Dinghy as Emergency Tugboat

[Vasco]

Ajax, old ex-US Army tug, 149 feet. Steam if you can believe it. Photo taken in Bass Strait.

[sailingaway221]

You can tow your big boat with your dingy..... and actually if it is something really heavy it orks better than being alongside..... You just have to tow it backwards... IE tie the painter to the bow and reverse...... not high speed but I have towed a capsized 34 foot boat out of trouble in reverse with a small dingy and a 15.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by highseas

Don't try to tow boat with dinghy,tie it alongside near cockpit then you can move easily between steering wheel(or tiller)and dinghy o.b. throttle.Wait until tide and wind is favorable.Have done this with inflatable and 4hp.

Highseas is spot on.

I had some goose make me use his dink with a 15hp and try to pull his cat. I just wanted to use my 3.3hp and tie to his quarter.

I spose it doesnt look macho for a 3.3hp or 4hp to be able to acurately push a vastly larger boat.

[dcstrng]

Agree with HighSeas... Years ago, due to poor/contaminated fuel, more than once had to "tow" my Irwin (14+ ton) back with an inflatable (8hp Eska). Don't think I'd like to run an inlet that way, but worked just fine on a river...

Strap it along side so the outboard is about at the aft waterline/rudder, set the outboard so the sailboat rudder is more or less neutral and steer with the boat rudder until time to dock -- when the steerable prop is pretty handy...

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by dennisail

Makes me wonder if its worth it to install a small outboard bracket on the stern of your boat if practical...

Depending on the boat it can be very impractical considering freeboard and transom arrangements.

[jmayton]

Originally Posted by anotherT34C

I've never had to try this myself, but it has always been my plan, if the diesel quits, to use my inflatable dinghy as an emergency tugboat to get me either into my slip, or onto a mooring in a crowded field.

Assuming that this has already happened to others, I was hoping to learn some hard-won wisdom regarding how-to.

?

I have had to use my dink as a tug a few times. Once when picking up a mooring in Catalina Island and once in Newport Beach while attempting to sail into the slip on my 42 ft ODay. Both times it was because of engine failure, but the dink helped. I used the "off the port quarter method" which seemed to make doing it single handed a bit better. Having a mate onboard would be better. I regularly attempted to "sail in" because I thought it made me a bit more "salty" to do so. Funny how pride in seamanship keeps me holding on to those "old school" skills.

[capn_billl]

Good to know, thanks for the post. I've never tried it, but always wondered. I guess it would be good to check it out in calm conditions instead of waiting for an emergency.