Death by Dinghy : Risks and Best Practices

[Scout 30]

When we got our Avon 340 the first thing I did was replace the oars. However, even with better oars it still rows for ****. Every dinghy needs good oars & an anchor capable of holding it in a blow. We added a Bauer 10 sailing dinghy that's a joy to row & now use it more than the gray balloon.

[Muckle Flugga]

Originally Posted by seasick

...

We have experienced many thrilling, near death dinghy surfing instances while trying to get to the beach off Kihei, Maui. The worst of these ended with the wife leaping by the board with the baby as I came off the stern thwart with a leg on either side of the centerboard trunk pinned under the center thwart as she pitch poled onto the sand up side down. Three swells later some helpful passers-by righted our skiff me and all. Had some sore balls that day I tell you. Wife and baby had no issues getting ashore.

At the behest of the skipper of my sail trainer in Guadeloupe back in 1989 I and three others (including said skipper) deliberately went dinghy surfing on a beach with big swell coming in (I don't remember which though certainly Guadeloupe). After being pile driven twice into the sand under the craft and the third time breaking the oar I was using over my shoulders, I refused to go again. I am lucky not to have been paralysed. I pretty much never surf a dinghy in and will only beach one in ripples. Anchor off with a bow anchor and a long line to a small stern anchor up the beach or tied off. Sure you get wet but if you surf you will do so anyhow, and are risking killing the engine, filling the dinghy with sand, and serious injury.

[hpeer]

Around 1975, while i was in the USCG, a lady and two young Bucks went for a dingy ride between two Bahamian islands. The motor died. First one, then the other buck decided to swim for it. Never to be seen again.

After a few days we called off the search. The the ladies husband had some influence and we took another shot at it. One of our C-130's found her, standing on the dingy, top in one hand, bottom in the other, waving and shouting. ( yes, there were pics) A helo out of Miami picked her up. She gave a friend of mine who winched her in a big kiss.

She had survived drinking her own urine.

[tim_burley]

Can I please add a noet on kill switches, please please if you use them make sure there is another available onboard, its no use having the driver thrown overboard and you cannot start the engine to go get them. I have seen this happen quite a few times, not pleasant.

[Muckle Flugga]

Originally Posted by tim_burley

Can I please add a noet on kill switches, please please if you use them make sure there is another available onboard, its no use having the driver thrown overboard and you cannot start the engine to go get them. I have seen this happen quite a few times, not pleasant.

Fair note, but frankly they can be manufactured with any thin line and a hitch, at a pinch, and in seconds.

[Muckle Flugga]

Originally Posted by tim_burley

Can I please add a noet on kill switches, please please if you use them make sure there is another available onboard, its no use having the driver thrown overboard and you cannot start the engine to go get them. I have seen this happen quite a few times, not pleasant.

Oh and 3 posts: Welcome to CF!

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by aitch

Sorry to correct you Ann, but Australian safety requirements around safety, and of safety in dinghies, is standardised.
(1) owners of tenders are required to carry a bailer and WEAR a PFD.
(2) capacity limitations are also clear viz., "up to 3 m, max 2 people" , "3 m to 3.49 m, max 3 people"
(3) once the tender is more than 0.5 nm from the mother ship, additional requirements come into play depending on whether it is in sheltered or us sheltered waters. These include but are not limited to : anchor, rope and chain, fire extinguisher, oars, flares and more.
The point is, of course, that some operators blatantly disregard these requirements. If stopped by the water police this would attract a fine, as it should. Ultimately, of course, the skipper is legally responsible for the safety of his/her passengers and crew.
These requirements are well publicised and, in some areas, well enforced.
Only fools disregard them.
For me, and based on personal experiences of the unpleasant type, I would also advise yachties, and others, NOT to tow a dinghy, and to have a securing device which attaches the dinghy to the mother ship in a firm way, eg. davits (of the Weaver variety). These allow the dinghy to be loaded or unloaded while safely attached.

aitch,

offhand, here's one difference: in Tassie, one is required to wear a PFD in the dinghy. In NSW one is required to wear a PFD if one is alone in the dinghy, even when tied to the mother ship, but not, if there are more than one; and, they are required at night. In Queensland, you're required to carry flares in your dinghy, not in NSW.

Now, it is possible that there will be more standardization in the future, but afaik, it does not exist now, and the 3 states we mostly visit are different.

Ann

[Jim Cate]

aitch, could you give us a link to the statutes that you are quoting? They do seem to be at odds with some of the states that we have spent time in.

And frankly, some of them seem ridiculous to me, ie, carrying a fire extinguisher in an inflatable. Perhaps my scorn for these rules indicates that I am the fool that you mention. Sometimes I think that I actually am a better judge of risk to myself than a bureaucrat sitting in an air conditioned office. I'm pretty sure that I have more dinghy experience than most of them, both in the sense of active personal usage and being around large numbers of dinghies in daily use by other experienced cruisers. Sure, I have seen folks doing foolhardy things in their tenders, but that to me does not justify rules that subject me to fines for things like not carrying a fire extinguisher.

Sorry about the rant... but it is how I feel!

Jim

[RaymondR]

Sorry to correct you Ann, but Australian safety requirements around safety, and of safety in dinghies, is standardised

There is no standardization of pleasure vessel safety and registration in Australia and being mindful that this country had railroads for over a hundred years before the States could agree on the rail spacing for a standard gauge I doubt if there will ever be.

The rules on registration in the various States are convoluted and confusing and on occasions appear to be in conflict with the Commonwealth of Australia's obligations under international shipping conventions.

Is Tasmania part of Australia (snigger, snigger snigger.....)

[StuM]

Page with links to all of the various state licencing requirements:

Boat Registration & Licensing @ ExplorOz Articles

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by aitch

Sorry to correct you Ann, but Australian safety requirements around safety, and of safety in dinghies, is standardized...

Unless things have changed in the last two years, state requirements in WA and NT are quite different to Tas.

[Dave22q]

need to practice boarding your dinghy from the water. if it is not easy, buy or build an accessible boarding ladder. my RIB absolutely required one.

[FamilyVan]

I might have missed mention of it, but hypothermia is a serious risk in dinghy's. Maybe not everywhere, but certainly where I am. I can't even count the number of times I have been extremely cold in a dinghy.

Your hands get numb, making it hard to handle lines or work on engines. You shiver and your motor control skills go down the drain, your brain focuses on how cold you are instead of the task at hand- leading to poor decision making.

Solutions to this risk might include wearing a wetsuit or floater suit, obviously a pfd, a toque, having something to sit on. In a boat like my Walker Bay 8, you might need to sit right in the bilge for the sake of stability. My wife took this pic yesterday, I think it illustrates well how exposed to the elements you can be in an 8' boat.

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[Wakey]

http://www.sailingtotem.com/2015/09/...s-averted.html


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[exitstrategy]

Hello All,

DR;TL - where do you put all of the kit and not get stolen at shoreside?

I have really appreciated this thread and I am putting together an action plan to remedy the gaps we have on our dinghy.

Context: we have the Highfield 3.5m dinghy that came with the Lagoon 450. I sold off the 4-stroke Honda for the 2-stroke 15HP Yamaha (such a great decision). We have oars (that I do not believe would do anything against the wind), a bailer, kill cord that we use outside of protected harbors (but I am shifting to using all the time), and a Bruce anchor (on too short of rode).

I carry the VHF if I ever do anything on "open" water... so I have a ways to go to match the best practices...

But where would I put all of these engine spares, headlamps, and so on where it wouldn't get stolen when we go ashore?

Have you guys modified your dinghy to have a secure trunk?

-Erik