Zodiac Tow

[Victor Schreffler]

I have an inflatable Zodiac with a 5 hp motor I'd like to tow on a
short cruise. Anyone have experience with this and their Vega?

Victor

 

[robertgainer]

I haven?t had much luck towing an inflatable. If the wind picks up you can
flip the dinghy with very little effort. They also don?t tow very well, they
wander and chafe at the attachments for the tow line. The best I came up
with is to keep the bow just a few inches behind the taffrail and let just
the aft ends of the tubes sit in the water. You have to remove the outboard
and stow it onboard.
All the best;
Bob

 

[towlerg]

Hi Victor,

IMHO don't even think about it, especially with a following sea.
Lying hove-to and trying to get an inflatable on deck thats full of
water realy isn't much fun. If you do decide to tow, don't rely on
just one painter and don't leave the outboard on the inflatable.

Rgds George "Vista" 1043

 

[pjacobs55]

I put an 8 foot nylon line to each of the eyes on either side of the
inflatable's bow. Then I brought the inflatable right up to the transom,
securing the nylon lines fairly taut to the quarter cleats on the Vega. The
effect was to lift the inflatable's bow just a little, which made for an
easy tow. I hung a small fender or two between the inflatable's bow and the
transom, to reduce rubbing. Worked well and the fact that there were two tow
lines gave redundancy.

Journey man 1171Nicholas Walsh
Nicholas H. Walsh P.A.
111 Commercial Street
Portland Maine 04101
Tel. 207/772-2191
fax 207/774-3940

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