Dinghy questions

[Geoff K]

Three dinghy questions;

1) Has anyone had an opportunity to compare Zodiac with Brig? Looking at them at the Chicago SS show they appear to be of similar construction and structure. Brig is several hundred dollars less expensive for comparable size. I've heard of problems with Zodiac. I've not heard of Brig before. Any thoughts?

2) I read several threads on dinghies and it appears towing at a distance is standard. I once read a suggestion to tow the dinghy tight to the stern, with the bow of the dinghy lifted slightly out of the water. Has anyone tried this?

3) From the threads it appears no one stores the dinghy while traveling. Is stowing on deck or deflating to stow so much hassle that the troubles of towing are worth it?

Thanks.

Geoff

 

[Maine Sail]

Three dinghy questions;

1) Has anyone had an opportunity to compare Zodiac with Brig? Looking at them at the Chicago SS show they appear to be of similar construction and structure. Brig is several hundred dollars less expensive for comparable size. I've heard of problems with Zodiac. I've not heard of Brig before. Any thoughts?

Geoff,

Brig is made by Zodiac, Zodiac also makes/owns Avon, many WM branded inflatables and Bombard too... Avon is Zodiac's hypalon line Bombard, Brig and some WM models are all PVC.

You might also look at the Mercury, AB, Caribe and the Achilles lines of inflatables.. I had the sticky tube & floor problem with my PVC Zodiac and it took two+ years of constant fighting with zodiac to get them to honnor their own warranty.

 

[MoonSailer]

towing a dinghy really slows down a sailboat. Right now I have a Walkers Bay 8 and I put it on deck using a spare halyard. I tried towing an inflatable once in the Keys and it killed pointing ability and I finally put it up on deck.

 

[sailaway78]

Towing and stowing

I agree that towing a dinghy has some effect on boat performance. That being said I normally tow when I am gunking around in the bays, using it often and not being in any hurry. If going for any distance, or offshore, I deflate and store it rolled up just in front of the mast. Everyone has different needs and tastes in dinks. A rigid dink can't be rolled up, and one with floorboards difficult. Both types are heavy. A rigid hulll can take running up on a rocky beach with out damage. My thinking is that for my use, I would prefer an inflatable keel dink to what I have now. All are like other boat stuff, a compromise. Your usage should play a big part in deciding what you want.

 

[Mike B]

Try checking Defender's website. They sell leftover's at a pretty good discount. We bought our Achilles, which is hypalon, through them. It's an air floor model LSI104 and rolls up into a valice and fits in the trunk easily. I run an 8hp on it and she'll get up on plane with two adults and a Golden Retriever in it. I've towed it all over the upper and middle Chesapeake Bay in all sorts of weather without any issues. I use a double bridle on it. One bridle off the stern, another on the bow of the dink (the dink has 3 tow eyes), with a tow line in between. I've found it best to adjust the tow line so the dink is riding on the face of the stern wake. There's very little drag when I do so. Don't make the same mistake I did and get a white one. They're impossible to keep clean. Once dried the morning dew leaves small spots that have so far resisted all efforts to remove them.

 

[kloudie1]

Exactly right, Nice N Easy.. I have a 9 ft hypalon inflatable keel one that I bought from Boat US (1991) when they were separate from WM.. I think it was made in Czechoslovakia. It has the floor boards and is a pain to assemble. I normally keep it rolled up in the aft cabin, but it is either towed, or on the foredeck when I am using it.. Yes it is a pain to wrestle around; cleaning after use so it can go back in the cabin is pain. It always amazes me how much drag the little boat has when being towed along, even totally empty.. BUT.. much less hassle than keeping up with a rigid dink when it is used only once or twice a year.. I recently bought a 12 V inflator since the longest piece of assembling the thing is the inflation time. I think the electric pump will decrease my uhhhhh .. vocabulary usage..
My buddy in North Carolina just bought a brand new Avon and had a couple of quality control defects right out of the box.. One valve leaked a lot, one valve was a different type, that the pump would not fit, and the valve access hole in the high pressure inflatable floor did not match up with the valve position.. The local dealer replaced it with a new Avon that looks pretty good. We put about 10 hours on it back a couple of months ago and it did fine. This type, that can be rolled and has no slats or floorboards, seems to be a pretty good option! Apparently, they had some QC problems in teh owner transition..??

 

[Scott B]

Geoff, around here, Georgian Bay, you see variations of everything. I believe the most popular is towing for the smaller boats and davits for the bigger boats. Advantage of towing is less time at your destination to get the dink ready to head to shore. We anchor out most nights and head to shore as soon as we arrive for the dog. Launching the boat and putting on the motor would be too much work, IMHO. It may slow the boat, but I have a 10 ft. RIB & 15 hp and maybe notice 1/2 knot. That said, most around here stay within the protected areas of the channels and islands and few venture out into the open bay to any distance. If you get into any real rough conditions, you will want it on board.

 

[windward54]

If you are really going to use your dink a lot, you might want to bite the bullet and get davits. I had a dingy and motor that never got used much as it was a royal pain to deal with towing and stowing. Plus, since I rarely used the motor, it was cranky and hard to start. Since I got davits, we use the dingy a lot as it takes less then ten minutes to get it in the water and running. Was well worth the bucks.

 

[Rick]

Davits on a 32 foot boat.... hmmmm dont know if that is practical. If your not racing, yeah towing is a bit of drag but agree with the others, nice to drop the hook and be ready. It is also a liferaft Neptune forbid!

