Dingy Storage?

[Bad Obsession]

Have any of you ever stored your dingy on the foredeck? I am sure that it is possible to store my 8 foot hard dingy up there but I don't have a spare halyard so I would probably have to use the main halyard. How do you hoist it up on your deck?

Oh, to complicate matters more I single hand the boat about 90% of the time.

 

[Stu Jackson]

BadO

Try this: http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,4757.0.html

I use a spare halyard, but you can use your main. I singlehand a lot, too, and use that method, Read my posts in the link.

 

[Bad Obsession]

Stu...Do you lift the dingy onto the foredeck single handed? My dingy is a hard dingy so I am thinking that I will want to design some padding or cushions to put on the dingy to keep it from banging into the side of the boat.

Also, not sure how a 8' dingy will fit on a Catalina 30's foredeck. I have actually thought about attaching my vang to the halyard and using the purchase power of the vang to life the dingy onto the deck.

I guess that it is something that I will have to look at. Thanks for the info Stu!

 

[Bob S]

I towed mine last season but got a great deal at the Annapolis Boat Show on a pair of dinghy davits. Another boat project! I have a 10' inflatable soft hull. To much of a pain to deflate and inflate again. I hope the beam at the stern is wide enough to accommodate davits. They will make a nice platform for a solar panel!

 

[FOB]

I had a 27 Catalina with a 9 foot Soft Bottom Dinghy that i would put on the foredeck for long cruises, then just tow it around for the short cruises, you can see by the picture It just fit... little tight on the 27, but better then towing it for those extra long legs. I would use a spare halyard and lift it flat up, then once it passed the life lines, it would swing on its own towards the mast, then i would simply flip it over and secure it to where desired. I did this single handed and it wasn't too bad.

I recently purchased a C30 MKII and also purchased a new 9 foot RIB, im going to tow behind most the time, and also put on deck for the long trips, i think it will be fine as the C30 has a lot more deck width then the C27, also my friend has a 30 ft Mirage and he has his dink on deck all year round and has lots of room around the dink to walk.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Dinghy methods

In addition to my previous link, also try this: http://www.c34.org/projects/kindred-spirit/davits.html

Once you lift the dinghy over the lifelines, and it's still vertical against the mast, twist it to the proper orientation before you drop it. Then you don't ever have to manhandle it to flip it over. Much easier.

 

[Bad Obsession]

Thanks Stu....good advice as always!!!!!

 

[Stu Jackson]

Always a pleasure and great to have you back.