Jet ski as a dingy for your sailboat

[Anchor Down]

If You Must, At Least Be Wise

While Pete is stocking up on canned food and waiting for the fall of civilization, I'll get a word in.You will get a lot of sideways glances from other sailors wherever you go with a jet-ski hanging off the back of your sailboat. It's just not considered kosher by orthodox sailors. One of the reasons they are attracted to sailing is because "fast and noisy" just doesn't do it for them. Sure, there is a spectrum, and many own inflatables that can climb over their own bow waves and plane, but in general, wake-producing speed just isn't part of the lifestyle. Jet-skis, in the eyes of sailors, are emblematic of a way to enjoy the water that is diametrically opposed to their vision.Additionally, jet-skiers are often the most inconsiderate and clueless of boaters, and have earned a very bad reputation among sailors. So if you show up with one, there will be social consequences. Your anchorage neighbors may be a little stand-offish.That being said, you certainly have the freedom to do whatever you want. If you always motor slowly away from the anchorage/mooring field, and only open it up when you are fairly out of earshot and your wake won't bother yachts underway or at anchor, and return through the anchorage/mooring field slowly and with no more noise than an outboard, your behavior may identify you as someone who is not the boorish yahoo some had expected.Fair Winds,Jeff

 

[TT23844]

Jet ski dingy

As you can judge from the replies to your question, hanging a jet ski off the back of your boat isn't going to get you a very friendly reception in the yachting community. But you weren't asking for permission to do it, were you? To try and address your question I'd make two points: first, IMHO a jetski would make a poor dingy in any normal sense of the term. How would you get passengers, groceries etc etc to & from an anchored boat using a jet ski without getting them very wet etc?? Second, say the jetski weighs 350 lbs and is hung from davits that extend out 2 ft from the stern. That would be the same as adding 700 lbs of weight right on the transom. Conventional wisdom with boats is that you place heavy weights as close to the fore-aft center of the boat as possible, to reduce pitching etc. The davits would require a fair amt. of additional structural bracing inside the transom to deal with the weight. It isn't just the weight at rest you have to consider, but the inertial forces created if your boat get into any kind of sea conditions and is pitching and banging about. Another possible concern: a 40 ft boat is large enough to accomodate a crew of , what......6-8 people, maybe. If an emergency arises and you have to use the "dingy" how in hell are you going to get 6-8 people on a jetski? Your question deserved a reasonable answer and I've tried to give it, but have to say that my personal sentiments as regards jets skis is similar to Fred Ficarra's - Answer # 16

 

[Benny]

To heavy to place on davits or to get

it easily up and down from a fixed craddle. A sailboat just does not have an adequate unobstrocted space on deck to fit one and accomodate the boom and winch mechanism necessary to get it up or down. I'm sure some will think is a simple task but I have never seen a single ski/sailboat combo and numbers do tell the tale.

 

[Jeff]

Tow it

Use a 50 foot line, tie a good hitch to the trailer eye and snick it to the lee stern cleat. Trust me, it won't sink.Bring it in tight when you're mooring. Rig a big fender to the base of the boarding ladder and lower it to board the ski or when mooring.

 

[JB]

If it tows ok, I'd do it.

I've been thinking about towing a jet ski instead of a dinghy myself. It would be a great way to cruise around Catalina. Whats the difference in a jet ski or a dinghy if either is being driven by idiots. If u do tow it and it works out ok post it here.

 

[Zaphro]

PWC, I know how to deal with one of those....

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/sailor570/pwchelp.htm

 

[Big Windy]

Jet Ski

Pulling a jet ski would create lots and lots of drag and put a damper on your sailing experience.

 

[Ed Caldwell]

We tow ours with no problem

We have a Seadoo GTI 3 seat that we will tow occasionally on our inland lake. No problems. There are speed restrictions on how fast you should tow a PWC without pinching off the water intake to prevent water backing up into the engine, but 5-6 kt is under the limit.IMHO, all the "cute" comments about PWCs being the scourge of the watery part of the earth are not helpful to the topic...