Where to keep dinghy on trailer sailor?

[Scandium]

As title says; where do you keep a dinghy/tender on a small (20-24 ft) boat? Towing seems like will slow you down too much. On deck? Is there even space? Inflatable stuffed somewhere? Do you carry an outboard for it, stored on the rail?

Or do you not have one at all, and for example beach the boat instead?

 

[Tedd]

I have an inflatable dinghy aboard my Mac 26S, but I haven't used it enough yet to either praise it or condemn it. I've used it on two trips. On the first trip I inflated it before launching and towed it behind the sailboat. That worked pretty well, but I did find that it wanted to "fly" sometimes when motoring into a headwind. That could be a result of how it was tethered to the sailboat. On the second trip I had it stowed below deck (V berth), intending to inflate it when I needed it. But it turned out that I didn't go ashore at all during that trip, so I didn't find out how practical that strategy is.

 

[RussC]

a 20-24' boat IS a dingy. why have two? We carry an un-inflated one in the hold but have never used it in at least 4 years.

 

[Michael Davis]

This is how my dad did it on a 26 footer. When I had a Buccaneer 240 I custom built a 7foot plywood pram. I've seen lots of "nesting" dinghies as well.

 

[Scandium]

a 20-24' boat IS a dingy. why have two? We carry an un-inflated one in the hold but have never used it in at least 4 years.

fair point you're right I'd rather not take up the limited space bringing another boat.. ("I hear you like boats, so I put a boat in your boat" )

I'm looking at boats with a ~2 ft draft even with keel up. Near here there are a few beach landing places I'd like to go to. I suppose easiest is just to run it onto the beach at low tide? I'd be fine, just need to convince the wife and kids to wade in, and bringing picnic stuff. But thinking that even if little extra work, still easier than hauling a dinghy. I'm all for keeping it simple. Just curious what people are doing. Thanks

 

[Tedd]

But thinking that even if little extra work, still easier than hauling a dinghy.

I generally agree with this. Where I sail, the bottom usually drops off steeply enough that it's not practical to anchor the sailboat and wade ashore, and there's no beach to drive it onto, just a rocky shoreline. So it's pretty much have a dinghy (or kayak, or whatever) or don't go ashore. But if you can reasonably go ashore without a dinghy then I wouldn't bother with one.

 

[Scandium]

places like this. I really have no idea how viable it is to get in there with a sailboat, "shallow draft" or not. I've only sailed larger boat here on the Chesapeake, but thinking of buying I'm looking for something smaller.

 

[Tedd]

I could get my 26' boat with a swing keel in there very easily, close enough to jump out and wade ashore. Many would probably just drive a boat like mine up onto that beach. I don't do that because I worry about the effect on the gel coat, but I've seen it done.

 

[RussC]

Tidal areas do add a challenge, but as lake sailors we always seem to be able to pick a spot on the bank with suitable slope, as well as sand/rock mix to be able to slip the boat (25' swing keel) in next to a rock, stump, log etc where the boat doesn't get bunged up, but we're still afforded something to step off the boat onto, so-as not to get our feet wet .
If we're spending the night we'll toss an anchor from the stern, a couple hundred feet out, then continue in and tie up to shore with 100' rope from the bow. If we want to stretch our legs on shore we can, or we can just pull ourselves back out a hundred feet and tie off for the night without bashing the boat against the shore all night. then in the morning we can just pull ourselves to shore for a nature walk .

 

[907Juice]

I had a 25ft boat and just towed a small inflatable behind. With that short of a keel you shouldn’t need to anchor too far off shore. Just anchor in a secure area and row to shore. The speed lost was negligible and was way easier than having to inflate/deflate and raise/lower a dingy very stop. If you’re weekend cruising, a half knot or less isn’t going to be a big deal.

 

[David in Sandusky]

We carry an inflatable below decks on our 27 footer. It takes us less than 15 minutes to rig it, and less than 10 to deflate and stow it. It gets 0-2 uses per summer. We anchor out around 15 nights per summer, we just enjoy the night on and swimming around Lady Lillie. But it’s easy to rig the dinghy and go ashore to explore, or meet family or friends when the opportunity beckons.

