Dinghy storage w/o davits

[FreeVerse81]

My husband and I are preparing for our first extended cruise on a Tartan 37 and are trying to figure out the best way to store our inflatable dinghy while underway. (We don't have davits and are out of time and money to add them right now.) We've hoisted the dinghy onto the foredeck, but it takes up a lot of real estate up there. We're concerned that it will make it difficult to go up on deck, which could become a problem if something needs to be adjusted in a hurry. We were thinking maybe we could tow it on inland passages and deflate it while on longer ocean passages? How do other people without davits handle dinghy storage? Thanks!

[fox9988]

Upside down on the foredeck, not much choice without davits. It's manageable.
We tow it on short, protected hops.

[Chotu]

if it’s not a rib, deflate and roll it up?

[Ryban]

Generally speaking, if it's an inflatable and you don't have davits, then I'd opt for an inflatable that has a folding or inflatable bottom, so that it can be fully deflated and folded and stored in its bag strapped down on deck.

If it's an inflatable with a hard fiberglass or similar bottom, I'd still deflate it so it takes up less room and store it upside down on deck, strapped down. On our boat we have a wooden nesting dinghy that we stow below our boom, secured with wooden blocks on deck and strapped down with ties.

Leaving it inflated doesn't really make sense except for short trips or relocating to another anchorage. In those cases, you can probably tow.

[DoubleD]

[QUOTE=Ryban;3995852]Generally speaking, if it's an inflatable and you don't have davits, then I'd opt for an inflatable that has a folding or inflatable bottom, so that it can be fully deflated and folded and stored in its bag strapped down on deck.

On my Caliber 33 I have a West Marine inflatable that rolls up with the wood slats in the floor, which I usually deflate and tie down on the foredeck when in transit. Its not a great dingy, but is a compromise due to lack of storage space and I don't want davits. If I'm making a short trip, I will either leave it inflated and store upside down on the foredeck or tow behind with the bow up against the transom, keeping the bow out of the water.


DD

[FreeVerse81]

Originally Posted by Ryban

Generally speaking, if it's an inflatable and you don't have davits, then I'd opt for an inflatable that has a folding or inflatable bottom, so that it can be fully deflated and folded and stored in its bag strapped down on deck.

Leaving it inflated doesn't really make sense except for short trips or relocating to another anchorage. In those cases, you can probably tow.

Ours has a folding bottom. We just wondered if it might be a safety issue not to have it inflated? But yes, deflating it while sailing does seem preferable. Thanks!

[Ryban]

Only if you're relying on your dinghy for a life raft, which I probably wouldn't advise, as even inflated it may be slow to get deployed. Even when I was cruising on a 27', I had a small liferaft in addition to the dinghy.

[DoubleD]

Originally Posted by FreeVerse81

Ours has a folding bottom. We just wondered if it might be a safety issue not to have it inflated? But yes, deflating it while sailing does seem preferable. Thanks!

When you say safety issue, I assume you're referring to if the boat starts to sink and you need to abandon ship. I've had the same thought. I'm not currently cruising offshore where having a life raft would be ideal. I can pump up my dingy with a manual foot pump in 12 minutes, so hopefully if my boat ever does start sinking, it will take longer than that. Likely though I'll be too busy trying to keep the boat from sinking to be pumping up the dingy.
Good luck.
DD