Losing the Dinghy/Dink/Tender

[David_Old_Jersey]

I lost my Avon inflatable once - had left it unattended in the harbour for a couple of months - between visits to a former boat - so when it had dissapeared I was not totally surprised.........

Reported it to Plod, more in case it turned up on the beach somewhere - and raised the worry that it was manned than it actually being recovered by Plod.

Yer know where it turned up several months later?

In my Father's garage .....he being somewhat more organised than me had removed it for safe-keeping....and never told me.

Cos' I had given the serial number to Plod I figured a good idea to "unreport" it.......looked at me like I was an idiot for some reason

[psteele235]

A couple of summers ago a buddy and I were in a powerboat on the Hudson in the early morning when we came across a dink with an outboard adrift mid river with no sign of life. We stopped and found a pair of deck shoes aboard. Fearing the worst, we reported it to the USCG who took the registration number down - and then said goodbye!

[Hubec]

Many people tie their dinghy directly to the stern of the big boat with just the dinghy's short painter - I used to do it myself. The problem with this is that at anchor even small waves can get both the dinghy and the boat's stern moving around, so the painter is often subjected to high shock loads when it's suddenly stretched taught. I suspect these shock loads are the cause of many of the knot/carabiner/line failures that result in lost dinghies at anchor. I got around the problem by running a short length of chain between the painter and the big boat. Just like a chain anchor rode this is excellent at dampening the movement and obviating the destructive jerks.

[Zach]

I sunk a borrowed jon boat in Coinjock.

Tied it up tight to the back of Pylasteki to install the outboard mount on the transom after shearing the key on the prop shaft of the atomic four. Was blowing 15 knots blowing straight up the cut. While I was finishing tightening down the fasteners my dad volunteered to take the jon boat back around to the boat ramp. Was around ten o'clock at night, he untied the lines that were trapping it against the transom... shoved off and it snapped shut like a bear trap. I hear a splash, and get out of the lazarette locker in time to see him holding on to the toe rail and the Jon Boat doing an impression of the Titanic with the bow jutting straight from the oily black water, making a couple knots northward... Cya! (Was spotted by a fellow that came in at around 11:00 out in Coinjock bay.)

Had a kayak tied alongside, so I slid it under my dad, and paddled under the dock to the boat ramp. He's around three hundred pounds and I'm just shy of 200... if there ever was an overloaded kayak... The ICW at that point is essentially swamp, and that afternoon some fellows caught a water moccasin and took a shotgun to it... Not a good place to fall off the boat at night!

[imagine2frolic]

Sometimes I think I am pretty smart, and then these kind of things humble me yet AGAIN! At least you guys had the dink tied off.I come cruising back in the dink after an error into town. I slide up between the hulls. Step up onto the steps, and go inside. I am sitting there for a minute, and it hits me. I never tied the dink off. I look outside, and there she is adrift about a hunfred foot off the stern. It was a nice day for a swim anyway.....LOLOLOL

[ssullivan]

Originally Posted by Abaco

I recently spoke to a Sea Tow captain who said they got a call from the captain of a large motor yacht who just returned to Fort Lauderdale from the Bahamas. Some where along the way their tow line broke and they lost a 35 foot center console tender. Sea Tow had to charter a helocopter to go up and find the boat and then send a boat out to tow it home. You can imagine what that cost at over $300/HR.

Recalling the price of a Novurania center console we had on one of the megayachts I used to work on, $300/hr is chump change to find that dinghy!

Here's a link to the dinghy I'm talking about... a little smaller and not quite as fancy, but here it is:

2001 Novurania 660 Boat For Sale

And for price comparison's sake, the dinghy in the link is *used*! They only buy new ones.

I never do tow them... too much drag. All my dinghy adventures happened at anchor.

[sluissa]

Haven't lost the dinghy yet, I think I'll go tighten the painter on the kayak I use as a dinghy.

I did, however, lose two hats yesterday. We were coming back in from a nice 3 hour or so sail around the bay, taking down the sail getting everything packed up, my dad's baseball cap flys off into the water. At this point, we're running the engine so we just loop around and I scoop it up with the boat hook just as it begins to sink below.

Later, as we were finishing tying up to the dock, a gust of wind blows my straw hat off my head. I make a desperate reach for it with the boat hook, but ended up just finishing up the boat work and then grabbing the kayak and paddling after it, since it seemed to be floating a lot better than the baseball cap had. It was a bit soggy, but I got it back.