 

[907Juice]

We carry an inflatable below decks on our 27 footer. It takes us less than 15 minutes to rig it, and less than 10 to deflate and stow it. It gets 0-2 uses per summer. We anchor out around 15 nights per summer, we just enjoy the night on and swimming around Lady Lillie. But it’s easy to rig the dinghy and go ashore to explore, or meet family or friends when the opportunity beckons.

Oh, I guess I didn’t consider the area. We don’t swim in the ocean in Alaska...

 

[Michael Davis]

Same here.... well not on purpose anyway.

 

[rgranger]

kayak?

 

[Scandium]

I had a 25ft boat and just towed a small inflatable behind. With that short of a keel you shouldn’t need to anchor too far off shore. Just anchor in a secure area and row to shore. The speed lost was negligible and was way easier than having to inflate/deflate and raise/lower a dingy very stop. If you’re weekend cruising, a half knot or less isn’t going to be a big deal.

If indeed it's only half knot I agree, no big deal. This thread I found made it sound like this person at least had some issues towing, but the details were a bit unclear to me:
https://forums.sailboatowners.com/i...-10-foot-dinghy-on-a-19-foot-sailboat.174292/

I have a 10' zodiac, and it only takes 15min to inflate/deflate, so storing it for the rare occasion isn't a big deal. And sounds like towing is an option too, guess I just need to try and see. Most place we go should be in rowing distance, so shouldn't need an engine for it.

 

[Scandium]

kayak?

Yes have thought of that, I'd like a kayak anyway. And want to try paddleboard. So having that on board could be used for shuttling gear (say if we're camping).

And I would think towing kayaks should be miniscule impact on speed? Compared to a huge dinghy

 

[Tedd]

I was thinking that if you had two kayaks lashed together, using the paddles, that might make a fairly stable arrangement you could tow. I'm not sure one kayak on its own would be very stable when towing. Maybe someone here has tried it?

 

[Sumner]

Towed the inflatable hundreds of miles behind the Mac including to and from the Bahamas.

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor/outside-17.html

Setup the swim ladder as a tow bar and also a place to stand to get in and out of the dinghy. Normally the dinghy is pulled up to the tow bar which eliminates it going everywhere when you stop. Before it would drift over past the outboard at times. Occasionally on large following seas we will let it out a ways depending the the wave intervals.

Most of the times on lakes we beach the Mac, but the dinghy is handy for exploring side canyons and on trips to other places is invaluable to go ashore to get water, fuel and other items. Can't imagine not having it for the way we like to cruise. It is on davits on the Endeavour.

Sumner
================================================================================
1300 miles to The Bahamas and Back in the Mac...
Endeavour 37 Mods...
MacGregor 26-S Mods...
Mac Trips to Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Canada, Florida, Bahamas

 

[Will Gilmore]

I've been thinking a lot about how to carry a tender for Dragonfly. At 19'2", she's not what you think of as tender needy. It's about the kind of sailing and location. For overnight trips along the coast of New England, I'm more likely to take a mooring and need a tender to get one or two people to and from the dinghy dock. Occasionally, if it's off-season, I might be allowed to tie up at the dinghy dock, but I'd rather pay mooring fees than slip fees. I'm thinking a two person inflatable would be perfect to tow behind.

At 7'6", it's a smidge big to upend on the cabin top or foredeck, but maybe with just the bow chamber deflated. The Saturn is way too expensive, but this Walmart brand, at $270, could work and I could even replace it over 3 times before I paid for a Saturn.
Dinghy towing is a skill and shouldn't have a great effect on speed unless it fills with water, is towing at the wrong distance or flips over.

I'm also considering building something in the four and a half foot range to carry on the foredeck.

-Will (Dragonfly)

 

[Gene Neill]

We have an Avon Redcrest which we have taken on longer cruises, lashed athwartships at the mast, 2.5HP Nissan stowed in a lazarette. It's a PITA and we've only done it a couple times when there was a definite need. And you definitely feel it back there when towing it!

We also have an inflatable Sea Eagle Kayak we take occasionally, stowed in the cabin. It weighs enough to be used as movable ballast on long tacks.

The problem with both is inflation/deflation and most of all, getting the thing rolled back up and stuffed back in the bag when the inflatable is half the LOA of the boat. It can be done if necessary, but it's hard work. You can go the light/cheap/thin/flimsy Walmart/Intex route, just handle the dink with care! I ripped an Intex dinghy wide open once as I was loading it onboard, and never knew what even caused it. They're delicate.