A couple of questions on dinghy and motor logistics

[EmeraldCoastSailor]

I don’t have davits so I haul rib (without motor) on foredeck with spinnaker halyard. Getting motor off dink is toughest part so chose a lightweight 3.5 HP model. I get stern to stern with dink up next to swim platform so I can more easily remove motor and put on stern mounted motor mount. I don’t like to tow offshore at all but I will in bays and ICW if weather is good.

[stormalong]

Go small. I don't get this need for big dinghies and big engines. I use a rollup eight foot Caribe dinghy and a Tohatsu 3.5 HP outboard. The dinghy fits on the cabin top under the boom. It is lifted with the main halyard. The 2 cycle outboard is only 30 pounds which is easily handled. For multi day ocean passages the dinghy gets rolled up so it is out of the way if conditions get rough.

An additional advantage is an integral fuel tank so no extra tank to mess with. The integral tank is good for most hops and I can carry a 2 gallon fuel jug for extended trips. Small engines don't use much gas so I only carry four gallons which lasts a long time.

[Kiwi.]

Originally Posted by motretu

because your dink is local transport when anchored, and therefore reliability is most important, consider using a 2HP as your primary. weighs less than 30#s, uses very little fuel, will propel the dink at 3-4 kts with two people and should be reliable. use the larger engine as a back up or to go fast or with lots of weight in the dink. depends a lot on how you use your dink, but in the 10 years of cruising my 45' downeast in mexico, my 9.9 left the stern pulpit less than 5 times using a boom lift to install on the dink. the 10' inflatable less engine was easily hoisted with a halyard and stowed on deck. also, with smaller engine the dink was less attractive to thieves and the combo was easily raised out of the water with a halyard at night.

Absolutely agree. My 20 year old 3.5hp Mercury lives on the back of my dinghy and my 15hp Mercury sits on the rail of the mother ship for years without being used. The 3.5 Mercury was smallest motor I could find at the time with a gear lever.
I often tow the dinghy with the 3.5 mounted but I would never tow it with the 15 mounted, the 15 makes the dinghy top heavy and far too likely to flip in a seaway.

[SteveSadler]

Davits and removing engines are time consuming, clumsy, and sketchy. My Honda 20 is also bolted on as clamps can loosen. I've learned how to tow it in virtually all conditions so I rarely put it on deck. When I do I use a spin halyard and set it on the foredeck with engine, tank, etc still in the 12' rib. The motor is lashed beside the mast. I made 2 removable chalks for it, and it takes my wife and I 10 minutes to have it up and secured. I like it on the foredeck for a comfy place to nap and a safe handhold walking around, and setting the code 0.
Towing is another subject altogether. Many of my lessons were learned from mistakes, but I installed a cleat low on the transom for towing and holding on while boarding. I tow from this low point with a 3/4"x 6' tow line with a rubber snubber for shock absorption, with the motor down so it tracks.
The 3/4" painter w carabiner clips as a safety. In winds over 35 kts, I fill the anchor compartment with water so wind won't flip it. In following seas, I tie a small drouge onto the towline so it won't surf into the transom. That's the short version. There's a bookload more info left out for another time.

[hamburking]

I had a 4hp Yamaha on the back of an Avon Rover 310.

To get the outboard off the dinghy and onto the sailboat: First I tilted the outboard up as far as possible. Then I tied a thick line through the handle on the back of the outboard (which was now facing straight UP) and loosened the transom clamp bolts. At this point, a second person is very helpful, since once the transom clamp bolts are loose...well....the outboard is loose....to counter this when alone, I toss the line over the sailboat sternrail, make it down to a cleat, and gingerly climb aboard. Either way, now the line can be used to lift the outboard up, off the transom, and onto the stern rail. Its still heavy, but can be done under control in this manner, and the line is a safety in case the worst happens.

Putting the outboard onto the dinghy is just the reverse. A nice, easy to grip line makes a big difference to raising and lowering the outboard with ease. However, it still helps to be big and strong, as it does with many tasks on a boat. If you aren't strong to begin with, you soon will be if you spend enough time on your boat.

