Best Way to Hoist the Dinghy on Foredeck ?

[arjand]

Hi there,
This year for the first time we put the dinghy (10 ft Avon inflatable with a hard bottom) on deck for some of the passages. We use the attachment points in the dinghy and a spinnaker halyard. However: we found out we:
1) scratched the side of the boat;
2) hit/pressured one stanchion;
3) and most of all had trouble to turn it upside down.

Any trips/tricks that you find work for you?

Thanks!

Arjan

[Vasco]

Secret is while one person grinds the other pushes the dink off the side of the boat. I used to lift it with only the bow attachment point, in effect lifting it with the painter or bow ring. Lift it straight up vertically, swing it inboard, lower slowly on the two pointy bits on the stern and pull the bow down so that it lays upside down. Now I have davits.

[captain465]

Spinnakar halyard to bow grab handle of dinghy. Haul dinghy up while being sure the hard bottom is always faced away from the boat, When the pontoon ends are above the lifelines, guide dinghy to the base of the mast with the hard bottom facing aft........lower dinghy to the cabintop or deck and secure. (Remember to remove outboard motor first)

[arjand]

THANK YOU!! I always hoisted it using all attachment points and thus keeping the boat horizontal. The way you do it makes so much more sense!!! A big thank you! (ps, I will remember the outboard... ) :-)

[Tingum]

If you have a spinnaker halyard you may have a spinnaker pole as well. Rig the pole at the top of the track and run the spinnaker halyard through the outboard end of the pole. Raise the pole up with the topping lift and then use the halyard to hoist the dink with a three point bridle and swing it onto the foredeck. You can just use lines for fore and after guys to control the swing.

[gulfstar37]

Arjan,

Been storing our 10 foot dingy on the cabin top for about 10 years now. As stated above we clip the spiniker line to bow rings and start to bring the bow out of the water. This will drain off any water that may be left in the dingy. Following this we hoist the dingy out of the water keeping it away from the boat topsides. When it is hanging directly over the cabin top I lower it down stern first and let the bow come down towards the bow of the boat upside down. I have several dedicated nylon straps sized just to secure to cabin top.

A little trick someone showed me was to run the spinker sheet under your foot and step down to use your weight to pull the dingy out of the water. I then hold the sheet and again repeat the step process to again use my weight to hoist the dingy. This will hoist the weight a little over a foot at a time. This saves my wife from grinding the winch. Sorry no power winches on our boat, at least not yet.

Happy sailing

[rebel heart]

I have a Walker Bay that I get onto the cabin top. It's a bit of a pain in the ass, but no more than a few minutes. As others have mentioned, it's very easy with two people. One to use a boat pole or their hands to keep the dinghy from ripping up the sides, and another to haul it up.

Gets even more fun on a windy day. Amazing how much those suckers will fly around when you pop them out of the water.

[capn_billl]

Ditto on lift from the bow. I have a 10ft Carib RIB. I can get it aboard with no assistance, by getting the bow line, (with the stern touching the side I plan to lift it), and pulling it vertical up to the lifelines, then when the lifelines hit the dinghy pontoons amidships lean backwards lowering the bow to the deck, secure it, then pick up the transom so it's no longer touching the lifelines then rotate on bow to the position you want it.

That minimizes effort, and reduces chances of puncturing pontoons, or scraping deck. I wouldn't try it in high winds though.

[The Boat Galley]

Ditto on the technique . . . but we found that while I (female) had a hard time grinding the winch, it was very easy for me to be the person guiding the dinghy while my husband winched.

[donradcliffe]

Get a lighter (108 lb) aluminum RIB, and you can do it single-handed. I use a halyard and a 3 point sling to get dinghy and motor on deck, stow the motor (a 28 lb 3.5 2-stroke), then flip the dinghy over by hand. After doing this 1000 times, it takes about 5 minutes.
My dinghy has no projecting hard bits to scratch the boat as I lift it-it gets hung up on the lifelines during the lift, but a little push away from the boat frees it and I keep cranking.


