towing outboards - in gear or neurtral?

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Mike Lowthian

Mike Lowthian

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2018
Messages
107
Location
Canada
Vessel Name
Acadia ll
Vessel Make
CHB
When towing the dink with outboard (9hp) should we leave the o/b in gear or not?
 
Most definitely in neutral. The prop has enough bite to turn the power head while towing
 
Why not tilt it up so it is out of the water?

David
 
How about tipping the OB so the lower unit is out of the water? Is that better than OB down and in neutral?
 
Towing a Boston Whaler 13, I tilted OB just enough to submerged most of the skeg. Boat tracked much better that way. I think you have to play around with your specific dink and tow setup to figure out what's best. Offhand I don't like the idea of submerging the prop.
 
Benthic2 said:
if its a long run, you could always remove the prop. It would only take a few seconds.
Click to expand...
Why remove it when you can tilt it out of the water?

If you want the dinghy to track well behind your boat, tow a small fender on a 10'-15' line. That will keep the dinghy in line with very little drag.
 
We tow with it in and in neutral, prop freewheeling .
Tracks better, dinghy doesn't surf, veer and snatch.
 
And the color of the outboard motor, please!:rolleyes:
 
Last edited:
The other thing to consider is whether water flowing through the cooling system could be a problem. On my dinghy (60 Yamaha) and jet skis, water in the system without the engine running can/likely will cause major problems.
 
I think all agree that it should be left in neutral, but the question of whether the outboard should be up or down (or if the dink should be towed at all) would be dependant on local conditions.
I've given up towing my dink in all but the most calm conditions. If I do tow it, I take the outboard off.
 
The drag of the leg/prop in the water will/may prevent the dink from racing down the face of a wave. I’ve heard dinghies can actually pass the towing boat when the waves get large. In a thread in the recent past draging a line w a bit of chain would tend to tame the wild dink.

And I agree w MTTraveler that pumping seawater through the powerhead could cause problems. The rubber vanes of the pump impeller should/may reduce volume of water but ......
 
Most gearcases there is no thrust bearing between the prop shaft and the front edge of the reverse gear. So possible to wear that out on extended tows, prop windmilling in neutral. Depends on the motor. But never heard of any failures...

In calm water tows, tilt it up.
 
motion30 said:
Most definitely in neutral. The prop has enough bite to turn the power head while towing
Click to expand...
Ever ran a tank dry?
Boat keeps going forward in gear put prop slips with a click and that's at 20 knots let alone 8.
 
Nomad Willy said:
The drag of the leg/prop in the water will/may prevent the dink from racing down the face of a wave. I’ve heard dinghies can actually pass the towing boat when the waves get large. In a thread in the recent past draging a line w a bit of chain would tend to tame the wild dink.

And I agree w MTTraveler that pumping seawater through the powerhead could cause problems. The rubber vanes of the pump impeller should/may reduce volume of water but ......
Click to expand...

We used to tow an 11 foot whaler that used to pass us on occassion, when being towed! Exciting to watch it surf by a couple of feet from ramming the stern! Some of the OB in the water (not full down) did seem to help. I never really gave it much thought as to neutral or in gear, and we towed it two different years, all the way to the Bahamas and back, with two different outboards Mercury 25 2 stroke, and 9.8 aNissan 9.8 2 stroke, with no ill effects to either motor that I can determine.
 
Last year Alaska Seaduction talked about a new swim platform dinghy storage system addition. Then some of us have davits. Why tow at all?
 
Sunchaser,
Most people tow because they usta be sailboaters. Sailboaters tow because they don’t very often overnight in marinas. They like to use their sails and hate engines and they don’t go very far. That limits their exposure to seas that would danger the dinghy. Anchoring out makes towing viable to a great extent. Also less affluent people cruising are less likely to have expensive dinghy handling things like cranes and good davits.

And Sunchaser if I was a sailboater I could probably think of more to add.
 
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About1 in 20 sailboaters on the Atlantic ICW us their sails on a daily basis.
 
psneeld said:
About1 in 20 sailboaters on the Atlantic ICW us their sails on a daily basis.
Click to expand...

You are being generous. I'd say 1 in 100 in places where it is practical.
I'd also say that 1 in 20 is what you see on the Atlantic Ocean coastal cruising, not to mention the big sounds and bays. Even on days that would be great sailing weather. Most coastal cruising sailboats are simply single engine displacement express style motorboats with a big mast sticking out.
 
Nomad Willy said:
Sunchaser,
Most people tow because they usta be sailboaters. Sailboaters tow because they don’t very often overnight in marinas. They like to use their sails and hate engines and they don’t go very far. That limits their exposure to seas that would danger the dinghy. Anchoring out makes towing viable to a great extent. Also less affluent people cruising are less likely to have expensive dinghy handling things like cranes and good davits.

And Sunchaser if I was a sailboater I could probably think of more to add.
Click to expand...

I have a dinghy lifting thing called a mast. They are expensive, but it came with the boat. There is a separate halyard for lifting the dinghy onto the saloon roof.
 
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