Towing Dinghy

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Well...feel free to be specific..I used the term low freeboard whalers...if you own one you know which ones I mean. I have towed many different sizes and models.

And it's not just whalers...if you have towed a lot, low freeboard anything can get dicey in certain conditions.

Sure, adjustments help, but at some point small cresting waves can put a lot of water aboard pretty quickly....and that's never good.

Plus the older 13s with 20 plus hp four strokes tilted up can get pretty unstable with a stiff wind off the bow, wakes and chop.
Click to expand...

Which is where the "skeg in the water" practice comes in.

I did specify my Whaler model and year, see post #17, and there is a picture of it in my avatar. Here is another:

0uEbwIo8hzyRA23HK845K17IYrkXa1VztkwxG67edAtpTM432FCa1nsMCuv1TZBxeyOL3auXqQiOjE_1NeaRsh_1hQP3xAys2T9RcQMSh6BkK96XYtVcFAkN69TphCqkKLzsrUKOyotqmqsvW02mNy7ROOZ6AH_tAyQLg9jl-ShtlqeDiQsQSuXjZkEQGhlfQTh_d9h4QgbvayRHZvrtSqifa1t0MQprYUCNblsmR1bhGRGc1EPNVrTijPPTsWYPBusLFIvl-6EzT7vpkpXO3SQOOrhCs30e8elB7N_TJa9Bt-foTnZjFIuZPgmPbsZ6zroN13jG0OPmxCQ2hQJhzuE8XpHMgEpcQTlUs4me6VDRnAl1gQ4Y_7IU_v6MbzFvHcPI3sGVxhVs2PTJeZfWGgG_WpeF6h2CjDlRGzIB8ZH3VQYjOeHUENduBu98pDrZTM-rcQ_j6jEtUrTqIg067q3Ads3ViX6Q99iwpLcxfiwl0f3HDpiczcq1X7Xkgf570IJbTanGmGdyxJb9iMIlJA_iOch2nz96E8D32WlFF9r05MyUag7dsEO0ZW58n94JJ-9L8tCkUrkvFo0cvPZ5GXyT_BdeQEY=w800-h537-no


Not sure where that fits on your freeboard scale, but I always have felt it was "low".
Perhaps you are towing them from a point low to the water? Or from cleats on the Whaler's gunnel rather than the towing eye? or both?

Back to the OP, the Nauticas I've seen are a more deep V hull vs my BW. I'd think they would track even better. I know they ride better in short chop.
 
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George. Nice picture of Cape Lookout. When towing a Whaler (probably applies to any inflatable too) you can take the drain plug out and any accumulated spray will drain out. What many people who own whalers may not realize, is that if your whaler is in a slip and there is a heavy rainstorm approaching, pull the plug. After the rain there will be less water in the boat than if you had not pulled the plug. One fall in FL a tropical storm approached. I was away on a business trip. My wife was worried about the 15 foot whaler and wanted to get the trailer and drive to the county ramp to haul it. I told her to just pull the plug and leave it alone. the storm dumped 5 inches of rain I came back home 3 days later there was less than an inch of water in the boat.
 
I towed. 24' Nautica with a 250 Yamaha from FL to Costa Rica via the Panama Canal and back. Towed just fine.

But I did not, nor would I, tow it off the original factory bow eye. It had 2 specific tow points low on the bow.
 
For those not real familiar with Whalers, here are pics of one with a low freeboard and a high freeboard.


Low freeboard, 1981 13' Sport....
img_462290_0_4fdb36a95c82d56d593c32ed23637547.jpg



and a high freeboard 2010 13' 130SuperSport....
img_462290_1_7066fd56abf59c2a5c0bddbd63f7b908.jpg
 
I believe in addition to whalers, Carolina and Sundance skiff are better off with the plugs out. There are plenty more too in all likelyhood, it behooves owners to know if their small boat is made to shed water with the garboard plugs out.

Unfortunately, some have large enough 4 stroke engines on them to sink those garboard holes enough to allow a lot of water in instead of out.
 
Our 10'-4" Walker Bay RIB with 15 hp Honda towed very poorly on the one trial I did using a too-short painter. Speed about 8 kts, max. I've now got davits and am not likely to try it again.
 
tadhana said:
Simi 60. I like your tinny, but what do you do for gunwale guard?
Click to expand...
I imagine I'll be getting on and off via the duckboard, which is S/S tube framed with thick EVA foam strip attached to the tube all the way around to protect the dinghy.