Also, its great to have a big powerful outboard on your dinghy...a 9.9 maybe...get up on plane real easy.... but a smaller outboard is so much easier to handle. If you don't have davits or a crane on your stern, a smaller, lighter outboard is certainly easier to manage. I had a yamaha 4, and replaced it with a honda 2.3. Its about 28 pounds. Wonderful outboard, but the dinghy goes slow. Good thing I'm not in a hurry.

I also traded my Avon Rover 310 for an Avon Rover 260 for the same reason. Smaller, lighter, easier to manhandle.

And finally, I NEVER tow with the outboard on the dinghy. Dinghies have a tendency to flip.

[hamburking]

Originally Posted by stormalong

An additional advantage is an integral fuel tank so no extra tank to mess with. The integral tank is good for most hops and I can carry a 2 gallon fuel jug for extended trips. Small engines don't use much gas so I only carry four gallons which lasts a long time.

I agree. Integral fuel tank on a small outboard is great. The dinghy is full of enough stuff already with lifejackets, people, oars, dock/tow lines, anchor, safety gear, tool kit, emergency lights, water, etc, etc. If I'm going far I'll bring a 1 gallon gas can. I sail and cruise in the 1000 islands region of Lake Ontario (Canada). I would buy 1 gallon of gasoline at the start of the sailing season, and have half a gallon left in the fall.

Its also possible to row the dinghy. Its true, they don't row well compared to anything with a hard bottom, but its good for the planet, and its really nice and quiet too (If you can ignore all the swearing).

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by hamburking

replaced it with a honda 2.3. Its about 28 pounds. Wonderful outboard, but the dinghy goes slow. Good thing I'm not in a hurry.

Same here, great little engine. Standing on the sugar scoop it's an easy lift onto the mounting bracket on the pushpit. We walk the 2.7m dinghy around to just short of the bow and pull it up with the painter onto the fore deck.

We have only towed once in flat calm seas along our Jurassic coast after a swim. Then we pulled the bow right up to the pushpit and made it off to the backstay so the transom was the only bit left in the water.

Pete

[AiniA]

We used a dinghy hoist to life the OB to the rail with one person on the hoist and one in the dinghy to avoid the motor hitting the mother ship. Then the person in the dingy moved the dink forward and hooked up the spin halyard to hoist the dinghy to the fore deck. System worked well for years and many hoists. We almost never towed

[B23iL23]

Anyone ever seen a powered hoist or crane? I'll be sailing solo and have a Honda 20hp which is heavy and getting it on and off the dingy will be a real pain in the back, arms , legs..

Would be great to have a powered hoist and remote so I could stand in the dingy and operate the hoist from there.

[ScottMeilicke]

Originally Posted by B23iL23

Anyone ever seen a powered hoist or crane? I'll be sailing solo and have a Honda 20hp which is heavy and getting it on and off the dingy will be a real pain in the back, arms , legs..

Would be great to have a powered hoist and remote so I could stand in the dingy and operate the hoist from there.

We used a 4-1 block and tackle for our big rib. Something like that, with a way to cleat off the tail could work.

[B23iL23]

I was thinking about something like that. Have a cleat down low that I can reach from the dingy might work.

Originally Posted by ScottMeilicke

We used a 4-1 block and tackle for our big rib. Something like that, with a way to cleat off the tail could work.

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by B23iL23

I was thinking about something like that. Have a cleat down low that I can reach from the dingy might work.

I use a Garhauer lift and a stern cleat of the boat.

[Group9]

Yep, a 2 to 3 hp outboard, is probably all 99 per cent of us, really need.

My wife won't even let me run our dinghy on plane; she doesn't like it.

[LauraleeG]

Thanks for all the comments-helpful as always!
I can see the logic behind a small motor, but lucky for us--we got a great deal with a great dink WITH a 9.9 outboard motor--so went with that. But yes, agree a smaller motor would be easier to deal with. Oh well.
The Garhauer hoist for 300US looks practical.

[malbert73]

I reinforced our davits and use SS ratchet straps as spring lines on dinghy so I can leave my 15hp outboard on the dinghy.
Offshore or with heavy weather I’ll use the OB lift and store it on the pulpit. I used to be in the slow dinghy/small motor camp but am converted by the expanded areas I can explore from mothership, and consequently where I can anchor away. Kids love tubing behind it also.... just a counterpoint that says that the extra HP is nice and if you invest in a setup that allows motor to stay on dinghy you don’t need the small OB