Dinghy on foredeck covering windlass?

[Cthoops]

Mr. cthoops and I just recently upgraded from a Bristol 24 to a Bristol 29.9. With the B24 we had to tow our dinghy, but now we have room on the foredeck for it.

We don't have a windlass yet, but we will have one in the future. We're trying to envision how the dinghy on the foredeck and the windlass can co-exist given that it seems likely that the dinghy would cover the windlass. This will be our cruising boat so davits aren't the answer, and the dinghy is an 8' Fatty Knees so deflating and storing it below isn't an option (and we're not going to purchase an inflatable).

Surely we aren't the first people with this issue. Dropping the anchor wouldn't be a problem - and the anchor will be on a bow roller - but raising it?

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.

[boatman61]

Hoist the offending end up with the spinnaker halyard..

[Cheechako]

Everything is a compromise. I've had the same problem before. If I remember right I would unfasten the inverted dingy and pull the bow up enough with the topping lift to work the windlass. A PITA. ... and real trouble if you get blown out of an anchorage in the middle of the night, need to windlass and after the dink is aboard and you are ready for a morning departure....

[Cthoops]

Ah, of course. Use the spinnaker halyard to not only load the dinghy on the foredeck, but also to raise the bow a bit out of the way. I'm a bit embarrassed that I didn't think of it since it seems so obvious now!

Thanks!

[Dave22q]

use a small lumber brace to elevate the dinghy bow enough to clear the windless. that should solve your problem. I suspect you only need a few inches so a piece of 3x3 might suffice. If you could connect something to the dinghy itself this would be a one time 'fix and forget' project.

[Panope]

Does the dinghy also cover the emergency escape route (forehatch)?

[jreiter190]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Hoist the offending end up with the spinnaker halyard..

Nuff said.

[Boatguy30]

I'm uncertain you really need a windlass on a 29' boat. If going to the South Pacific and carrying all chain then perhaps, but E coast and Caribbean anchoring in say 10-20' of water?

[Cthoops]

Originally Posted by Dave22q

use a small lumber brace to elevate the dinghy bow enough to clear the windless. that should solve your problem. I suspect you only need a few inches so a piece of 3x3 might suffice. If you could connect something to the dinghy itself this would be a one time 'fix and forget' project.

Not a bad idea. I'll have to see how much we would need to elevate it, but as you said if it's just a few inches that could certainly work.

[Cthoops]

Originally Posted by Panope

Does the dinghy also cover the emergency escape route (forehatch)?

Unfortunately, yes. Like they say, everything is a compromise.

Originally Posted by boatguy30

I'm uncertain you really need a windlass on a 29' boat. If going to the South Pacific and carrying all chain then perhaps, but E coast and Caribbean anchoring in say 10-20' of water?

Normally I would agree, but Mr. cthoops is pushing 57 years old with a back that occasionally let's him know he's alive, as he likes to say. I'm working on my pushups, but I think once we switch to all chain we'll need to have it.

[Don C L]

Guess better to get an electric windlass. That point of getting out of an anchorage in a hurry if you need to is a good one. Not fun to wrestle with a dinghy, windlass and anchor together in the dark when its really blowing...

[keepondancin]

Your halyards are your friends. On rainy days and nights, raise the bow of the inverted dinghy so you can open the hatch and not get rained on.

[Kim Gregory]

Cut the Fatty Knees Dinghy in half, make it a nesting dinghy. It will fit in front or behind the mast without covering vital stuff. Glass two pieces of plywood bulkhead across the middle of the dinghy, drill bolt holes to join the bulkheads with bolts. Cut the hull in half between the bulkheads, and add a bit of foam rubber between the bulkheads to make the joint water tight. See pictures on the web for other nesting dinghies.
nesting dinghy type?

[Cthoops]

Originally Posted by Kim Gregory

Cut the Fatty Knees Dinghy in half, make it a nesting dinghy. It will fit in front or behind the mast without covering vital stuff. Glass two pieces of plywood bulkhead across the middle of the dinghy, drill bolt holes to join the bulkheads with bolts. Cut the hull in half between the bulkheads, and add a bit of foam rubber between the bulkheads to make the joint water tight. See pictures on the web for other nesting dinghies.
nesting dinghy type?

Cut the Fatty Knees in half?? That's crazy talk! I love that dinghy as much as I love our Bristol! Thanks for the suggestion, though.

[fatherchronica]

I live by the rule of thirds. I believe that your dinghy should be a third of the length of your boat. Consequently we have a 12' dinghy on Mana which we stow on the foredeck, but just ahead of the mast and leaving a big sail working area and not covering the windlass. If you cover the windlass you will have to stow the dinghy after you raise anchor, which seems like a hassle to us. So, Mint Berry Crunch, our dinghy, is a two piece nesting dinghy, the biggest half is 6' 4". it takes us, and we are old and battered, about a half hour to either launch or unlaunch the dinghy, including lowering the outboard. The sail rig takes a little longer, but as the whole thing is an experiment we are working at simplifying and speeding up the sail part. I took me a week in my friends garden to build the hull from 1/4" exterior plywood and douglas fir lath mostly, and about 6 months at various marinas and beaches to get her ready for paint, but we used her all the time during that phase, and I really only devoted a day or 2 a month as we were cruising and I am a little lazy. Right now I am preparing to recut the underwater bow up a little to lower the on deck profile by 3".