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

[johnalison]

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.

You don’t. You board in the usual way and take the dinghy round and moor it from on deck. I can’t remember how we did it 20+ years ago but it wasn’t hard.

 

[doug748]

I used to do a big commute, and had an old 10ft Avon similar to this:



Cost about £120 locally. Very tatty but very safe in all weathers, I never felt at all unsafe even doing 3 miles often in dodgy wind over tide. You learn to use the tide, which is easy when you are retired and have no deadlines to meet.
I used to flip it on the mooring to save birds crapping on the top whilst I was away, this also meant that potential thieves could see the 20 patches on the bottom and it did not fill with rainwater. I love rigid dinghies but they bang and clatter against the topsides and you can't turn them upside down, the state they can get in over a few days is dreadful.
Save the onboard tiny dinghy for small trips when away.

A 3.5 Tohatsu pushed it fine but any more than two people and it was very slow. However taking the engine off was a doddle. Step one, attach a line and lay the engine on the wooden floor; Step two, take the line aboard the boat; Step 3, hoist the engine up on the line.

PS
Makes it very easy to come alongside as well, without bumps and scrapes, when coming back to the mooring. If you drape your pick up buoy over the bottom, it's also pretty easy to grapple.

.

 

[Aquaboy]

Get something like a Gull, then you can sail to your wooring as well!!

 

[StUrrock]

You don’t. You board in the usual way and take the dinghy round and moor it from on deck. I can’t remember how we did it 20+ years ago but it wasn’t hard.

we will work it out thanks

 

[westernman]

The Australians would use a tinnie. A solid aluminium dinghy.
For example:- Tinnie

 

[Capt Popeye]

Hi a bit late to this post ; But I would go for a large Hard dinghy , over 12ft if possible , 13 or even 14ft will be much safer with the load that you specified could be carried ; leaving the bigger tender on the mooring , carrying the pump up on board , for emergencies etc : might suggest having 2 lines from tethered dinghy to buoy ; leaving dinghy on the shorter line whilst away , using the longer lined for easier pick up and transfering to main boat ;
Or you collect your boat and return to a safer pontoon to collect /transfer family / goods etc aboard main boat ; at same time placing the pump up aboard much more safely

My guess /experience is that getting onto /off a bigger boat is the most dangerous part of Boating , so requires the safest way to do it ; Oh wearing a LJ is most important when in a Pump Up dinghy

Oh please remember to secure your Boarding Ladder so that it can safely be un secured from a Dinghy ; lower height /reach etc , getting stuck between a dinghy and a Boat is not a good idea : recued a few caught in that possition , very very risky

Oh again , if your Club runs a safety boat , would they take you or family out to your boat , oreven just you + one , so that you could return to the pontoon for the rest ?

A mile away from Club is far far to far for safety , if current is taking one away from pontoons /club its soon gona be 1.5 miles then 2 miles

 

[WF36]

Surprised that no one has mentioned the seals in the Orwell that take great pleasure in climbing into hard dinghies and inadvertently flipping them over, not what you want to come back to after a weeked sailing!

 

[shanemax]

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

I am on the Orwell myself on a swinging mooring approx travel distance 300 meters. Its fine if the weather and tide is ok but over the years I have had trouble getting back in and once found myself blown up the shore 200 meters from my club with no other option than to drag the dingy through the surf with boots full of water. Yes and I mean the surf on that occasion.
I have a 2.6 inflatable and two horse power outboard but like any river it can have its moments due to wind/rain/tide.

 

[PetiteFleur]

Definitely use an 8' hard dinghy, I travel about 15min to my mooring. ALWAYS wear a lifejacket and don't carry too much gear. I fell in the water climbing into the dinghy a couple of years ago - very difficult to get back into the dinghy but managed to get aboard my boat via the stern boarding ladder. tIn your circumstances I would get a 10'/12' hard dinghy.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

We had this situation til quite recently, though not as far. If our new mooring hadn’t come up, we were planning to buy a small console steered RIB, say 3.5m. That would have been left, locked to the mooring while we sailed. Part of the idea was for while we were on board and still on the mooring. Mrs Chiara would be able to jump in, turn the key and take herself to the showers, the shops, pick up friends etc herself rather than be reliant on me. The new mooring being nearer and more sheltered has downscaled that plan. I had my eye on a boat on ebay advertised at £2300 that would do it, 3.5m and 8hp.

 

[pyrojames]

I use a 310 rib and 15 hp outboard. It lives on a trailer and I launch off the club ramp each time. No lifting outboards on and off, and a good stable platform in all weathers. I have a 2.5 mile run, and will hop on the plain when I am clear of the moorings. I sometimes tow it, sometimes leave it on the mooring (daytime only) and sometimes take the mothership back to the club and leave the dinghy ashore if I am going away for a while.

Even a small rib is more stable than other options.

