Stow or tow hard dinghy

[jkindredpdx]

I built a D4 dinghy for my 35' center cockpit and stored it bottom up on the fore-deck until I got sick of trying to see around it.

I lifted it on deck with my halyard. I had to practice to find the best attachment point on the sling and perfecting the art of flipping the dink over. I went to attaching a block and line to the halyard to give me more control. I also used my whisker pole, but I'm not sure if it made things easier or not.

After a couple years, I gave the hard dink away and bought an inflatable... I'm still searching for a better dink.

[Scout 30]

Originally Posted by BurningDaylight

Thanks everyone. I'm gonna try the lifting to the for deck for the main part of heading to the keys and then also the towing for short trips and see how each works. Good to know a lot of people tow. As for an inflatable, had one. It was nice but I worried about puncturing it on rocks, or while loading it, as well as uv degrading. I feel more comfortable with the hard dinghy for long term use.

Inflatables are pretty tough, especially hypalon models. However, in Florida, watch out for oysters. They can be very sharp.

[annsni]

Originally Posted by Scout 30

Inflatables are pretty tough, especially hypalon models. However, in Florida, watch out for oysters. They can be very sharp.

Our inflatable came with the boat which was out of Sunsail charter and it was a RIB that was a bit beat up but still useable. 12 years later, she's still going strong with a few extra patches. She's been a good boat!

[Reefmagnet]

Originally Posted by Scout 30

Inflatables are pretty tough, especially hypalon models. However, in Florida, watch out for oysters. They can be very sharp.

My daughter once bounced an old hypalon rib we owned off an oyster covered pylon and I was very surprised that it did nothing more than leave a couple of gouges in the top layer of the fabric. That hypalon is tough stuff!

On our 33 footer I tow a 10 foot aluminium dinghy when weekends, only removing the motor if the wind gets up a bit. For longer trips I use the 9 foot RIB lashed upside down on the foredeck. Easy to lift with the spinnaker halyard but there's no way I'd contemplate a hard dinghy on the deck as it could do damage when lifted in a rolly anchorage whereas the rib just bounces off stuff.

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[Ita]

If you keep it on deck, you'll be standing in the cockpit seat all the time, 0 visibility forward (walker bay 10)


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[UNCIVILIZED]

If memory serves, there's a good bit of info on hard dinghy; stowing, towing, swamping prevention, etc., in Bruce Bingham's The Sailor's Sketchbook.
A lot of the info on such, he Had to learn out of necessity, as he spent a good bit of time living on, & cruising a 20' Pacific Seacraft.

Plus, there's a lot of other neat & useful info in it, along with drawn illustrations of such. Hence the book's name.
http://www.amazon.com/Sailors-Sketch...BF52KHQ88Z7SV0

Also, you might be able to shoehorn a nesting dink like the PT11 http://ptwatercraft.com/ptwatercraft/PT11Home.html , Danny Greene's Chameleon, or Dave Gerr's Nester onto your boat, although it'd be tight. But with a little work, the latter 2 dinks can be scaled down a bit, prior to building. Not so much with the PT11 as it's only a kit for now.

Plus, a "Spreader Bar" (perhaps not exactly the technically correct term) might make onloading, & offloading your dink a lot easier. Ditto on a well thought out lifting bridle system.

PS: You needn't rule out davits just because your dink's longer than your boat's transom is wide. I'd think that it'd be doable so long as your dingy isn't longer than your boat's beam (length).