Two questions here:
1) How long of a painter do you use when towing a dinghy? We have an 8' plywood dinghy we sometimes tow behind our 23.5. My intuition is to keep it fairly close to allow it to draft us & thereby reduce drag. Currently, the painter is about 5' long, secured directly behind the rudder by a bridle rigged from 2 stanchion cleats, which adds another foot or so (I'd guess we lose a half knot or so of boat speed). However, during a recent cruise, the dinghy sometimes bumped us in a following sea. I have observed some others with a much longer painter, though they were behind larger boats. Thoughts, please?
2) What to do with the outboard? On our July 4th extended weekend cruise we actually towed the ding with the 5hp o/b screwed down to the transom, but I have subsequently read that's not a great idea due to the possibility of flipping over (though perhaps that's more of an issue with inflatables) and additional drag from the additional weight. However, between the weight/akwardness of hefting the o/b on & off (yes, I would use the main halyard & creative use of the boom) and figuring out where to store it when not in use, I'm not sure there's a better option on the 23.5 than keeping it attached to the ding. Maybe I only need to worry about it rougher seas, in which case I could bring along a small tarp to wrap it up & store it on the cabin floor. Maybe I should just stick with oars?!? Again, thoughts, please?
Thanks,
Kevin Fitzpatrick
s/v Grasshopper
Hunter 23.5
Brownsville, VT
(Currently moored off Milford, CT)
1) How long of a painter do you use when towing a dinghy? We have an 8' plywood dinghy we sometimes tow behind our 23.5. My intuition is to keep it fairly close to allow it to draft us & thereby reduce drag. Currently, the painter is about 5' long, secured directly behind the rudder by a bridle rigged from 2 stanchion cleats, which adds another foot or so (I'd guess we lose a half knot or so of boat speed). However, during a recent cruise, the dinghy sometimes bumped us in a following sea. I have observed some others with a much longer painter, though they were behind larger boats. Thoughts, please?
2) What to do with the outboard? On our July 4th extended weekend cruise we actually towed the ding with the 5hp o/b screwed down to the transom, but I have subsequently read that's not a great idea due to the possibility of flipping over (though perhaps that's more of an issue with inflatables) and additional drag from the additional weight. However, between the weight/akwardness of hefting the o/b on & off (yes, I would use the main halyard & creative use of the boom) and figuring out where to store it when not in use, I'm not sure there's a better option on the 23.5 than keeping it attached to the ding. Maybe I only need to worry about it rougher seas, in which case I could bring along a small tarp to wrap it up & store it on the cabin floor. Maybe I should just stick with oars?!? Again, thoughts, please?
Thanks,
Kevin Fitzpatrick
s/v Grasshopper
Hunter 23.5
Brownsville, VT
(Currently moored off Milford, CT)