Its pretty flat bottomed over most of its length wit a vbow so should be pretty stable.
If not I could look at something like this for added stability and of course, topside protection if deciding I want to come alongside.
Kapten Boat Collars - Home

Or I could do something with this ;)

Buoyancy Foam 50mm Sheet $22 56 PER Square Meter | eBay
 
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DHeckrotte said:
Our 10'-4" Walker Bay RIB with 15 hp Honda towed very poorly on the one trial I did using a too-short painter. Speed about 8 kts, max. I've now got davits and am not likely to try it again.
Click to expand...


Good to know. I have the same rib with. Heavy Honda 8hp 4 stroke.
 
psneeld said:
I believe in addition to whalers, Carolina and Sundance skiff are better off with the plugs out. There are plenty more too in all likelyhood, it behooves owners to know if their small boat is made to shed water with the garboard plugs out.

Unfortunately, some have large enough 4 stroke engines on them to sink those garboard holes enough to allow a lot of water in instead of out.
Click to expand...

Very true for Carolinas, Scott. Towing, like running, should keep the water level down to almost nothing. I leave the plugs out at the dock whenever possible and shift some weight forward to lift the scuppers above the water and still allow drainage aft. There's definitely a sweet spot and a fast incoming tide on the transom can sink the scuppers and create quite a puddle reaching the center console. I would not want anything heavier than the Yammy 90 that's currently hanging on her.
 

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I have a Whaler 110 Sport. It's 11'2" and has a Mercury 25 hp 4-stroke. One night a couple of weeks ago we had a real downpour of rain. The Whaler was in the water behind our boat at a mooring. In the morning the stern of the Whaler was about 3 inches from the surface of the water. I had to pump it out from my swim platform since stepping into it would have put the transom under water.

I never knew that I could leave the drain plug out and that the water would drain. In fact, this was so counter intuitive to me that I just called Whaler to check it out. They said to leave the drain plug out. I feel so stupid but happy that the collective brains on this forum teach me something new every day or so. Thanks to all.
 
I have read many times on this forum that running only one engine on a twin engine boat can be a problem with some transmissions as the transmission gears are turned by the free wheeling prop, but there is no lubrication or cooling.

Could that be a problem with a free wheeling dinghy motor prop?
 
tadhana said:
George. Nice picture of Cape Lookout. When towing a Whaler (probably applies to any inflatable too) you can take the drain plug out and any accumulated spray will drain out. What many people who own whalers may not realize, is that if your whaler is in a slip and there is a heavy rainstorm approaching, pull the plug. After the rain there will be less water in the boat than if you had not pulled the plug. One fall in FL a tropical storm approached. I was away on a business trip. My wife was worried about the 15 foot whaler and wanted to get the trailer and drive to the county ramp to haul it. I told her to just pull the plug and leave it alone. the storm dumped 5 inches of rain I came back home 3 days later there was less than an inch of water in the boat.
Click to expand...

Mine has two plugs: one right on the floor under the helm seat, and one traditional transom drain plug. I kept the boat in the water a lot, tied off to the swim platform, and the mid-ship plug is indeed very handy. Works well when washing the boat as well as for rain. Once when I had to tow it some distance in poor conditions in open water, I did remove the transom plug out of caution. The helm plug is not designed to be removed when underway, but you can drain the boat at speed with the transom plug out did that a couple times when we took some water over the bow (had to be nimble!). The transom plug does not work well with the boat at rest.
 
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Those whalers aren't dinghies! They are auxiliary boats.
 
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My inflatable has a central ss lifting handle which lends itself to accepting a towline, and also ss fittings either side of the bow tubes. Manual says to tow only on the side fittings.
I made up a bridle with 2 snap shackles,with a ss ring at the midpoint, ie. the centre of the bridle, to which the single tow line to the boat clips on. It tows well, but for any great distance the inflatable comes onboard.
 
Tell that to my wife :rofl:


...With regards to a whaler not being a dink
 
Capt.Bill11 said:
I towed. 24' Nautica with a 250 Yamaha from FL to Costa Rica via the Panama Canal and back. Towed just fine.

But I did not, nor would I, tow it off the original factory bow eye. It had 2 specific tow points low on the bow.
Click to expand...


Damn! That's a lot of towing!

Why such a huge outboard? Are they super heavy? Or maybe you just like to fly!
 
"but there is no lubrication or cooling.

Could that be a problem with a free wheeling dinghy motor prop?"

Most outboard lower units are filled with grease .
 
FF said:
"but there is no lubrication or cooling.

Could that be a problem with a free wheeling dinghy motor prop?"

Most outboard lower units are filled with grease .
Click to expand...

In addition to the lubrication Fred mentioned, if the prop is free wheeling, the gear case is in the water so it is being cooled, and there is no thru-prop exhaust to heat things up with the motor shut down.

I have never heard of anyone having a problem with this.:thumb:
 
As someone said early on in this thread, you should check your insurance policy. Our policy covers our dinghy except loss is not covered when we tow it.
 
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