Towing dingy motor up or down??

[lfd95]

i have seeen this done both ways towed with motor in the water and with motor out of the water... which way is right????

 

[Henry Boyd]

If its an all inflatable I'd say you should not be towing it at all unless its at no wake speed then it probably does not matter where the engine is located. For a hard/rib dinghy you should tow with the engine up. It will allow the dinghy to track the boat and keep load off the transom. Little dinghy engines have kind of flimsy tilt mechanisms, so you might consider using a short piece of rope as a safety hold up strap to keep the motor tilted up. You might also want either bolt, or safety strap the motor to the dinghy transom. The hold down thumb screws were never meant to stay on at 25 knots.

Henry

 

[480ces]

I'd suggest motor up to prevent water being forced in the under water intakes and up to the power head. Also if the motor is down and it vibrates and turns you could have a interesting situation.

You've got a 340DA though, so why not put some davits on the platform? Check out Dom's Dinghy Davits!!

 

[rcknecht]

I stick my engine under the first mate's seat, and strap the dinghy on the swim platform with ropes. I have put the dinghy on the bow too, but getting up there is PITA...

 

[AKBASSKING]

Before I installed my davits, I towed motor up.

 

[Carpedmman]

I have tried to tow with the motor up but my dinghy bounces as if there is too much trim (On a bigger boat) I have a 11'9" RIB Zodiac with a 30hp Honda and the tender weighs a hefty 650-700lbs, not sure if that matters. I find that towing about 75-100 feet behind the boat with the motor down it tracks and rides beautifully.