How to store dinghy and outboard for offshore

[Nepidae]

Don't know your boat or your setup, BUT we have a 310 Mercury RIB with 6HP 4 stroke engine on davits attached to our swim platform.

The davits are Atkins & Hoyle out of Canada which hold the dinghy in place with the motor attached to the RIB.

To stop side to side movement, take a bow line and a stern line from the dinghy and cross them, attaching the lines to a stout place on the boat. Snug them up and no side-to-side movement.

BTW, the davits can support another solar panel.

Good luck.

[MJH]

Originally Posted by TwoIsBetter

Hi I have a new to me FP40 I was wondering for going off shore where you won't need the right for some time what's the best way to store the dinghy and outboard that people have done before. Seems like leaving it on the davits is asking for trouble if it swings around in heavy conditions. So was planning to put the outboard lashed down up front.

What about the outboard? It's a 9.9HP Yamaha four stroke. Per manual it can be stored horizontally with proper prep. Where is a safe place to store it that others have done before? Try to drop it into the front locker, not sure if it will clear? Any advice much appreciated!

For offshore passages always Hope for the best and Plan for the worst.

I use a 2x6 connected to the stern railing with U-bolts that the outboard is attached to.

I deflate my dinghy and store it in the quarter-berth during the passage...out of site out of mind.

[sinnerman]

Originally Posted by TwoIsBetter

Hi I have a new to me FP40 I was wondering for going off shore where you won't need the right for some time what's the best way to store the dinghy and outboard that people have done before. Seems like leaving it on the davits is asking for trouble if it swings around in heavy conditions. So was planning to put the outboard lashed down up front.

What about the outboard? It's a 9.9HP Yamaha four stroke. Per manual it can be stored horizontally with proper prep. Where is a safe place to store it that others have done before? Try to drop it into the front locker, not sure if it will clear? Any advice much appreciated!

I assume : "proper prep before storing it on its side.." includes draining the fuel from the tank and carb, and- engine oil from the crankcase....?

You do not want any fuel leaking while it is stored, and if it is on its side, oil from the crankcase may migrate into the engine cylinders

You not want any gasoline fumes in the bilge or other closed spacers..

I had a friend with a Catalina 30 who stored his outboard on its side in the aft lazarette.

Cheers

[Richardw]

I have a lagoon 410 with a 13' zodiac aluminum rib. It has a 15hp 2 stroke Johnson. I'm able to pull it up tight against the davits and also to use dock lines on the front and rear tied off to my rear cleats while under way. It eliminates all movement even in stormy weather while allowing the quick launching if needed.

Rich

[jipcho]

I had davits (on my monohull), and in rough seas, I ran into some trouble. I used several additional lines to hold her in place, but she would move enough to cause chafe of the hypalon air chambers. Also, once or twice a big wave would come aboard (my boat had a low freeboard), and it swamped the dinghy. This put a lot of strain on the davits, and even flipped the dinghy halfway over once. My dinghy was a soft bottom with rigid floor inserts. so she could be deflated and stowed below decks. This is what I did every time I had a passage of a few days or more ahead of me. It added a bit of time and was a pain in the butt when the time came to put her back together, but I managed.

[MartyB]

I have a FP Astrea 42 Hull # 152. We just finished our first transatlantic with our boat. We left south of Barcelona and landed in Martinique 43 days later. Although we had very nice weather pretty much the whole time, some days we experienced very high swells (7-8 meters) and VERY fast surfs. We hit 25 knots on one if them and it got scary...

Our dinghy was left on the davits. We have a Highfield 340 with console and a 20HP Honda. Pretty much the heaviest config for those davits. Following another FP owner recommandation, here is what we installed.
Four ratchet straps aligned with footmans loops screwed on top of the davits, which prevent the dinghy from moving side to side, and two more ratchet straps bow and aft of the dinghy to prevent forward and backwards movement.

The dinghy has not moved a mm the whole trip. I was amazed at how efficient this was...

Enjoy your Lucia!

Thanks Ron Dicklin for the ideas and pictures...

[mikereed100]

I feel that the sinkable/unsinkable issue is something of a moot point. If you find yourself in an upside down or swamped boat, no matter how many hulls, you are likely hosed. I can think of a very few exceptions, but the thought of clinging to the swamped bridgedeck of a cat in rough weather for more than a couple of hours gives me the shivers. With it's cored construction and waterproof compartments I doubt that my cat could sink, but I also doubt that it would be a survivable platform in rough weather for very long before exhaustion or exposure took their toll.

Given this, we focus heavily on keeping the boat on it's feet and out of trouble. We tend to sail under-canvassed in most conditions, especially at night. We proceed with a deep sense of humility towards the ocean, if not quite abject fear. We choose our weather carefully and pre-rig a parachute anchor and Jordan series drogue before heading offshore.

To the OPs question, we do not carry a liferaft anymore, but do carry a 12' hard dingy with flotation compartments, extra flotation on the gunnels and survival gear, including a drogue, stowed onboard.

[thinwater]

Just strap it in tight.


Tricing lines can help. Run either rope or webbing from the tip of one davit, crosswise under the dinghy, to the transom under the opposite davit arm. Same from the other side. The cris-cross lines deduce movement (like springlines) and provide redundant support under the dinghy.