Hoisting dinghy on deck - with main halyard?

[grantmc]

To hoist a dingy there’s seemingly no limit to the modifications and improvements that will help. And sometimes they can be quite surprising. And I’m often left wondering why didn’t I think of that?

A launch tied up across the jetty from my boat a few weeks ago. When I looked up I thought 'what is that by the dinghy on the cabin top?' When I looked closer I realised it was a Hiab crane. It’s purpose: to lift the dinghy on and off the boat.

Now I know even small hiabs aren’t cheap, nor is installation simple. Turned out too that in order to counter balance the weight when in use, they’d had to rearrange water and fuel tanks etc to the opposite side of the cabin.

But they were very happy with the results. And for those technically interested, the model chosen was a Hiab 008T-1 crane (0.8 tonne metre) with a max. outreach of 3.8m weighing in at 125kg.

[Reefmagnet]

I'd consider adding a custom block and halyard to the top of the mast for hauling the dinghy as just the thought of having to manoeuvre the main halyard around the spreaders and other junk hanging off the mast would seem a PITA to me.

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[sparrowhawk1]

If the mainsheet is lead forward enough to put a dinghy on your bow it's going to cause chafe. To solve this I use a block and tackle attached to the main sheet, pull down on one line pull up on another while pushing the dinghy away from the boat. It's a bit of a workout but you can take a break whenever you want. with 2 people or maybe a pole you could probably run the line to the windlass.

[SimonV]

Originally Posted by basssears

Should have mentioned that, I do have a pole and a tang on the mast for it for poling out the jib, but not vertical control lines for the pole.

If this is the case then I would expect that the equipment is on the mast for a spinnaker halyard. Run a halyard and you life will be better.

[sparrowhawk1]

Obviously I meant main halyard not mainsheet. And I did it twice how embarrassing

[nautical62]

I regularly hauled my inlatable up on deck using the main halyard on my Westerly 26 and my Hunter 30. I'd get it over the lifelines and lower it some so it couldn't blow back over the lifelines then walk it forward.

[Cap Erict3]

Originally Posted by basssears

Have tried to search this one through, have found plenty of ideas about how to hoist dinghy onto foredeck using spinnaker halyard / jib halyard... BUT... I don't have either available to me (no spinnaker halyard, furling jib)... I guess I could lower the jib every time I want to hoist the dink, but wondering if anyone has used main halyard to do so... do you just hoist somewhere on the aft part of the boat then walk the dinghy forward?

Any insight appreciated... this is a Walker Bay 285ST, weighs about 120lbs... not sure it's long term solution but it's what I have for now.

Thanks in advance,

Bass

You likely have a tang up top for a spin halyard. 1 trip up the mast and problem solved.

[boneboy]

The Voyage boats have a clever design using an extension from the boom and using the main halyard. Of course you would have to store the dingy aft and need to customize the boom. But you can use the main halyard

[jrbogie]

think about it for a sec. all halyards hoist from the same place, the mast head, so the dingy will be hoisted along the mast. makes little difference main halyard or otherwise as your main effort is to get from the water to above the lifelines where you can lower it onto the foredeck. i use my main halyard single handed with no problem. once i have the stern of the dingy resting at the base of the mast it's a simple matter to ease the halyard til she's on deck. you know how i figure out how to do damn near anything on a sailboat? gonna sound like an athletic shoe add; JUST DO IT.

a side note. i've seen people remove the baby stay, if present, to make more room on the foredeck. DON'T DO IT. if you don't have swept back spreaders you're asking for mast pumping that can invert the mast. good luck.

[Trekker]

Two things to keep in mind:

(1) Getting a dinghy aboard with a halyard is made much easier with a bridle that keeps the dinghy horizontal rather then picking it up from a single bow attachment. A simple 3-point bridle using rope and caribiners that stows in a small bag in the dinghy works fine. After the dinghy is aboard it is easier to flip over and lash down than to manhandle it from a vertical position, especially if you're single handing.

(2) This is a primary safety consideration. Any decently fitted sailboat big enough for a dinghy should have at least one, and preferably two, spare masthead halyards. One should be long enough that both ends can reach down to the waterline.

Using a spinnaker halyard has worked fine for me forever. The masthead block swivels with the load. But I've also used the main and jib halyards for this and can find no detectable chafing.

Hope this helps...

[hamburking]

Originally Posted by roverhi

Tried using the spinnaker halyard but having no mechanical advantage made it no fun and it banged against the hull while hoisting.

I attached a "handy billy" to the spin halyard. That allowed me to lift the dinghy alone. I attached to the bow of the dinghy. Pulled with one hand, fended off with the other. It didn't look pretty, but it worked.

[UNCIVILIZED]

Originally Posted by Cap Erict3

You likely have a tang up top for a spin halyard. 1 trip up the mast and problem solved.

If there's no tang up there for a kite halyard, then odds are it's possible to rig a soft eye up near the masthead, from which to hang a block for a dinghy hoisting halyard.
They're, cheap & easy to make - KISS. And it's easy enough to fabricate a leather or neoprene cover/sock, for the block. So that it doesn't bang against, nor chafe anything.

The only trick would be placing the soft eye in a spot where it doesn't create any interference for the other halyards or sails. But there should be room up there. As few mainsails go to the masthead, so likely the soft eye would fit into place, in between the main's point of maximum hoist, & below the jib halyard/furling gear.

A "halyard" in such a configuration's primary purpose is as a dinghy hoist. As it's inside of the foretriangle. Still, it's a simple, handy fix to the problem.

[basssears]

Thanks for all the input everyone, given me plenty of different things to think about.

I think for now I will use the main halyard to raise a block and tackle high enough to easily go over the lifelines and deposit dinghy on the side deck (that way not trying to go forward of my shrouds with the main halyard which might cause chafe and would certainly be a PITA), then just lift it with two of us and carry it forward to its home on the foredeck.

Long term definitely want to have spare halyards to the masthead, both to be able to use one for the dinghy and as pointed out as a safety / backup. With only main and jib halyards up there I feel a little thin if something were to break or get away and go to the masthead... lose both and you can't even climb the mast.

Don't have mast climbing setup myself due to $$$ constraints, wish I'd thought of this when the rigger was up there two weeks ago redoing headstay and furler.

As for "Just Do It", my experience is much the same as if I tried to "Just Do" things Michael Jordan did... they don't really work out like I expected and I just get hurt , so best to ask questions first for me.

Thanks all.

-- Bass

[jkindredpdx]

I was lucky, my mast had two sheaves forward and aft... so with roller furling I had a second sheave... I ran the second line forward and simply used a 160ft climbing rope with 4:1 attached to bosun's chair (or seat harness) to my main Halyard and another line to my Topping Lift with Prusik Knot to a chest harness as backup protection.

Now I can use my spinnaker pole with foreguy/topping lift forward of the shrouds and no concern of my main halyard jumping the sheave.

[mnh]

there are 2 items which help lift my 110 lb dinghy aboard with our spin halyard:
1) "Dinghy Dogs" - great for the dink, and act as bumpers against the hull when lifting the dink over the side
2) Pelican hooks on the lifelines, which allow me to drop the lifelines down to deck level, where the dink comes over the toerail.The dink does not have to be lifted as far up.

mnh