Towing/ Manuvering With Your Dinghy

[quill]

I assume you keep most of the load on the dinghy transom(when side tied) and take it slow and easy. Any other tips?

[Alan Mighty]

When setting up for a hip tow, put the dinghy on the side that would be the outer side in any tight turn.

So if lashed to the port side, turns to starboard are easy but turns to port are slow and larger in radius.

[Snowpetrel]

Get the dinghy as far aft as possible, ideally hang the stern of the dinghy just aft of the motherships stern. You need bowline, sternline and two springs.

Get the springs bar tight by going ahead or astern and tightening the slack one. Run the bowline well forward and ideally the stern line across the motherships stern to the opposite side cleat if you can.

Get the sternline tight by steering the stern of the dinghy into the mothership and taking in the slack. For really direct control, though if there is any chop it can be better to have the bow and stern lines a little slack, and put up with the sloppy steering. Once you get up to speed the main rudder will work well.

This will give quite good control and steering, though as Alan Mighty says, it will turn better one way than the other. And stopping can result in a lot of cavitiation and a big swing if you arw going to fast. Slow down early and creep in.

Make sure the dinghy is on the outside if you are going alongside for obvious reasons... Also its a nuisance when you end up just a bit too wide to fit into a berth.

[Perstarebob]

Sounds silly but works well for me , lash the dingy backwards . Makes steering a lot easier , aim the prop the way ya want to go with motor in reverse . We did this in and out of Cruz bay dock for years on our engineless freight boat .

[hugosalt]

Tidbit that helped with towing a 50 fter with a little sea running, had to
fill dinghy with some water to keep prop in water.

[Snowpetrel]

Originally Posted by Perstarebob

Sounds silly but works well for me , lash the dingy backwards . Makes steering a lot easier , aim the prop the way ya want to go with motor in reverse . We did this in and out of Cruz bay dock for years on our engineless freight boat .

Yeah, that works way better than a stern tow with an outboard. I just hook up my painter to the one of the bow cleats. Stopping gets interesting!

[Xlantic]

I have not towed a large boat with a dinghy but I have towed other dinghies. With the tow rope tied to the stern of the towing dinghy it is very difficult to manoeuvre or to keep a straight course, even when using a bridle.

What I do is tie the tow line to bow of the towing dinghy and run the rope back over the towing dinghy and on the side of the outboard engine. This set-up provides a great deal of manoeuvrability and good tracking when going straight.

[sailon46]

Towed years ago a Formosa 35 with dingy side tied on the leeward with a 10 hp Honda from long beach marina to marina del Ray steered from the Formosa. Early morn no westerly blowing yet. Went like a charm

[Lizzy Belle]

Am I the only one who'd like to know

- what kind of boat will be towed
- by what type of dinghy (and HP)
- on calm / rough water / conditions / what distance

before giving advise?

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Lizzy Belle

Am I the only one who'd like to know

- what kind of boat will be towed
- by what type of dinghy (and HP)
- on calm / rough water / conditions / what distance

before giving advise?

[deblen]

Two of us hip "towed" a Southern Cross 28 with an 8ft? Avon / 5HP Honda up the Maine coast 50Nm. Made same 5.5 kts as the SC28 had been making before on her own VP.
After getting tired of sitting in dink,locked the Honda straight ahead,& moved to mothership & enjoyed the trip.Steered with mothership tiller.

[TheThunderbird]

Considering the outboard Engine for emergencies, would a 6-10HP suffice!?

Any larger would weight 80+lbs...
Any smaller, can't do it, unless a Seagull

And sure, 4T 6HP is better than a 2T 10HP....

[Hydra]

I don't have much experience of towing with a dinghy but when "towing" alongside with another yacht, it is much easier to run straight if the bow of the tug is abaft the mast of the other boat and the centerlines are slightly converging "bows in". This way, you can steer with the rudder amidships and turn tightly in both directions.

Alain

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Hydra

I don't have much experience of towing with a dinghy but when "towing" alongside with another yacht, it is much easier to run straight if the bow of the tug is abaft the mast of the other boat and the centerlines are slightly converging "bows in". This way, you can steer with the rudder amidships and turn tightly in both directions.

Alain

Let hope no one needs to do it.

[Hydra]

I had to do it a few years ago to help a yacht with a failed engine go back to its berth. With a good number of fenders, it was much faster and safer than using my dinghy with its 2.2hp outboard.

Alain