having an exclusively towed tender

[sunchaser]

Just out of curiosity, to the folks who tie their tenders on the hip for docking: what about docking in a slip with a boat on one side and the dock on the other?

Thanks!

Disengage tender and dock it first. Then you're in a position to help the mother ship dock.

 

[MurrayM]

When I tow, my 15' painter is my tow line. The tow is well behaved and tracks well at 8 knots. The painter is strategically measured. It can't get to the props, so there is no danger of fouling...

Now, why didn't I think of that

Being new to boating we thought a floating line with floats attached would work, but found out while picking up a mooring buoy that a quick burst in reverse can suck the whole works down into the prop. (Luckily, I grabbed the buoy when the engine stalled).

Just might consider towing again, with some careful measuring!

 

[caltexflanc]

We used a floating yellow poly line, and yes, you don't want line in the water when close quarter maneuvering; we just hauled the Whaler's bow up to the swim platform... no big bursts of reverse then either or you can risk swamping the tender. I conducted very scientific testing to confirm this ;o) .

 

[Nomad Willy]

To control the dink on tow well back in sloppy going I would think halving the first 15’ or so be in light chain. That is the first 15’ being attached to the dinghy.
But what would likely happen when the dinghy started surfing and headed for no-control. I suspect it would slow the dink down and possibly stabilize it. But that would quite possibly (IMO) open the door to broaching.

Open to input ..

 

[psneeld]

I disliked a non floating tow line most of the time. When you slowed enough, the towline sinks and brings the tow to your stern rather promptly.


In heavy weather, all bets are off but a light dink shouldn't need any weight on the towline....the heavier the weather it gets, then yes weight on the towline (catenary) helps. Increasing towline length usually will work, especially if the tow line is non floating.


95 percent of recreational towing where the probability of experiencing heavy weather is remote or inshore....then short, unweighted, floating towlines for light tows always worked for me both recreational and assistance towing.

 

[thataway]

Although I have towed a 20' Grady White walk around. I mostly carried a 12' Duraboat aluminum skiff on the "sundeck" of a 41' trawler. Most boats that size, can make a good arrangement to place a 12' light weight boat aboard.

Certainly would go 20 mph, could pull the larger vessel, and great for fishing etc. All that the OP desires. I also had a 12 1/2 RIB I carried aboard a sailboat--rigged with a roller over the stern and an electric winch to bring it aboard-the motor and aft couple of feet hung out over the stern. Sailed many thousands of miles with that rig--15 or 25 hp outboard,

 

[Capt Dan]

My rule of thumb is “the mothership has to be big enuf to carry the small boat”.

NOT towing is so much better, less stress on mothership, small boat and crew.

I would love to bring my 13 whaler along, but at 37 feet, the mothership really doesn’t hack it.

 

[Capt Dan]

That 15 foot tow line will only work in calm seas.

You might get away with it for a while, but don’t limit yourself. Short painter leads to high shock loads.

 

[smitty477]

My rule of thumb is “the mothership has to be big enuf to carry the small boat”.

NOT towing is so much better, less stress on mothership, small boat and crew.

I would love to bring my 13 whaler along, but at 37 feet, the mothership really doesn’t hack it.

"NOT towing is so much better, less stress on mothership, small boat and crew."

Interesting - after towing for so many years we have exactly the opposite view.
I guess its how you cruise and what your goals may be.

 

[caltexflanc]

I can see why someone whose main cruising grounds were Maine might not want to tow a tender. Lobster pots, mooring buoys and, not least, fog, add various degrees of complexity/anxiety.

On the other hand, getting a tender on and off the big boat can bring its own set of adventures. In our latest case, lifting and lowering a 13' Whaler to/from a boat deck 15' above the waterline. Since we have done a lot of that, and other variations on chartered boats, and a lot of towing, I would have to say if given the choice, I'd rather have the little boat snugly stowed on the boat deck while underway.

 

[smitty477]

I can see why someone whose main cruising grounds were Maine might not want to tow a tender. Lobster pots, mooring buoys and, not least, fog, add various degrees of complexity/anxiety.

On the other hand, getting a tender on and off the big boat can bring its own set of adventures. In our latest case, lifting and lowering a 13' Whaler to/from a boat deck 15' above the waterline. Since we have done a lot of that, and other variations on chartered boats, and a lot of towing, I would have to say if given the choice, I'd rather have the little boat snugly stowed on the boat deck while underway.

We cruise in Long Island sound typically out to Block Island and Pt Judith to the east and north and have seen some heavy fog, plenty of pots and the rest. We did keep a 12.5' RIB on the boat deck but most always appreciated having the larger RIB in tow as well.
Always was a good time at most every destination in our case.
YMMV

 

[caltexflanc]

We cruise in Long Island sound typically out to Block Island and Pt Judith to the east and north and have seen some heavy fog, plenty of pots and the rest. We did keep a 12.5' RIB on the boat deck but most always appreciated having the larger RIB in tow as well.
Always was a good time at most every destination in our case.
YMMV

One summer (2008) we based ourselves from a mooring in Westport Harbor, MA. Ann's large family has a presence there (Little Compton), it was a lot of fun. Anyway, our first approach, coming over after having anchored off the north side of Napatree Beach near Watch Hill, just before the 4th, was conducted in extremely thick fog, running on instrument almost the whole ways. Lot of folks, including purely by coincidence. Bob McClaren of this and the T&T forum, giving regular visibility, course and position info via VHF, regular sounding of horn. Some of the shenanigans seen on the radar track were hair raising. No way I'd want to be towing a boat in that chaos. One clueless guy in an express zipped not 150 feet off our transom, Yikes. Thankfully when we got to sea buoy to get into Westport, the fog raised enough to make the somewhat tricky entrance easier with radio help from the folks at Tripp's.

