dinghy float

[Mark Maulden]

I'm soliciting ideas for a dinghy float. By dinghy, I mean an 8' inflatable with a Honda 2hp. About 130#. Here in the PNW, a lot of us like to leave the dinghy floating off the bow in the slip. For most dinghies, they are not "bottom painted" and you know what happens. All dinghy floats I've seen are just layers of insulation board from Home Depot that are glued together with a wooden frame built around it. Some of these get pretty elaborate and would also be a pain to remove (or move) if wanted. So far, my best original idea is to use ~8" dia PVC tubing with smaller PVC tubing as cross bows that are bungee corded to the bigger tubing. That way it's easily broken down and storeable. Back of the napkin calculations say that a five ft "float" would support about 350# if I calculated right. (I'm a sparky not mechanical). So, any ideas for such?

 

[Mark Maulden]

Obviously, all PVC capped (watertight) at both ends

 

[Stu Jackson]

What I'd do is look around your marina and other nearby ones and find things that you see that work. Then copy those.

 

[Rick486]

I'm soliciting ideas for a dinghy float. By dinghy, I mean an 8' inflatable with a Honda 2hp. About 130#. Here in the PNW, a lot of us like to leave the dinghy floating off the bow in the slip. For most dinghies, they are not "bottom painted" and you know what happens. All dinghy floats I've seen are just layers of insulation board from Home Depot that are glued together with a wooden frame built around it. Some of these get pretty elaborate and would also be a pain to remove (or move) if wanted. So far, my best original idea is to use ~8" dia PVC tubing with smaller PVC tubing as cross bows that are bungee corded to the bigger tubing. That way it's easily broken down and storeable. Back of the napkin calculations say that a five ft "float" would support about 350# if I calculated right. (I'm a sparky not mechanical). So, any ideas for such?

I've seen people simply lift the dinghy out of the water using the spinnaker halyard. Simple.

 

[sailcruiser]

Around us people either cope with the mess or have a crane at the dock to lift them out. A few have the expensive floating dock but most just do the mess or lift. This is an interesting idea. I would avoid the bungy unless the rubber kind. (type escapes me). What about Ts with reducers if they exist put together with some like 4200 with some adhesive quality?

I have one of these for cruising with a lift sling to keep it out of the water while backing or to lift it on board. The dinghy is a rollup. I have a RIB as well and those can be painted. My marine store recommended vc-17 but I didn't try it. SC

 

[sailaway78]

Wouldn't it be much simpler

Seems to me your looking to over complicate things. If you are backed into the slip, the dink is exposed to the fairway. If your forward into the slip, there is the opportunity for the dink to get smushed. Wouldn't it be simpler and easier to just pull it up onto the dock. They aren't heavy, and wouldn't be a problem. When I am at home, I just pull and hang the motor on the bracket made for it on the rail, and drag the dinghy up onto the dock. Pretty quick and easy. Nothing to screw around with building or moving.

 

[tkanzler]

I get about 220 lb of bouyancy for two 5 ft sections of 8" sch. 40 pvc pipe filled with air, not counting self weight, and that's fully submerged. At 5.6 lb/ft, not counting end caps, that's 220-56=164 lb of net bouyancy. I'd double the number of tubes, depending on the weight of the dink, so it's not getting sloshed constantly.

 

[paul1938]

When I bought my boat from the prior owner he had his dinghy on top of an air mattress that he had gotten from Costco, I think. He said it lasted a couple of years and then he replaced it. He kept his outboard on his aft rails. The dinghy's bottom was spotless.

 

[Mark Maulden]

I have walked the docks of two marinas. It seems the insulation board is "the thing". One used a section of a commercially built floating dock. Just as cumbersome. I do lift it out and up on deck with a halyard. A lot of times I go out for a day sail and really don't want the dinghy up on the foredeck. So it stays floating in the slip. I'm usually bow in and I can control my boat such that I don't run into it. Haven't hit anything yet in ~40 yrs. Can't be stored on the dock. It's not my private dock....It's pretty common practice to leave a dink floating at the head of the slip. (on a pile of insulation board)

 

[dhays]

... if you can get permission you might try a dinghy support. At my private condo marina the ONLY thing we can attach to our docks (old stuff was grandfathered) is a treated 2x12 to use to pull the dinghy up on. We can't have anything that impedes on the concrete floats so everyone in the marina does this to store dinghies and kayaks. Here are two shots of mine.

View from the mast:

Close up.

The 2x12 has a 2x6 that is screwed on the underside down the middle for support, but the 2x12 is only attached to the dock with 4 nails, two on each end. Easy to remove, doesn't damage the dock, and easy to get the dinghy out of the water.

If you can't attach anything to the dock, you might be able to create a simple clamp out of treated lumber that would clamp each end to the dock. Maybe something like this:

Maybe none of the above would work but the advantage to a 2x12 is that it is cheap, easy to transport and dispose of and everything is out of the water (otherwise your float just starts to grow stuff).

 

[dhays]

... if you can get permission you might try a dinghy support...

... or not.