 

[PeterWright]

I agree a rib is the best option for this duty but tends to be a bit pricey compared to an ageing rigid hull so, if the pennies are a bit tight, the rigid Hull option suggested by many might be the best compromise. If it doesn't have built in buoyancy, some bags would be a wise addition.

Peter

 

[Chiara’s slave]

I agree a rib is the best option for this duty but tends to be a bit pricey compared to an ageing rigid hull so, if the pennies are a bit tight, the rigid Hull option suggested by many might be the best compromise. If it doesn't have built in buoyancy, some bags would be a wise addition.

Peter

We’ve always used small ribs for longer or more exposed moorings, especially when the kids were young. Yes, it’s more money, but remember that people die in tenders. We don’t compromise with them. Nor with outboards. We’ve gone electric there as our mooring is sheltered, but have an inflatable floor boat. Hard boats are wobbly to get in and out of, and scratch the mothership.

 

[johnalison]

We’ve always used small ribs for longer or more exposed moorings, especially when the kids were young. Yes, it’s more money, but remember that people die in tenders. We don’t compromise with them. Nor with outboards. We’ve gone electric there as our mooring is sheltered, but have an inflatable floor boat. Hard boats are wobbly to get in and out of, and scratch the mothership.

We tend to forget what it’s like to be young. We were happy enough with an 8’ pram at Maylandsea for many years, and it was easy to row on the odd occasion when an o/b failed or wasn’t available. It could get quite bouncy in an easterly but with two of us usually I never felt particularly at risk. A good white rubbing strake should prevent any marks. Comfort is another matter, but it was far better than a small inflatable. I don’t think we know which end of the Orwell is proposed. I would want something substantial off SYH but the upper reaches are usually reasonably quiet.

 

[miles from the sea]

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

I have a mooring on the river at Orwell YC upstream of the bridge so relatively sheltered but use a 10 ft ridgid tender as it has geat stability, I can get crew and kit to the mooring safely in one trip and it rows well for when there is a problem with engine. I saw a guy last year at Pin Mill covered in mud and when I asked what happened he said he tried to row his inflatable against the wind and failed ending up on the putty. His mooring was only 100m from the causeway! The Orwell is a great river but you will need a good tender.

 

[Greg2]

I am on the Orwell myself on a swinging mooring approx travel distance 300 meters. Its fine if the weather and tide is ok but over the years I have had trouble getting back in and once found myself blown up the shore 200 meters from my club with no other option than to drag the dingy through the surf with boots full of water. Yes and I mean the surf on that occasion.
I have a 2.6 inflatable and two horse power outboard but like any river it can have its moments due to wind/rain/tide.

We have a similar sized inflatable, perhaps smaller, with an electric outboard and on our first swing mooring just outside SYH last year I experienced some very wet rides out to pick up the day sailer. Having moved further upriver conditions tend to be a lot better but on a bad day with the wind coming downstream it is a long fetch from the Orwell bridge to Woolverstone!
.

 

[Rappey]

Myself any many others often commute a mile or more across portsmouth harbour to and from our moorings.
I have a 8ft rigid scow bow dingy. 3.5hp . More than enough power to lift the bow when faced with waves and avoid getting wet.
Things get a lot worse when more weight is added.
We can bring our boats to the public or sailing club pontoon and then load up, often leaving the dingy on the mooring.
Its around 10 mins to cover a mile at 6 knts .
What you should factor in is how long will it take to row back against wind and tide if your outboard wont start . Took me 50 mins

 

[StUrrock]

Myself any many others often commute a mile or more across portsmouth harbour to and from our moorings.
I have a 8ft rigid scow bow dingy. 3.5hp . More than enough power to lift the bow when faced with waves and avoid getting wet.
Things get a lot worse when more weight is added.
We can bring our boats to the public or sailing club pontoon and then load up, often leaving the dingy on the mooring.
Its around 10 mins to cover a mile at 6 knts .
What you should factor in is how long will it take to row back against wind and tide if your outboard wont start . Took me 50 mins

Having looked more the the charts the good news is that the mooring is just over half a mile away.

I have got my old Mercury 2.5hp up and running and totally agree that a larger hard tender or rib (8ft?), would be better.
On a calm day I will try a run from the club up to the mooring in my 2.5m inflatable and see how I get on.

Just a stupid idea, the mooring is less than half a mile from MDL Woolverstone marina, do you think their water taxi would take us out to the boat and bring us back, if we moored with them for a day or so? That would be quite wife friendly Might be worth an email to them.

Thanks again for all your input.

 

[Leighb]

Knowing MDL for many years I would be surprised if they will do anything for free!

 

[Greg2]

Just a stupid idea, the mooring is less than half a mile from MDL Woolverstone marina, do you think their water taxi would take us out to the boat and bring us back, if we moored with them for a day or so? That would be quite wife friendly Might be worth an email to them.

It wasn’t running last year - I think like other services from MDL it has been discontinued.
.