towing your dinghy
- Thread starter tyeshack
- Start date
depends on where you are sailing, the weather and the type of dinghy.
I have a rigid dinghy and I keep it about 15-25ft back.. ive seen some being towed at 100ft.... some say to tow them on the backside of the stern wave and others say to tow them on the face of the stern wave... in stronger weather, ive tried towing it from my leeward cleat, and this puts it in the waves, and when towed from the windward cleat its in the wind... so i just shorten the bridal tow line and keep it closer behind the boat.
in big waves, there is no safe way to tow a dinghy... if you attempt to tow it close, you can over stress the tow line due to the jerking of the line when the boat pitches, and too far off it will be vulnerable to capsize or swamping.
I have a rigid dinghy and I keep it about 15-25ft back.. ive seen some being towed at 100ft.... some say to tow them on the backside of the stern wave and others say to tow them on the face of the stern wave... in stronger weather, ive tried towing it from my leeward cleat, and this puts it in the waves, and when towed from the windward cleat its in the wind... so i just shorten the bridal tow line and keep it closer behind the boat.
in big waves, there is no safe way to tow a dinghy... if you attempt to tow it close, you can over stress the tow line due to the jerking of the line when the boat pitches, and too far off it will be vulnerable to capsize or swamping.
I've heard one boat-length...
It keeps the dinghy / tender / kayak in a good rhythm with the wake?
My kayak doesn't really seem to care...
So I keep it fairly close for convenience
It's happy in any conditions!
It's at the end of this short video...
https://vimeo.com/95471482
It keeps the dinghy / tender / kayak in a good rhythm with the wake?
My kayak doesn't really seem to care...
So I keep it fairly close for convenience
It's happy in any conditions!
It's at the end of this short video...
https://vimeo.com/95471482
I have towed an inflatable dinghy for years. Keeping it right up against the transom has been the ticket to making the dinghy docile.
Towing an inflatable under power and setting it up to that it sits on the face of the wave train also works but requires attention when you speed up or slow down. We have submarined an 8' Zodiac when we forgot to adjust the tow line. The same issue applies under sail as your speed will vary constantly.
So, for us, right up against the transom has worked just fine.
Cheers
Matt
Towing an inflatable under power and setting it up to that it sits on the face of the wave train also works but requires attention when you speed up or slow down. We have submarined an 8' Zodiac when we forgot to adjust the tow line. The same issue applies under sail as your speed will vary constantly.
So, for us, right up against the transom has worked just fine.
Cheers
Matt