Dingy Storage on Foredeck?

[goeasy123]

What do we think about colapsing the tubes on an upturned Al hulls RIB to store it on the foredeck of a sailing yacht to create more work space when on passage?

We have a 40ft Najad and want to get the biggest dingy we can fit on the front. The Highfield 290LT Ultralight looks likely.

[Muaddib1116]

That's a pretty standard thing to do if you want to fit a larger dinghy on the foredeck. Obviously it's more hassle to inflate and deflate the tubes every time, but if that's fine with you, go for it.

[Kettlewell]

A lot of people, including myself, have done this. One caution is that you have to be certain you can still work the foredeck properly. For example, can you lower and raise the anchor if needed? Of course there is also the possibility of getting into heavy weather and the foredeck can be subject to heavy seas in those conditions, so you have to make sure things are very well tied down.

[rwidman]

Having to inflate your dinghy each time you use it and deflate it afterwards generally means you won't use it as much as you would otherwise. You might be better off with a smaller dinghy that you can store inflated and ready to launch.

[Muaddib1116]

OP mentioned doing this for passage, so possibly they have davits or are happy towing for short distance, inshore cruising.

[Ded reckoner]

Some manufacturers and dinghy repair facilities caution against completely cycling RIB tube pressures between full (about 10psi or so) and empty. The reason is the tubes, patches, holds, and handles are glued on. Repeatedly inflating and deflating the tubes will stress the physical connections and could lead to early lifetime failure.

[westsailwill]

We have been strapping down our 9’4” Caribe, fully inflated on the fore deck of our Westsail 32 for over 10 years with no issues. The only time the dinghy is deflated is for long passages. Just be sure to keep the dinghy well lashed down. We use a block and tackle attached to the. Spinnaker halyard for deploying & retrieval. Once we have reached our destination, (BVI, Bahamas, Keys, etc.) more often than not, the dinghy is towed from astern. Visibility and maneuvering on the Foredeck are, of course, slightly restricted, but for the short amount of time it’s there, it sure makes life easy.

[goeasy123]

Originally Posted by westsailwill

We have been strapping down our 9’4” Caribe, fully inflated on the fore deck of our Westsail 32 for over 10 years with no issues. The only time the dinghy is deflated is for long passages. Just be sure to keep the dinghy well lashed down. We use a block and tackle attached to the. Spinnaker halyard for deploying & retrieval. Once we have reached our destination, (BVI, Bahamas, Keys, etc.) more often than not, the dinghy is towed from astern. Visibility and maneuvering on the Foredeck are, of course, slightly restricted, but for the short amount of time it’s there, it sure makes life easy.

I think this will be our modus operandi.

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by goeasy123

What do we think about colapsing the tubes on an upturned Al hulls RIB to store it on the foredeck of a sailing yacht to create more work space when on passage?

We have a 40ft Najad and want to get the biggest dingy we can fit on the front. The Highfield 290LT Ultralight looks likely.

People will tell you how inconvenient it is to inflate and deflate the dingy. I agree, but we do it anyhow because we like the extra space on the foredeck and the better visability.

Actually, we go one further. We have a dingy with an inflateable floor, so the whole dingy can be deflated. On passages we deflate the dingy, roll it up and stow it below. The foredeck is totally clear for working there, visabiltiy and heavy weather (an important consideration for us). We also do not carry jerry cans or any other gear on deck.

In port of very short passages we sometimes leave the dingy on deck full inflated. At anchor it hangs from a halyard abeam.

People who complain about the extra work of inflating a dingy are lazy or spoiled or both. Sailing has been a bit of work for centuries. It keeps you fit. Too much work for you? Stay home and watch YouTube.

[Marathon1150]

Originally Posted by westsailwill

We have been strapping down our 9’4” Caribe, fully inflated on the fore deck of our Westsail 32 for over 10 years with no issues. The only time the dinghy is deflated is for long passages. Just be sure to keep the dinghy well lashed down. We use a block and tackle attached to the. Spinnaker halyard for deploying & retrieval. Once we have reached our destination, (BVI, Bahamas, Keys, etc.) more often than not, the dinghy is towed from astern. Visibility and maneuvering on the Foredeck are, of course, slightly restricted, but for the short amount of time it’s there, it sure makes life easy.

We also do this - dinghy is deflated for passages and well tied down. On shorter runs it remains inflated with a single line over the top and two lines from the aft handholds to a shroud on either side.

On passages, we run the jackline down the middle of the boat as much as possible. This means that it has to go over the top of the dinghy.



Our long passage days are probably over but if I were doing it again, I would have davits for short hops and I would tie the dinghy down on the foredeck for long passages. We have a 3m AB RIB that weighs about 90lb. Launching and retrieving it from the foredeck seems to become more difficult each time that I do it I would also get a lighter dinghy - the AB replaced a Southern Pacific RIB that weighed about 60 lbs and was much easier to deal with.

[jlynker]

Where are you cruising? Do you need to store on deck? How difficult is it to transition from on-deck to in-water & vice-versa? Can you transition from in-water to on-deck away from the dock? Is the dinghy also a life raft?

My take on this isn't laziness but blocks to functionality. I want as much gear in service or serviceable in a minute or two.

That said, I have a hard shell sailing dinghy with special mounts under the clubfoot, a RIB 285, plastic kayak & an inflatable kayak. Been.looking for a 12 step but....

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by wingssail

Actually, we go one further. We have a dingy with an inflateable floor, so the whole dingy can be deflated. On passages we deflate the dingy, roll it up and stow it below.

I was going to say to consider boats with inflatable floors too. You'll have to cover that forward hatch, right? And a hard transom will be up against the mast? It may be nice to have the option of rolling the whole thing up as Fred does. The inflatable floors now are like the inflatable SUPs, pretty rigid.

[Don C L]

I haven't seen models with inflatable floors in Hypalon though. There may be some, I just haven't seen them.

[Kettlewell]

When we went down to the Caribbean we had an Achilles with the aluminum roll-up floor and we would deflate and roll-up for offshore passages. We kept it to the port side of the mast so that the foredeck was clear. It did block visibility forward a bit, but not too bad. I might go for an inflatable floor boat next time, just to reduce the weight which makes it much easier to haul out of the water, get off and on the boat, etc. We also had a liferaft for emergencies, but I do like to have the dinghy ready to go in case the boat needs to be abandoned quickly. Liferafts are really a last resort.

[Fintry]

While on the subject, consider replacing the gas outboard with an electric. Our 15 hp Yamaha weighs over 110 pounds, plus 25 pounds of gasoline. Our new Newport Vessels NT300 electric weighs 24 pounds and the battery another 25 pounds. Sure, it won't plane the dinghy with a four person load, but for going ashore it's great.


Jim