towing a large Dinghy - or not?

[a64pilot]

There is a difference between a dinghy and a boat.
Yes if you have a 25’ Center Console your going to tow it, there is no other option.
But when you say dinghy, most think of small 8’ to 10’ blow up boats, maybe with a rigid hull.

[Scaramanga F25]

I have found that there is a huge difference in towing a hard dinghy and an inflatable rigid or not.

[StoneCrab]

My thoughts on towing a dingy ...

Did anyone find my Boston Whaler after it broke free?

Never again

[tarian]

Originally Posted by StoneCrab

My thoughts on towing a dingy ...

Did anyone find my Boston Whaler after it broke free?

Never again

Broke free would then assume that you never tied it on correctly or used the proper rope against force being exertied
This thread has shown how we think we know what were all talking about but that there are many variations to the story , as said before there is a large diffrence between a small inflatable that will flip if you fart on it and a 3m+ rigid boat or rib with heavy engine and good solid bridles fitted , again it seems most of the talk on here is heresay about this and that , but those thast have towed and still tow seem to have little problems with it as long as it is done correctly , and weather permitting, as I said before I have towed in some nasty weather not by choice , caught out by winds of a mountain range , and the old dinghy lasted better than me holding onto the mizzen trying to get it down as the wife gleefully screamed with joy as green water came over at regular intervals and my poor daughter hunkered down under a rug

[Group9]

Originally Posted by StoneCrab

My thoughts on towing a dingy ...

Did anyone find my Boston Whaler after it broke free?

Never again

There is no cure for doing it wrong. But, there are a lot of aspects to boating like that.

[GILow]

Originally Posted by Group9

There is no cure for doing it wrong. But, there are a lot of aspects to boating like that.

Originally Posted by tarian

Broke free would then assume that you never tied it on correctly or used the proper rope against force being exertied
This thread has shown how we think we know what were all talking about but that there are many variations to the story,..

Wow, it must be truly wonderful to be one of the people who are right, as against us mere mortals that are, clearly, wrong.

Or, possibly, we are doing it ok, but sooner or later the reality of towing a dinghy is that the conditions are no longer suitable for towing a dinghy.

Honestly guys, what happened to civil discourse? Everyone here has a story, and everyone here has a valid experience. I no longer tow the dinghy because, one day, out of the blue, it went pear shaped. I had the humility to admit my mistake without feeling the need to tell others they are fools.

Maybe you could avoid doing so too.

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by singlespeed

Try an experiment. Ask to borrow a friend's small dinghy (<4 meters). Take off the engine and fuel tank. Take it to a handy beach. Flip it over in shallow (< 1 meter) water. Wade out to armpit deep water and try to flip it back up. Then imagine trying to do it in the open ocean with waves, no bottom to stand on and the added weight of the fuel tank and motor. Now imagine trying to do it with your dinghy.

Note to self: never lend our dinghy to anyone.

[Group9]

Originally Posted by GILow

Wow, it must be truly wonderful to be one of the people who are right, as against us mere mortals that are, clearly, wrong.

Or, possibly, we are doing it ok, but sooner or later the reality of towing a dinghy is that the conditions are no longer suitable for towing a dinghy.

Honestly guys, what happened to civil discourse? Everyone here has a story, and everyone here has a valid experience. I no longer tow the dinghy because, one day, out of the blue, it went pear shaped. I had the humility to admit my mistake without feeling the need to tell others they are fools.

Maybe you could avoid doing so too.

Hey, look, I sure wasn't trying to upset you. I've had plenty of things go wrong when boating. And, most of them, were my fault. That's how you learn (at least if you acknowledge that fact, that's how you learn).

And, you are right, when something doesn't work for you, one option is to just stop doing that thing. But, another option, is to try and learn to do it better. Neither one is wrong.

[StoneCrab]

Originally Posted by GILow

Wow, it must be truly wonderful to be one of the people who are right, as against us mere mortals that are, clearly, wrong.

