Rowing the Dinghy

[sailorboy1]

Brought my dinghy last week to be able to get to the boat this weekend without having to pay the marinia $55 for a ride (whole extra issue).

Sure enough it wouldn't start! So after 20 minutes of trying we (wife and I) decided to row it out our boat since we were smart enoug to have brought the oars in with us.

So the question becomes: for an RIB do the oars ever stay in the holders? Or does like all the ones I've had do they pop out after 3 strokes and you end up paddling instead of rowing?

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

Brought my dinghy last week to be able to get to the boat this weekend without having to pay the marinia $55 for a ride (whole extra issue).

Sure enough it wouldn't start! So after 20 minutes of trying we (wife and I) decided to row it out our boat since we were smart enoug to have brought the oars in with us.

So the question becomes: for an RIB do the oars ever stay in the holders? Or does like all the ones I've had do they pop out after 3 strokes and you end up paddling instead of rowing?

Yeow. $55 for a ride. Time for you to move to Florida.

So what kind of holder does your dink have, the oval shaped hole with an opening at the top that is glued to the top of the tube? I rowed everywhere for years in an old Avon with that style and after a while, learned how to pull and keep the oars in. The secret is practice, practice, practice. Or get a better outboard (see the CF thread on annoying outboards ).

Plan B, I read a suggestion once for a way to add a closing mechanism to the opening to keep the oars from popping up but was long ago and have no recall of how it was done.

Skip

[psneeld]

longer oars are the trick...I put extensions on the factory ones..

[barnakiel]

We only have a plain roll bombard toy and the oarlocks are OK. Plastic oarlocks that completely enclose the oar and have a stud that goes into a support welded to the tube.

But we do paddle a lot too. I prefer paddling when we go the two of us. (Sure admiral prefers ME to row ;-)).

b.

[roverhi]

We rowed our Avon Redcrest all over the French Polynesia. Deep sixed the cranky outboard after our first couple weeks of having it not start most of the time. Rowed the dinghy for the next two years, sometimes as far as 3-4 miles with 3 people in it. Never missed the outboard. The rubber oarlocks worked just fine as long as we had enough air in the dinghy. Think the Avon rubber oar locks are the best design on any inflatable. The pin type oar locks seemed to be blown out on most of the Zodiacs we ran across. Have an Achilles with the pin type oar locks and they seem to work okay but haven't used that dinghy very much. If you have the pin type oar locks and the pin keeps popping out, you may be missing a locking pin to hold them in.

[rebel heart]

I'd honestly rather hit myself in the head with a metal winch handle than row an infatable three miles across an anchorage. I have no clue how you guys do that. We have a hard dinghy (walker bay) which is a dream to row.

[Astrid]

I have no clue how you guys do that. We have a hard dinghy (walker bay) which is a dream to row.

Same here. I have a wooden dink I row regularly, and for long hauls, I step the mast and sail it.

[psneeld]

All boats row to their own rhythm..and that changes with load and conditions...it's been awhile since I rowed my inflatable but I believe short choppy strokes work better where longer, smooth strokes work better with long, heavy boats.

[vintageray]

I once saw a dinghy being towed by a Labrador Retriever.

[markpierce]

Get yourself a real dinghy. This one even provides two different rowing positions to adjust for different centers of gravity. I'm saving up for a Trinka 8.

The Trinka 10

[Shiner]

Just a short warning to those of you who row inflatables with those dinky little aluminium oars, like my last inflatable.
If your boat is lying at an ocean anchorage with even a 15 to 20 knot offshore breeze, and you miss your boat for any reason, especially at night...you are a blue water cruiser whether you want to be, or not.
An incident in Western Australia last year where two people were lost really made me think about the times I have rowed in the same situation that could have ended in disaster. Now...no motor...no go.

Regards. Shiner

[Ironhorse74]

One of the reasons I don't own a RIB is that they don't row very well. Get yourself a hard dink with an optional mast and sail. I do still keep my British Seagull on the cockpit rail mostly for decoration. However I row or sail the dink.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by rebel heart

I'd honestly rather hit myself in the head with a metal winch handle than row an infatable three miles across an anchorage. I have no clue how you guys do that. We have a hard dinghy (walker bay) which is a dream to row.

Can't say I would want to do that . But with a 9 foot Avon (that is not overloaded) then no great problem......the secret? Rowing technique and keep moving......on an Avon, if the oars keep popping out then either doing something wrong or have sh#te oars

.......not to say that a hard dink doesn't have advantages - but not so easy to stuff into a locker .........at present am looking at nesting dinks

[Bill Shuman]

Originally Posted by Shiner

Just a short warning to those of you who row inflatables with those dinky little aluminium oars, like my last inflatable.
If your boat is lying at an ocean anchorage with even a 15 to 20 knot offshore breeze, and you miss your boat for any reason, especially at night...you are a blue water cruiser whether you want to be, or not.
An incident in Western Australia last year where two people were lost really made me think about the times I have rowed in the same situation that could have ended in disaster. Now...no motor...no go.

Regards. Shiner

Your engine could fail on the way to the boat too. That's why I think a handheld VHF should always be in your dinghy bag. If there were no other boats nearby in that situation then a handheld EPIRB might be a good idea as well.

[callmecrazy]

The oars on my Achilles won't ever pop out. They have a threaded bolt that goes through the oar, then is secured with a screw on cap.

Rowing still sucks. But it's alright for short distances in good weather.