[Vasco]

Originally Posted by Lodesman

Does anyone lock their dinghy up with a chain or cable?

In the Bahamas we only used to lock the dink and the boat in Nassau. Actually I haul it up on the arch in Nassau. Just this week started hauling the dink at night in Marsh Harbour after a cruiser had his gas tank stolen in the night. Gas is $5.50 a gallon here so these thefts are going to increase. Always lock everything in the States.

[Boracay]

I'm not using the dink at the moment, but when it comes into regular use I'll have to get a spare to keep on board.

One of those cheapies should be enough.

[Squeaks]

I too have to admit to loosing a dink while at anchor (the knot failed). I had two babes aboard and the "polar bear" of the two didn't hesitate to dive in before me to save the day - hows that for great crew? These days I use two painters or take it aboard. I also have an inflatable kayak for fun or as needed (easier than swimming :-).
John

[Pelagic]

I think my story comes in more under the heading of “dinghy distress”.

Many years back, in British Columbia, I had borrowed a friend’s Truant 37-38 (?) that he had just finished building and was in need of some rig tuning and sea trials. So being late January my girlfriend and I took off for about 3 weeks to cruise up Desolation Sound from Vancouver.

Those who know that area will also know that the large oyster beds growing along the shores of Redondo Island are at their best in January.

So being my girlfriend’s Birthday we motored ashore one late afternoon armed with 2 bottles of Chardonnay, bottle of Champagne, cooking pot for my famous “oyster, beans and onions in a mystery cheese sauce” and lots of Tabasco sauce.

Beautiful sunset from a crisp winter’s High, the driftwood fire warming the beans as we ate our fill of oyster’s natural and hot sauce while consuming the first bottle of perfectly chilled wine. The Oysters were huge, covering the waters edge as far as the eye could see and in that nice clean condition of the winter months…not Milky!

As darkness fell, we sautéed more oysters and onions in a wine sauce and added them to the simmering beans to use as a dip with some French bread and an assortment of melted cheeses. Heaven!


The second bottle disappeared; our singing grew louder as the echoes of Desolation Sound formed a wonderfully familiar accompaniment. Our spirits and Champagne cork both reached for the stars.

An hour later it was starting to get overcast, a chill wind had come up, so time to head drunkenly back to the Truant.

Even with my totally inadequate flashlight I could see that the 18 ft tide had receded leaving our dinghy and outboard high and dry with about a 50 yard barrier of shallow oyster beds and razor sharp mussels blocking access to the water. Then it started to snow!

It would have been crazy to try and drag the soft dinghy and outboard over that stuff so we had no choice but to strip it, turn it over as a shelter and find inventive ways to stay warm until daylight.

The beans did have the last laugh tho!

[GordMay]

Like Vasco, we locked the dinghy to the dock and/or boat in Florida & Nassau. I used an old topping lift (1/8" diameter 7x19 stainless wire @ 2100# B.S.) , locked to the outboard bracket toggles (secures the engine to transom).
This in addition to tying the painter (bowline & carabineer on bite) off.

Make sure your security line & painter are long enough to let the dinghy ride at least 15' off the boat or dock. When tying to a crowded dinghy dock, I recommend a stern anchor to keep the dink out from under the dock (rising tide), and to permit others “taxi” space to load & offload. A small stern anchor allows the dink to ride 15' - 25' away, and be easily pulled in to the dock, as needed.

PS: Always carry a dinghy anchor & rode (& tool kit). I’ve overnighted, anchored in Pipe Creek (Staniel Cay, Exuma), waiting for dawn's light, to work on the outboard.

[SVDistantStar]

When we first bought our Pearson 36, it came with a brand new Watertender 9.4. We were on anchor for the first 2 weeks of owning the boat and novice at tying knots. Well i kept the dink tied off so that it bumped the corner of the boat. Well setting down eating lunch and didnt hear the dink bumping anymore so i took a look. Sure enough there goes the dink floating away. Lucky for me there was a sandbar that it went right for. I swam over and got it.

Now about 3 weeks ago i had a friend out to the boat for dinner and she didnt slip the loop over the winch, so the skiff floated away. Lucky the skiff is a pretty heavy 14' boat that doesnt move very fast with the wind. I got to take a nice swim to go get it that night.

Now ive got my rowing dink tied up along side the boat just in case, i dont like swimming in the river where i live.