow down nowadays, to avoid getting swamped.

 

[Hermit]

Make sure you have some waterproof bags!

 

[harvey38]

Do the journey a few times on your own in the rain then consider what luggage and other detritus you need to take then make your decision on your findings.

 

[chrishscorp]

Our dinghy ride can be further than that depending on where we set off from.

Tides, wave height and wind all roll into the equation.
Make sure your tender has the boat name on it clearly.
Head torch that works in case you end up needing to use it after dusk
Always pack oars and rowlocks, dont ask why I do this, saves the gym fees...
I always carry a waterproof hand held VHF and my mobile is in a waterproof 'life proof' case both on me whilst in the dinghy and a knife.
Always a lifejacket and after one very damp trip for which I was grateful for some spare clothes on board, now looking at getting new feet put into my old drysuit for the more interesting trips, We are afloat all year round.
We would look at picking up bags and crew off a pontoon not transport in the dinghy.

Probably not the honest answers you may wish for but I have a friend who has ended up in the water 3 times after a similar length tender trip, the getting out the tender and onto the boat and the reverse is generally the point it all goes wrong.

 

[LittleSister]

Another thing to consider is getting the motor on/off the dinghy and lowering it to dinghy transum, havnt done it yet (touches wood) but dropping the motor happens. Lowering it off boom or hoist type thing or at least putting a line around it seems to make sense if the worst happens, we have a 3.3 2 stroke and are thinking of going to a 2 hp for weight reasons, wont affect speed which is 6 mph anyway, you do need to power up if you get the wash from a stink pot (looks for smiling emoji) but most slow down nowadays, to avoid getting swamped.

When I used an outboard I always had a line on it to transfer it from the yacht or a pontoon to the dinghy. The line was just long enough so the outboard could remain tied onto the pushpit while it was being lifted from the yacht into the dinghy and then mounted on the dinghy transom, and vice versa.

I too favour smaller, lighter outboards over max speed. Wrestling a heavy outboard is not just tedious, but rather dangerous when you're bouncing around in a dinghy - the bigger and heavier, the more likely it is to go over the side, and also the more likely it is to take you with it or capsize the boat. It's also easier to hurt yourself directly with a heavier motor (e.g. pulled muscle, hernia, trapped fingers/toes or whatever). (`Also, if you have it on a line and drop it in the water, you're unlikely to be able to instantly whip it straight out if its any heavier than, say, a 2hp.) Going faster will generate more spray. A 2hp is quite enough to quickly turn the dinghy to best angle to ride e.g. a power boat's wake. If you want to go faster, that will likely involve a bigger, heavier and more expensive dinghy (and in the case an inflatable will take more time, effort and space to inflate).

Others will have their own priorities, but it surprises me how prevalent the tendency for what seem to me necessarily large outboards is.

 

[LittleSister]

Always a lifejacket . . .

I broadly agree, but prefer a buoyancy aid to life jacket in the dinghy. If I capsize a dinghy, I want to be able to swim and manoeuvre, neither of which are at all easy with an inflated life-jacket.

 

[alandalus11]

A mile does sound like a long way, especially when you find out that you have forgotten something in the car or when the engine breaks down and you have to row to the boat or club.

 

[PeterWright]

adamstjohn has the best answer here - not surprising, he'sxa local with real life experience of what you plan in the waters you plan.

You don't want to be restricted to only going out to your mooring in benign conditions, so set yourself up with a tender and outboard which will handle horrible weather - get a decent size and don't worry about its beauty, there are plenty of cheap old boats available and you can leave it on the mooring while going for a day sail or tow it back to the club to store if you're headed off for a cruise.

 

[Plum]

Hi All,

After 13 years on the Blackwater we are are moving to the Orwell on a swinging mooring with a mile ride from the club pontoon to the mooring.

We have a small inflatable with a 2.5 hp Mercury two stroke. We have only ever had really short dinghy rides when visiting places, as we have always used water taxis to our previous home moorings at Mersea and Brightlingsea.

Not quite retirement age and reasonably fit (but no Gym goer!!), part of me is thinking this is going to be a bit of a culture shock!!

When sailing we do tend to go for a few days at a time, and on the plus side there are a lot of marinas nearby with all tide access where I can pick the Mrs up!

What are your experiences?

Thanks

Keep your small inflatable on board and use a rigid dinghy, the largest you can manhandle at the club and the scruffyer the better, and leave it on the mooring when away.

www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk

 

[johnalison]

Keep your small inflatable on board and use a rigid dinghy, the largest you can manhandle at the club and the scruffyer the better, and leave it on the mooring when away.

www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk

I agree. It's what we did years ago at Maylandsea. The trip with a 2.2hp motor was about 10 minutes downtide and 20mins up on a bad day. I don't think it was as far as a mile. I think that a mile on the Orwell could be challenging. It would be fine on a good day, and something we often did in places like Salcombe from the Bag, but the Orwell is a big river for a small dinghy. My preference would be for something with a 4hp motor, preferably hard, though a good inflatable might do.

 

[Marmalade]

Keep your small inflatable on board and use a rigid dinghy, the largest you can manhandle at the club and the scruffyer the better, and leave it on the mooring when away.

www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk

If you leave a hard dinghy on the mooring - find a way of securing it so that the painter doesn't get wrapped around the riser or beneath the buoy while you're away. In a previous life we had a couple of trips that ended stressfully when we returned to find a major disentanglement job waiting for us before we could even think about packing up and going home

 

[Concerto]

If you leave a hard dinghy on the mooring - find a way of securing it so that the painter doesn't get wrapped around the riser or beneath the buoy while you're away. In a previous life we had a couple of trips that ended stressfully when we returned to find a major disentanglement job waiting for us before we could even think about packing up and going home

Use a short painter to the buoy and this avoids the problem.

 

[pandroid]

We used to have a similar arrangement on the Medway where we kept the dinghy at one club and the boat moored at another. We had a 2.5 Mariner with an Avon. As mentioned above, the main hassle was getting the outboard on/off the boat. One day we left the outboard on the dinghy and the wind got underneath and flipped it, flooding the motor and making it u/s. (We got it to work later). In our case it was daytime and we managed to flag down a passing club rescue boat, but you might like to think how you'd get back if was dark, no one about and you didnt have a motor.

 

[ex-Gladys]

Another plus 1 for rigid dinghy, and a bit more length if possible. I used a dinghy for a few years at West Mersea and had a 10 ft. Much drier and more stable than 8ft, and easy enough to handle ashore. AS for attachment, we always used a short length of chain to the buoy (at WM the stops attach to a ring on the buoy)

 

[StUrrock]

Thank you all so much for your suggestions, certainly a lot to consider! Especially if we get a tatty hard dinghy how I will get aboard when the tender is attached to the mooring buoy at the bow..
Will let you now how I get on.