As an observation, I believe your sailing season is fairly short so the cost of hypalon vs pvc might be a consideration. I have a Baltic pvc. Easy to inflate, stores easily. Yep not as rugged but how many days of sunshine and being left in the water will it actually see? Oh and they are about 1/3 the cost of the namebrands.

IMHO of course

Cheers

 

[Tom J]

towing the dinghy

As far as towing the dinghy goes, we've found that towing it at a distance behind the boat, so that it rides on top of the wake, can be the most stable and efficient way to go, but only in good weather! At times, when the wind kicks up, we've seen our Zodiak get airborne, flip over, and then submerge like a submarine. That's when we pull it up close, with the bow right on the transom, and it stays secure.
That being said, we have found that it is not difficult to lift the Zodiak up onto the foredeck and secure it there for any offshore passages and, or windy conditions. The down side of foredeck storage here in Florida is that the sun does a heck of a job on the dinghy itself, and a cover is not practical while cruising.
We're thinking of going with a Walker 8 in the near future.
Good luck!

 

[CaptainJB]

Down with Inflatables

I'm done with inflatables

They are expensive, and simply do not hold up

My next dinghy will be a hard dinghy, maybe a Fold-A-Boat that can be stored on deck, easily assembled and driven with a smaller engine

 

[Bad Obsession]

I have a 8 foot dingy behind my boat. It is a hard dingy. I rarely notice that much drag from it and it is very easy to deal with. I singlehand most of the time so I don't ever haul it on deck. I don't have a spare halyard also so this means that I tend to drag it everywhere.

I am cruising and trying to enjoy myself. I don't want to wrestle with a dingy every evening to put it in the water and I don't want it to get in the way of opening up my front hatch.

 

[Benny]

Towing is for sailing when not in a hurry and when it seems more work to deflate or raise up on deck than just stringing it along. It's nice to go swimming when towing a dink as you can use it to hold your beer. In foul weather you may tow an inflatable but bring up your hard dink. For open water passages speed is important and you would be more exposed to deteriorating conditions so it is best to bring up on deck, partially deflate and tie down. I don't believe in the word never as there are clearly circumstances which warrant exceptions but don't tow a dingui with its outboard attached. (When you are not inside the dink there is no counter weight for balance and them engines are expensive) Open the scupper valves to allow for self draining (rain, spray and waves). Tie a safety line or backup line. Whether you tow short or long remember it's back there before attempting to back the boat into a slip (happened to me). When entering a channel or manuevering in close proximity of others it is best to shorten the tow rope. Don't know about Brig but have always believed that Zodiacs are overpriced.

 

[bffatcat]

Dinghys ect

Ive got a 1975 avon 8' hypalon dinghy that I bought new. I use it every season it has never given any trouble. I would definitely choose hypalon. I dont think the brand matters that much, I think they are all made at the same place anyway. Years ago when I had less experience I used to tow the Avon on a bridlle and tried to keep it on top of the wave behind me. One smoky southwest afternoon on buzzards bay I was towing the dinghy in this manner. The dinghy was sitting atop a steep wave got ahead of the wave and surfed down
the back of the wave crashed into my stern and was immediately pooped and filled with water.
What happed next is reserved for another thread. But after that when I towed the dinghy
I pulled the bridle up snug to the top of the transom and never had any problems. AS far as stowing starting out I tie the dinghy on deck foreward of the mast. If im cruising I either tow it as described above or I partially deflate it and throw it in the cabin.

 

[Bum]

Geoff, Two years ago, my wife and I took our Beneteau 331 South, down the ICW from NJ to the Keys and over to the Abacos in the Bahamas. I was able to lift the bow way out of the water and have only the tips of the tubes of our 8' Zodiac dragging in the water. It worked very well, I was able to go in reverse when needed and had no problems. We towed the dinghy this way all of the time, also over to the Bahamas. We are heading South again this coming fall and will tow it the same way.

 

[Andy1237]

Dinghy Tow? I've seen this setup that lifts the stern (with motor) up to the aft of the mothership. It leaves only the bow of the dinghy dragging in the water. Similar to Bum's setup but in reverse and you don't have to lift the motor off. Anybody used this?

 

[Sailm8]

http://www.shipstore.com/SS/HTML/WVR/WVRDAVITS.html

This rig came with the boat and has worked great. Can be lifted on and off in seconds. Just mount the motor and go.

 

[alexco38]

Dings

Have you check out this manufacturer. We have an 8 foot rollup model since 2004. Very good value.

http://www.grandboats.ca/

We usually roll her up for any distance travel or less than perfect weather.

I came across this blog on Dingy Tow a while ago while researching this issue (see below). There is one in out club and the owner likes it.

"We made the trip to Florida one fall and back the next spring. My opinion of the Dinghy Tow is mixed. It functioned very well in relatively calm seas but rougher conditions put great strains on the unit. By about three quarters of the way back the unit became unusable due to severe bending of the malleable metal in the end fittings and some cracks in those fittings which indicated fracture was imminent. I thereafter resorted to rolling up the dinghy and carrying it on the cabin roof. I always intended to take the Dinghy Tow the be repaired the next time I drove to the Toronto area, but that was never convenient. I ended up giving it as a freebie to the person who bought my CS30 a couple of years ago."

I rigged a lifting jig using the Spinnaker pole and haylard. I can crank the ding up onto the foredeck and rollup in front of the mast easily. I have a small O/B motor which I pull up and store on the stern rail first.