Dink on deck during crossings?

[simonpickard]

Hello all.

Just wondering what the go is with an inflatable dingy during a passage. Do you keep yours lashed on deck as a kind of backup life raft or deflate and store below?

Just looking for pros and cons of both really before we do our ARC crossing.

Seems like a good idea to have it on deck to me but I might be missing something.

Regards,
Simon



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[atoll]

six of one half a dozen of the other!
while it is nice to keep it inflated,it does take up significant deck space,generally covers your main hatch so you lose a lot of ventilation.

also it needs securely tying down where on some boats attachment points are sadly lacking.

if you do leave it on deck it is also a good idea to cover it so as to avoid uv damage and bottom seams ungluing themselves.

chafe from boom vangs,reefing lines etc run to the cockpit under the dingy also pose a problem.

all stuff to think about

[robert sailor]

Personally I don't like to stow an inflatable on the foredeck offshore. Often they are not really well secured and if you are pounding into headseas it may be the second best idea. I have no problem with a hard bottom dink deflated and the tubes wrapped up under the bottom and really well secured as it takes up very little space and can be tied down very well. I do this myself and use folding pad eyes thrubolted to the deck and a double stainless steel ratchet and belt system to lock it in place.

[MarkJ]

Mine on deck covers the anchor hatch and to get to the furler I have to crawl over it.

My new davits are being made and thats where it will be on passage. OB still attached. Thats the way I want it, thats the way its designed, thats how I am having it.

Mark

[boatman61]

On my own boats I carry a semi inflated slat floor dinghy lashed down topsides as I do not carry a life raft.. reason its semi inflated are various.. less prone to being blown away.. less prone to being tossed by waves (yet to test) as it bends..? can be kinda folded in as its lashed down result takes less space..
Where I carry it depends on the boat.. some its been on the cabin top under the boom.. others on the fore deck.. and even standing in the sugar scoop.. when I've had one...

[Randyonr3]

for the first couple years, we carried an inflatable forward over the anchor locker.. and it was a pain having to step over the unit.. Our second dink was a hard boat and it sat between the dodger and the mast.. that lasted one passage, didnt like the obstruction where we had to look around it to see forward..
our latest dink, a WM inflatable with a folding transom and hard bottom folds down and goes in a bag.. sets between the dodger and mast.. on short runs, below a hundred miles or so, we leave it invlated..

[Triumphant]

Originally Posted by atoll

It needs securely tying down where on some boats attachment points are sadly lacking.

Very important point, teak hand rails are NOT strong enough to lash a dinghy to in rough weather, Eye bolts, bolted through the deck are much stronger

[gjordan]

On my 26 footer, and my 44, I would deflate the forward half, and tied off on deck where it would not cover the forward hatch. On the small boat it was behind the mast, on the big boat I could do it forward of the mast without covering the hatch. I cruised a 37 foot boat for a couple of years with a rigid dink, and the only place it would fit was over the forward hatch. I was never comfortable with the forward (escape) hatch covered. If you have a galley or engine fire, you have prevented your only way out. I always kept the inflatable pump in a bag, tied to the inflatable. If you need it in a hurry, you dont want to have to go looking for it. ___Just my 2 cents worth. ______Grant.

[donradcliffe]

For an ocean passage on a boat with a life raft, I'd roll up the inflatable and put it down below, because I could. However, I have left ribs lashed on the foredeck with minimal problems.

[ontherocks83]

Is the reason people don't want to carry it on the davits because if it fills with water in big seas it will break? If that's the case what about making a harness particularly for a RIB to carry it up side down. Would this make a difference or would there still be too much of a load in big seas to safely do this.

Mark J what you are doing sounds intriguing. Any specs or designs available to illustrate what you are having done?

[jmpapon]

We just crossed the Atlantic west to east from June to August. We had the dinghy folded in the lazarette the whole time except in Bermuda when we used it for the 10 days we stayed there on mooring.
Never used it in the Azores where marina slips are available and cheap (approx. 10 euros per day for a 36' boat).
I do not think it makes sense to keep an inflatable on deck on long passages. They can cause lots of trouble for no benefit that I can see.
Think about it: we sailed for two months , June and July, inflated the dinghy once and used it for 10 days over these two months!

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by ontherocks83

Mark J what you are doing sounds intriguing. Any specs or designs available to illustrate what you are having done?

I will post some pics when its finished. Its similar to an arch and will look like it.

[Cheechako]

It's a compromise. If a rigid dink it has to go on deck... see my avatar.. that's a 9ft RIB on a 38 ft boat.
However , if you have an air floor dink then you could put it below... I would do that as you can see it takes up a lot of the foredeck and is a PITA up there.
With good stout davits that sit high, and not too heavy a dink, I would probably be willing to do that on some crossings... but I would also be willing to cut it loose and let it go if I ran into problems...

[barnakiel]

Ours stays on the fore deck BUT as said above all the disadvantages.

If you store on the deck, it must be covered. I suggest extra pads (best in foam) where the cover goes over the glued seams. Sun heat kills the glue and the dinghy dies (sooner).

We have good tie down points no damage ever.

b.

[roverhi]

Have my hard dink on the foredeck. Really like it there. Makes it way easier to maneuver around the foredeck with the dinghy to brace against. There is plenty of unobstructed room forward of it to hand the jib and the natural shape of the dink follows the curvature of my boats bow. Store the soft bottomed Avon Redcrest partially inflated on the cabin top aft of the mast.