Dinghy/Tender Thread ?

Sounds like you have a good reason to spend that kind of dough.

I forgot that you are living on a government pension, and don't have to work all sumer like the rest of us! (sorry - had to). :grin:

ps - look down, way at the bottom of the page, to the electronics forum...
 
Any of you folks thought about towing a dink. When we moved our 400 EC from Couer d'alene Lake to Seattle our first purchase was a "serious" dinghy. We looked at every conceivable mounting option but unless I wanted to pay more for the mounting system than for the dinghy (380 Zodiac DL w/ 40 HP Honda 4 stroke) I couldn't come up with an option that looked good and worked. Companies like Nick Jackson and Roskelly make high quality fork davits that mount to the swim platform or transom but they place too much weight on the aft end of the boat. The other option was settle for a smaller dinghy and for me that wasn't an option.

We've towed the Zodiac for 6 years now from Olympia to the Johnstone Straits in all kinds of weather . We tow with the motor down unless we are expecting flat water all day. With the 400 EC and the 410 EC (both gas) we cruised at 17-19 knots. With the Tiara we cruise a bit faster (22-24). Lots of debris in the water in the NW so a faster cruise is gambling. We usually anchor and use the dink as a toy, often ranging out 40 - 50 miles from the big boat. Its nice to approach an anchorage, haul the dinghy in close, set the anchor, detach the dink and go. It can be a hassle in the Ballard Locks, fueling or when approaching a dock. Sometimes we'll just pull it in close, other times we'll tie it along one side or another and at other times the wife will take it in , tie it up and then meet me as I dock the big boat. Depends on the circumstances.

I do lose a knot or two off cruise and towing does affect WOT. I had to re-prop the Tiara to make sure I could get rated RPM. The trade off is worth it.
 
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SEEG:

When I first bought my 270 Airdeck the dealer convinced me that towing was the way to go....Heck I used to tow my jet skiis all the time without a problem, so why not a dink?

So, I bought a harness and set out to tow the dink. After about 5 minutes of towing and adjusting the line to get the dink in just the right part of the wake, I realized this wasn't going to work. The dink is just too light and kept wanting to "fly". My wife and family were nervous as Heck. I stopped, pulled in the dink and tied it on the swim platform. We traveled with the dink on the swimplatform for the rest of the year without any problems.
 
Thanks for the thought, but that is not practical going across the Gulf Stream and thru Bahamas. :smt021 Iam still banging my head on this issue. JC
 
Just picked up my Tendr Roller yesterday. I am going to try the assembly/install myself. Well built - all polished stainless.
 
Two BUOYS, Any pic's of them would be greatly appreciated.JC
 
osd9 said:
SEEG:

When I first bought my 270 Airdeck the dealer convinced me that towing was the way to go....Heck I used to tow my jet skiis all the time without a problem, so why not a dink?
Click to expand...

That's interesting . Everyone told me you couldn't tow an inflatable especially at anything over 5 or 6 knots. I also towed jet ski's on Lake Couer d'lene for years and I just couldn't see why it was impossible. Everyone said wait till you get caught out in small craft warnings the dinghy will flip over. I have and it hasn't. It took some trial and error to determine exactly how far back to extend the tow line and we learned quickly that by locking the steering wheel and lowering the motor we were able to avoid the side to side movement you often get. If you tow too far back the dink can get airborne but no more so than I do intentionally when I launch it off of a wave. And, it always comes down rear end first due to the weight of the motor. We've been out in honest 6 and 7 footers in the Georgia Straits and never worried about the dink. We were to busy worrying about ourselves.

Dan
 
Here's my 2 penny's worth of thought on this:

First the background: my last 2 boats had the Weaver davits. I had a 10' rollup with 15ph engine. The engine and gas tank got stowed in the trunk and the dinghy flipped over almost upside down against the transom. No standoffs for me - I always felt the dinghy was more secure against the transom, plus standing up it would block my vision. I never bothered with the lever for the engine since it would be upside down, plus with the 15 hp dinghy/engine would have been a bear to raise up on the Weavers. My current boat came with a hydraulic platform and I have ordered an 11'6" rib with a 30 hp engine. (Amanzi/Merc) I have no experience yet as the dinghy is being delivered and the boat is on the hard. I have no personal experience with any other davit system. Prior to these boats I had sailboats where we either towed a hard dinghy (putting it on deck for heavy weather) or used a small inflatable that was deflated on deck when not in use.

