[C38] Dinghy towing

[Tom T.]

Here's my two cents on dinghy towing.

Our experience has been, when towing, to use a short double bridle.  This
puts the dink on the leading edge of the stern wake when we are at moderate
to hull speeds.  We have found that this allows the 38 to actually go
faster than if we bring the dink and motor on board.

When we need to maneuver for docking, I take one of the two bridle lines
and bring it forward to a primary winch or cleat on the opposite side of
the intended docking side with a shortened length of line.  This allows the
dink to pivot on the side of the 38 and neither line of the double bridle
has enough slack to get caught in the prop.

We tried towing with a single tow line but the dink would try to surf and
would attempt to broach.  Using a fairly short double bridle eliminated
this problem and also allowed a way to bring the dink alongside while still
having the other side of the bridle still attached so there was no worry
about losing the dink while re-tying it as we prepared for docking.

Getting the dink out of the water has some advantages but so does leaving
it in the water.  Having the dink adjusted to ride the surf of the stern
wake allows the dink to surf with almost no pull on the towing boat but
storing the dink and motor on deck or davits adds weight to the 38 which
can slow the speed more than towing.

Having a dink already in the water makes for a quick launch also, whether
for convenience or emergency.

The key here is using a short double bridle to stabilize the dink.  Even if
the dink surfs with no load on the bridle, the short lengths of the bridle
will eventually keep the dink contained in a proper path before it gets too
crossed up.

Tom Troncalli
(recovering ex-owner)




> [Original Message]
> From: les <hlhowell at pacbell.net>
> To: <listserve at catalina38.org>
> Date: 3/14/2011 7:48:03 PM
> Subject: Re: [C38] Dinghy towing
>
> Hi, Guys,
> 	Nancy and I have attempted to tow our dinghy here in Southern CA.  What
> I discovered is that the winds would pick it up and fly it like a kite.
> Invariably when it hit the water it was upside down.  Then I tried tying
> a short bridle to the dinghy and pulling it up onto the stern ladder,
> much like the "dinghytow" and that did work, but the boat is nearly not
> manuverable in reverse the dinghy tends to "dig" in at the stern and act
> like a rudder with a 10' additional advantage over the boat.  Still we
> do this technique some times when changing anchor, or moving between
> slips.  On the buoy it won't work because the mud line and the stern
> line (we are fore and aft between two buoys) interfere with the dinghy
> and scrub on it and the boat both when the dighy is up on the stern.
> Based on my experiences with chafe, noise, added restriction to mobility
> etc. I would no longer tow a dinghy any distance outside a protected
> area.  Davits and deck storage appear to be much better solutions.
> Remember if using Davits to bring the dinghy aboard well before any
> rough weather.  Losing a possible life boat is never a good things when
> things go badly.
>
> Regards,
> Les H
>
>
> On Sat, 2011-03-12 at 12:49 -0600, Craig Steinkraus wrote:
> > Pic#1
> > 
> > ----- Original Message ----- 
> > From: "Max Soto" <maxsoto at gmail.com>
> > To: "Catalina 38 Listserve" <listserve at catalina38.org>
> > Sent: Saturday, March 12, 2011 10:24 AM
> > Subject: Re: [C38] Dinghy towing
> > 
> > 
> > > Craig, please send pics of your davits. I want to see how they look
on a 
> > > C38 and how are they attached to your stern pulpit. ....
> > > Regards,
> > > Max
> > >
> > > Sent from my iPod
> > >
> > > On Mar 12, 2011, at 9:54, "Craig Steinkraus" <Navion at Charter.net>
wrote:
> > >
> > >> I also looked at this system, but like so many, had a bad experience 
> > >> towing. Also when the dink is in the stowed position, it would
interfere 
> > >> with the Bimini . I ended up going with traditional stern davits and
am 
> > >> happy with that arrangment.
> > >>
> > >> Craig #280
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Don Strong"
<drstrong at ucdavis.edu>
> > >> To: "Catalina 38 Listserve" <listserve at catalina38.org>
> > >> Sent: Saturday, March 12, 2011 9:18 AM
> > >> Subject: Re: [C38] Dinghy towing
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>> Tom:
> > >>> I'm with you. After losing a beaut dingy one night in the Gulf of
Mexico 
> > >>> (it was there on the line when the sun set, and it was gone when
the 
> > >>> watch changed), I vowed to avoid towing. Our inflatable fits great
on 
> > >>> the fore deck.
> > >>> Don
> > >>>
> > >>> On 3/12/11 7:12 AM, david at dlrfilms.com wrote:
> > >>>> Call me a grumpy old cheapskate, but any time I thought it was a
bad 
> > >>>> idea
> > >>>> to be towing our dinghy, the right place for it to be was lashed
down 
> > >>>> on
> > >>>> the foredeck.
> > >>>>
> > >>>>
> > >>>>> I've looked at these too, but I'm not sure the cute little butts
of 
> > >>>>> our
> > >>>>> 38's are compatible:
> > >>>>>  II. On the stern of the main vessel, find two points that are
the 
> > >>>>> same
> > >>>>> distance apart and the same height from the water as the transom 
> > >>>>> brackets
> > >>>>> on the dinghy (measured from the center line of the stern). 
(From web
> > >>>>> site.)
> > >>>>>  Before buying I would e-mail them and see what they think, might
send 
> > >>>>> some
> > >>>>> picts to them, too.
> > >>>>>  Tom Yost
> > >>>>>
> > >>>>>
> > >>>>>
>
>
>
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