Or, possibly, we are doing it ok, but sooner or later the reality of towing a dinghy is that the conditions are no longer suitable for towing a dinghy.

Honestly guys, what happened to civil discourse? Everyone here has a story, and everyone here has a valid experience. I no longer tow the dinghy because, one day, out of the blue, it went pear shaped. I had the humility to admit my mistake without feeling the need to tell others they are fools.

Maybe you could avoid doing so too.

Thanks GILow, I was thinking the same thing but you've said it better than I could.

Personally, I know I will make mistakes. They are the price of learning. I never intentionally go against what I know to be wrong, but sometimes you just find out that you didn't know enough.... or were just lucky the last 300 times.

You learn, you move on.... I don't judge anyone for making the same mistakes that I did and I'm always happy to share my own experiences. We are all on our own paths in life, making our own mistakes and forming our own opinions. When I can learn from someone else's experience, I am grateful.

Learning is one of the true joys in life. Sometimes it is through books, trial and error or from mistakes. If I knew it all, life would be boring.

[GILow]

Originally Posted by StoneCrab

... If I knew it all, life would be boring.

Yes, but I believe there is an old Confucian curse that says: “May you live in interesting times”

I kinda hanker after boring in the boat. Interesting is so often too interesting.

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by singlespeed

Try an experiment. Ask to borrow a friend's small dinghy (<4 meters). Take off the engine and fuel tank. Take it to a handy beach. Flip it over in shallow (< 1 meter) water. Wade out to armpit deep water and try to flip it back up. Then imagine trying to do it in the open ocean with waves, no bottom to stand on and the added weight of the fuel tank and motor. Now imagine trying to do it with your dinghy.

Why would you even try to do it while you are in the water?
Easy enough to do using halyard/boom
For us, davits
For others, deck crane.

[Jim Cate]

Observation: Yesterday in a very crowded anchorage in Moreton Bay a large (~60 ft ?) trawler style motor yacht came in. He was towing a ~20 ft center console type hard tender on around 75 feet of warp, and then behind that a ~15 ft center console RIB on another ~ 30 ft of warp. He anchored... and left this array just hanging behind his boat.

I was appalled, first that he would tow this through rather crowded holiday waters and secondly that he would feel ok about taking up so much room in such an anchorage.

After a couple of hours he shortened up the lines... because someone wanted to use one of the tenders.

And dammit, it was a very nice looking m/y... something I don't often say!!


Jim

PS Only slightly related to the thread subject, so pardon the rant!

[dfelsent]

My favorite two personal Dinghy towing stories. One was watching my parents have a shot of medicinal brandy after the hard dink broke the painter and they had to pull it aboard when I was 10.
The other was towing a slat bottom inflatable (motor off) in a squall and watching it stream horizontally from the stern cleat doing barrel rolls one way then the other.
And I’ve ripped the towing eyes out of an inflatable when it capsized in gusts. Yuk. I learned from that!

I do tow sometimes but am careful about the boat I tow and the conditions I expect.
And the painter length.
And I leave a second painter in the dink just in case.

Just as I am careful about davits or deck for the boat and conditions.

It’s all fun.

[charliehows]

nothing wrong with towing a dink in protected waters. At sea? Not worth arguing with anyone who thinks this is an acceptable practice, they will have set their boat on fire or something equally...unfortunate...before they learn enough of the very, very basics to survive afloat.

[Capt Phil]

A ding should be sized for the. Number of people it is intended to carry.
Which is usually 2-4.
How,any berths do you have on the mother vessel?
What size outboard do you have?
Do you fill the skiff with. Junk to. Avoid stowing it in your primary vessel?
All questions that need answering before asensible reply can be offered.
If you do primarily day sailing with an extra couple once in a while... stick with a smaller sized skiff. Remember, you can always make a couple of trips!
Phil
P.S. please remember... lines are for boats, ropes are for sex!