dinghy davits, towing or?

Status
Not open for further replies.
M

Mike Mullen

Does anyoine have expereince with either towing or davits for a dinghy on a 309?
Thanks, Mike
 

JohnY

.
Jun 2, 2009
11
2 309 #61 Ventura, CA
My Dingy Towing Solution

Does anyoine have expereince with either towing or davits for a dinghy on a 309?
Thanks, Mike
Hi Mike:

I tow my dingy without the motor. I pull it up real close to the stern of the boat with the front end completely out of the water using two dock lines, one on each side dingy pulling ring to distribute the load. I tie the two dock lines, one each, to the corner stanchions. Only the tail end of the dingy is in the water and it creates very minimal drag. You could probably leave the motor on as there is no chance of the dingy flipping over, but I chose not to.
The guy I bought my boat from kept his inflated dingy permanently, sideways on the back swim step with bungee cords. It fit well, but I didn't like it because it was like having a big billboard blocking your view in back of the boat. It also made getting to the AC plug difficult and it blocked your navigation lights.
I tried placing it on the bow upside down, it fits, but it takes up too much space and conflicts with the head sail.
Hope this helps.
 
Mar 20, 2007
500
Catalina 355 Kilmarnock, VA
Does anyoine have expereince with either towing or davits for a dinghy on a 309?
Thanks, Mike
I also tow my dinghy, but use a towing bridle and a floating tow line on one of the stern cleats. I keep the dinghy on the first or second wake wave (about 15-20 feet from the stern), and it rides well and doesn't create a lot of drag. I always remove the outboard when towing - just paranoid that a gust or a wave might flip it, though that's unlikely most of the time. I considered davits, but rejected them because a. they're expensive and b. they make docking in my slip difficult, as I keep my boat stern-to in the slip. I think the 309 is a bit small for davits, and wonder what the extra weight suspended from the stern would do to sailing performance.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.