Launching is even easier, as I just tip the dinghy up, attach the sling, lift it a bit and it flips itself. Then lift above the lifelines, push it out with the tail of the halyard in one hand, and release it fast when it clears the side of the boat.

Naturally, a lighter dinghy and motor is a whole lot easier to drag around and up the beach.

[rocksculpter]

These have been good suggestions. I've been lifting horizontal and have a pvc pipe support that the bow rests on, slips over my sampson post. I don't flip it over but either cover it or pull the drain plug. It's too hard for me to wrestle vertical on my short fordeck. Single handling I attach a 10/1 vang to the halyard so I can stand at the side and use one hand for hoisting and one for guiding.

Barry, S/v Whoosh

[Otia]

This is very interesting.
I was considering having an arch built with davits to hoist the dinghy, but I'm concerned about the weight added onto the stern, by s/v is only 40ft.
This seems to be quite an interesting alternative. I've been hoisting my dinghy onto the foredeck using the spinnaker halyard, putting the dinghy upside down, for passages. I now think I sd invest money into a pole rather than an arch and use it to hoist the dinghy straight up onto the foredeck. Some questions for you guys:
- Anybody has a video of this operation with a pole used as a crane?
- I would consider using supports installed onto the foredeck to rest the dinghy upside onto the foredeck. Anybody has some recommendations?
- Could the engine be left on the dinghy?
BTW, I have an AB rib with aluminium hard bottom, 9.5ft. It is quite light, I think some 100lbs only. I am considering buying a Yamaha 2-stroke 15hp, it weighs 79 lbs I believe.

[Hannah on 'Rita T']

We have a staysil traveler on which the overturned dinghy rests. To avoid wear on the dinghy from the traveler, we cut short pieces of swim noodles and slit them to rest on the traveler under the dinghy tubes.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by Otia

This is very interesting.
I was considering having an arch built with davits to hoist the dinghy, but I'm concerned about the weight added onto the stern, by s/v is only 40ft.
This seems to be quite an interesting alternative. I've been hoisting my dinghy onto the foredeck using the spinnaker halyard, putting the dinghy upside down, for passages. I now think I sd invest money into a pole rather than an arch and use it to hoist the dinghy straight up onto the foredeck. Some questions for you guys:
- Anybody has a video of this operation with a pole used as a crane?
- I would consider using supports installed onto the foredeck to rest the dinghy upside onto the foredeck. Anybody has some recommendations?
- Could the engine be left on the dinghy?
BTW, I have an AB rib with aluminium hard bottom, 9.5ft. It is quite light, I think some 100lbs only. I am considering buying a Yamaha 2-stroke 15hp, it weighs 79 lbs I believe.

You will never regret those davits. 90% of the time you are in harbor or moving a short ways to the next. Once I had them it was hard to imagine anything handier on the boat. It doesnt keep you from putting the dingy on the deck for an ocean crossing if you want. At night you can just haul 'er up off the water. For a 40 mile jaunt just take the engine off and leave the dink on the davits.
A whole lot less wear and tear on lifelines, boat deck, varnish, stancions etc too.

[Cowboy Sailer]

We hoist our air floor dinghy up by one of the rope handles on the side of the dinghy using our spinnaker halyard. My wife holds it away from the side of the sailboat as I lower it. Just as the lowest tube hits the water she pushes the other tube away and the dinghy lays floating right side up.
To load it back onboad I raise it by the rope handle while she holds it away from the hull side. When it clears the lifelines she lets it swing onboard and I lower it. she guides it to turn upside down and I drop it the rest of the way.
We also often raise it clear of the water while it remains rightside up but a little stern low for overnight storage.
We keep short lines attached to the bow and both sides of the stern and both rope handles. That makes it very easy to control it; although one time in gale force winds it got a little exciting!