Going off west coast Vancouver Island. Do not want to tow dinghy but have easy access/launching. Dinghy is aluminum RIB 8.5 feet.
Dinghy deck stowage and getting on board. Hunter 336
- Thread starter capseaquel
- Start date
Don't see how you would have easy access and launching without the dinghy IN THE WATER. I tried it on deck only once with our 310 and almost got killed, both by the lifelines and crew members. You'd be crowded with davits on the stern.
We've towed our dinghy in heavy sea across the Strait numerous times and never had a hitch. Always remove the engine before travelling.
RIBs tow well. We have towed ours from Lake Ontario to Florida and frequently on Lake Ontario in seas as big as 5-6 feet. Take the motor off, secure anything in the dinghy, like fuel tanks and oars. Have a long painter and towing bridle.
If you want it on deck, then hoisting with a spinnaker halyard attached to a bow eye will work. Hoist it high enough to clear the lifeline, swing it over to the fore deck and then lower it with the transom near the mast and secure it.
While I have had good experience towing my 8' RIB, I am considering stowing it on deck when/if we cross the Gulf Stream. I will hoist it with the spin halyard attached to the bow eye.
If you want it on deck, then hoisting with a spinnaker halyard attached to a bow eye will work. Hoist it high enough to clear the lifeline, swing it over to the fore deck and then lower it with the transom near the mast and secure it.
While I have had good experience towing my 8' RIB, I am considering stowing it on deck when/if we cross the Gulf Stream. I will hoist it with the spin halyard attached to the bow eye.
I don't see a definitive question here, but I assume you are asking how to store the dingy on deck and have easy access. Is that easy access to the boat via the transom, or easy access to the anchor, etc.? I have good luck just snapping a jib halyard on the bow eye of my 8' RIB and lifting it up and over the lifeline, setting the stern of the dingy on the cabin top near the mast base. I then lower the bow of the dingy onto the foredeck. I put cushions under the stern, and anti-slip mat under the bow, and secure the dingy to chain plates and stanchion bases. I don't have access to my anchor locker with this arrangement, but I only store the dingy on deck when I am sailing offshore. Otherwise, the dingy rides in the davits. On your boat, you should have access to the anchor with the dingy on deck.
I do this operation solo every spring and fall when my boat is commissioned/decommissioned.
I do this operation solo every spring and fall when my boat is commissioned/decommissioned.
If it is something like the dinghy's, Innovocean ultralight RIB boats then the towing it will be your best compromise for "easy access/launching". You are faced with the classic compromise. Do I seek easy access, or is safety while under sail more important.
We were towing our dinghy on a trip between Edgartown and Cuttyhunk, having a fine time on a nice broad reach at about 8 knots for hours. We got to the passage between Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound - Canapitsit Channel - and turned in. Surprise! Current against the wind. Shallower. Big, steep, short-period waves. Dinghy flipped while the motherboat careened through the passage. We got the dinghy flipped back over and were lucky the engine started on the first pull once we got to Cuttyhunk Pond. We take the motor off and stow the dinghy on the foredeck now.
This is why I don't tow my dingy anymore. I was towing my Zodiak one day, running downwind in a narrow channel when the wind came around and flipped the dingy. It submerged and then surfaced and flipped back over. If I do tow it at all, I only go short distances, on a short lead, with the dingy's bow out of the water. No danger then of the tow rope fouling the prop.