Carrying a Sailing Dinghy on a Sailing Liveaboard

[LoudMusic]

Does anyone carry a small sailing dinghy on their cruising sailboat, and if so, what is your dinghy and what is your cruiser?

I don't intend this to be a replacement or modification of a motor dinghy. It's just an additional water toy, much like kayaks or paddleboards. My concern is that there just isn't enough room on even a reasonably large cruiser for a dinghy of entertaining size.

My thought is to put some kind of cradle on top of the motor dinghy davits and set the sailboat dinghy on top of that. At about 12 to 15' in length, on a monohull that'd likely be close to or exceeding the cruiser's beam. And on a multihull it'd be overlapping one or both swim platform steps, but theoretically could be high enough to not be intrusive.

I'm curious if anyone has done this and do they find it useful to have around - similar to bicycles on boats, I suppose.

[sapient sue]

We own a 40ft cruising boat and carry a Saber sailing dinghy as our second dink. We have the caribbe with outboard to get from a to b but love the little sailing dink for fun. The Saber is great to row or sail and we have also an inflatable kayak so lots of toys to improve our enjoyment when at anchor.

[s/v Moondancer]

We carry a Hobbie canoe cum sailing tri which has had lots of use but we have a big boat.

http://newenglandboating.com/hobie-r...ailing-kayaks/

[Catmandu]

+1 on the Hobie kayaks w/mirage drives and sails

Here is another interesting possibility:

http://ptwatercraft.com/ptwatercraft/PT11Home.html

[fatherchronica]

I like hard dinghies, so I designed and built a 12' plywood nesting dinghy named " Mintberry Crunch" that nests at 6'6" and sits on our cabin top ahead of the mast on "Mana" . Originally it was just a rowing or motoring boat, but I added a centerboard and rudder and built a 12' sculling oar for "Mana" that fits into a slotted mast step and is the mast for " Mintberry Crunch's" sailing rig. We are still experimenting with the rig that suits us. My dinghy was framed up and covered in plywood in my friends garden, but everything else was done on docks and beaches here and there. The week after I had her ready to transport to the marina we were at then I found a kit that was exactly the same dimensions for sale. I would not have bought it it because I am too frugal but later on I did see a completed one at the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Show and was able to see how a smart person would have solved some of the design decisions that arose. We have a friend who lives aboard a 63' steel sailboat who sailed back and forth from Central California to La Paz with a non working engine and had a big outboard for propulsion. Being a diehard sailor, he also had a tiny little sailing dinghy as his only shore transport. It had a little gaff rig and had a leeboard on just one side. It didn't point at all and many was the time we would sit a table in the shade and waiting for him and watch him endlessly tacking with very little headway and finally go to shore far down the beach and hike to us. Off topic I know, but I am old and I ramble. One other note about a hard dinghy. I put a 12" x12" Lexan window in the bottom to be able to check our anchor, and we were so happy with it I added a 12" x 18" window on the other side of the keel.

[Minggat]

36' boat. Achilles RIB lite nest perfectly on Walker Bay 8 on the foredeck. Mast lashed to lifelines.

[roverhi]

Have Montgomery 8' dinghy stored inverted on the foredeck. Stow the mast, oars, and awning spreader bars overhead below. They are out of the way and make much used hand hold at sea.

[captstu]

Our Walker they ate sits on Weaver davits and is our primary Harding. Dinghy. It's sails OK with two people, very well with one person, and rows well with two. We don't carry the engine any longer.

[ctl411]

We carry a Sinbad 8 foot on the foredeck. It came with a sail rig but changed it to a Opti sail rig. Opti rig is easier to set up and store. Main dink is a 14 foot portabote.

[mnh]

I carry a 10 ft. hard sailing dinghy on the foredeck, when not towing it. Wieighs about 110 lbs. So, getting it over the lifelines was a PIA. So, we put "gated" lifeline sections on both sides of the deck, which we can disconnect using Pelican Hooks. That way, the dinghy lifts more easily straight on to the deck, and you don't have to struggle with it going up and over the lifelines. Made it more more easy when lifting the beast on to the foredeck.
mnh

[CarinaPDX]

I kept an 8' Fatty Knees on the foredeck (of a 31' cutter), from the PNW to Norway. I found that sailing the dinghy was the last thing I wanted to do when I got to port, and was tempted by a fast RIB. So I sold it there. It could be very useful as a second dinghy for entertaining children, but otherwise I would suggest you reconsider.

Greg

[jheldatksuedu]

I took a 9.5 foot fiberglass sailboat and turned it into a 2 piece nesting dinghy that I row everyday for exercise. I'm on a 45 ft steel ketch, the dinghy normally stores full length hanging on it's side so it doesn't collect rain water from my davits , I never tried to sail with it like that. I'm pretty sure it would catch water when healing, but if it was top side to the rear it would just ride on the water and not catch any. It could also store nested hanging from the davits either up high out of the way but it would catch water if upright, hanging on it's side, or nested on the forward deck under the staysail boom. That's the real reason I cut it up to nest, to store on the forward deck in a storm. I have the mast but don't have a sail, boom, or the proper centerboard or rudder for this boat. I have converted a rudder from another small sailboat and built an aluminum centerboard, but I think the oar lock I put on the center of the stern and an oar will make the best rudder, since you probably want the oars along anyway. I have experimented with sails using an oar as a mast. Eventually I'll find a sail that has a 13-14 foot luff and a 7 ft foot, that will fit the mast. The mast has a slot to accept a 3/8 diameter rope in the luff.

To see pictures Nesting Dinghy

[DrDelmas]

I carry a RIB on davits and made a cradle for my Trinka 10 for the back deck on my 12 meter Catalac catamaran.

[Scout 30]

We tow a Bauer 10 & stow an Avon 3.4. The Bauer sails & rows like a dream.

Bauer boats 10 sailing dinghy - BAUTECK MARINE INC.

[michaelratinter]

Same as roverhi but with Fatty Knees dinghy. Store masts and oars overhead below.