Pros of the Weaver system: Inexpensive, dingy is always inflated and easy to launch, light weight. Cons: a heavy dinghy can be hard to lift if you don't have a good angle for leverage, dinghy against transom blocks the name and hailing port - so you should paint these on bottom of dinghy if the boat is documented, can block aft sight lines on some boats, engine and gear to be removed each time, may block transom door when stowed.

Pros of the hydraulic platform: Boat is always ready to launch, can be used as a beach by lowering to just above or just below the water surface. Cons: it is heavy, expensive, lots of metal parts under water, hydraulic hoses exposed to sea water.

In very heavy weather no transom mounted dinghy is completely safe. It must be brought aboard. A light inflatable that can be deflated and stowed aboard (not on the transom) will be the safest option. A dinghy stowed on the platform (like mine) will limit you from attempting transit in extreme weather.

In extreme conditions towing a dinghy is the wrong decision. We have had hard dinghies swamp and/or turn turtle and have witnessed many lost dinghies due to towing. If you are going to tow a dinghy, there should be someone monitoring it at all times.
 
Sea Gull said:
The engine and gas tank got stowed in the trunk and the dinghy flipped over almost upside down against the transom. No standoffs for me - I always felt the dinghy was more secure against the transom, plus standing up it would block my vision. I never bothered with the lever for the engine since it would be upside down, plus with the 15 hp dinghy/engine would have been a bear to raise up on the Weavers. .
Click to expand...

I will be using the weaver system also...I ordered the yokes and will put them on my Merc 270 airdeck.

I know that the name on your old boat was in good shape (a little birdy told me) and I'm curious.....did you ever worry about the dink "wearing" it away? How did you avoid the wear?

Oh...and PS....I am in the process of UN-documenting my boat so I won't have to worry about hidding the name....probably the shortest USCG Documentation in history....

thanks
 
I used two small fenders, maybe 3" in diameter, tied to the horizontal rail on the trunk hatch. They were placed so that they did not touch the name on the transom and were just big enough to keep the oarlock from touching the transom of the boat.
 
Anyone with a 380DA? Looking for suggestions on how to carry my new 9'6 inflatable. I guess the Weaver system is the easiest and most cost effective but I dont like the way the davits look mounted to the platform. Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated.
 
Weaver also makes a quick release mount which allows the davit to be removed from the swim platform, leaving only a mounting plate. They get rid of the danger of stubbing your toe, but would they also improve the appearance enough for you?

Jeff
 
Anybody install the Trilogy Dingy Lift? I have seen one installed on a 33EC. Seemed like a great economic solution. I am not sure how you would install on a 420DA with the integrated swim platform.

here is the link if anyone wants to have a look

www.jatcomarine.com
 
Can you tell me how you rig your towline and how much line you play out when towing the dink. Is it better to tow with the motor on or off.

>>That's interesting . Everyone told me you couldn't tow an inflatable especially at anything over 5 or 6 knots. I also towed jet ski's on Lake Couer d'lene for years and I just couldn't see why it was impossible. Everyone said wait till you get caught out in small craft warnings the dinghy will flip over. I have and it hasn't. It took some trial and error to determine exactly how far back to extend the tow line and we learned quickly that by locking the steering wheel and lowering the motor we were able to avoid the side to side movement you often get. If you tow too far back the dink can get airborne but no more so than I do intentionally when I launch it off of a wave. And, it always comes down rear end first due to the weight of the motor. We've been out in honest 6 and 7 footers in the Georgia Straits and never worried about the dink. We were to busy worrying about ourselves.

Dan[/quote]
 
Flyer, you've resurrected an old thread. I'm afraid I can't answer your question as I've never towed a dinghy with a motor small enough to remove. Plus all mine have been RIB's. I'm currently towing a 13.5 foot Novurania with a 50 HP Yamaha.
 
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