We are very familiar with LIS and its harbors and the various islands off MA and RI. As for the pots, you ain't seen nothin' until you spend some time in Maine in high season, particularly coming into various places for the first time. Personally I wouldn't want to be dealing with a tow, especially in summertime fog. I'd keep hearing Clint Eastwood in my head..."ya feelin' lucky? Are ya?"

 

[smitty477]

One summer (2008) we based ourselves from a mooring in Westport Harbor, MA. Ann's large family has a presence there (Little Compton), it was a lot of fun. Anyway, our first approach, coming over after having anchored off the north side of Napatree Beach near Watch Hill, just before the 4th, was conducted in extremely thick fog, running on instrument almost the whole ways. Lot of folks, including purely by coincidence. Bob McClaren of this and the T&T forum, giving regular visibility, course and position info via VHF, regular sounding of horn. Some of the shenanigans seen on the radar track were hair raising. No way I'd want to be towing a boat in that chaos. One clueless guy in an express zipped not 150 feet off our transom, Yikes. Thankfully when we got to sea buoy to get into Westport, the fog raised enough to make the somewhat tricky entrance easier with radio help from the folks at Tripp's.

We are very familiar with LIS and its harbors and the various islands off MA and RI. As for the pots, you ain't seen nothin' until you spend some time in Maine in high season, particularly coming into various places for the first time. Personally I wouldn't want to be dealing with a tow, especially in summertime fog. I'd keep hearing Clint Eastwood in my head..."ya feelin' lucky? Are ya?"

Sounds like a destination where we would want to time the weather well or skip that port.

 

[caltexflanc]

Not always easy to time and predict fog. As Carl Sandburg put it:

The fog comes
on little cat feet.

It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.

 

[bowball]

For those towing tenders and then anchoring. Do you just tie off the tender at the stern (or abeam?) so you can back down when putting out your anchor rode?

 

[zodman]

Towing/Anchoring

I towed a large Zodiac RIB from Porland to Alaska and anchored most eve's.
securing the tender along side, setting up your lines so it is a simple task to secure them to your cleats enables you to maneuver without fowling lines.
I also did this when tying up alongside a dock.

 

[AlanT]

For those towing tenders and then anchoring. Do you just tie off the tender at the stern (or abeam?) so you can back down when putting out your anchor rode?

I tow a 14' heavy RIB from a 72' boat. I use one 7/8" floating polypro line in bright yellow with several floats strung on it. When coming in to anchor we will shorten the tow line to about 6' off the stern. We rarely 'backdown.' Generally we allow the boat to drift back with tide/current/wind and then apply some reverse thrust once the boat settles, to check on the anchor set. It takes a bit more time but it works for us.
~A

 

[Xlantic]

We have been towing 13' Boston Whaler for the last few years.

Before dropping the anchor we tie the Whaler on the side towards the stern as shown. We have forward- and backward-leading springs from the bow and a stern line aft (orange lines in drawing). This keeps the dinghy secure in place as the mother boat manoeuvres during anchoring.

After anchoring the dinghy is in the position we leave it while anchored, boarding from the swim platform.

 

[smitty477]

For those towing tenders and then anchoring. Do you just tie off the tender at the stern (or abeam?) so you can back down when putting out your anchor rode?

On the hip with front and rear lines for side docks, anchoring, or moorings.

 

[hollywood8118]

We have a 3' wide swim platform across the entire stern. We pull the Avon up to the platform in the center then cleat it snug. We do a reverse..neutral.. drift.. reverse to pay out the anchor chain and so it slowly. The Avon will settle to the down wind of tide side a bit. Never have any issues at all .and do it all from inside the stern rail
Hollywood

 

[bowball]

We have a 3' wide swim platform across the entire stern. We pull the Avon up to the platform in the center then cleat it snug. We do a reverse..neutral.. drift.. reverse to pay out the anchor chain and so it slowly. The Avon will settle to the down wind of tide side a bit. Never have any issues at all .and do it all from inside the stern rail
Hollywood

Which orientation of the tender? Bow to stern or the side of the tender tied across the stern ?

 

[Group9]

We took two cruises to the Bahamas towing a Whaler. What you hear some people saying is impossible, you see lots of people doing without any drama. It just takes some planning. And, it can be a hassle at times, no doubt. But, it’s worth it at the destination.

 

[Mako]

When I towed my dinghy it was important to ensure it was on the front face of a wave, so occasionally having to adjust the length of the tow warp was critical.

I'd suggest however, for long distance towing, to throw an AIS transmitter onboard. I owned an inexpensive Em-Trak, which was self-contained with built-in antenna.

 

[PierreR]

An old but very helpful post. I have been trying to solve the dingy problem since I bought my boat two months ago.

 

[Shrew]

We started towing a 13' Boston Whaler last summer. We were out for 11 weeks and towed it with us the entire time.

Outside of an inlet, we stop or slow down and pull in the tow line to a short tow. (Tow line is 2 x 30 foot bridle legs and a 75 foot tow line).

Once inside the inlet (or sometimes outside, it depends on traffic and sea state) my wife jumps in the whaler.

I proceed to either anchor or grab a mooring.

She then docks to teh boat once I've settled.

We tie across the swim platform at the stern for loading and filling the boat with water (I have a 60 gallon flexible bladder and I installed a pressure pump as a transfer pump to fill the water tanks when we're anchored or on a mooring, but that is another story).

We mostly hip tie the whaler.

In very high winds, I use a 1/2" painter and let the whaler ride about 30 feet behind the boat like a regular dinghy.

 

[hollywood8118]

Which orientation of the tender? Bow to stern or the side of the tender tied across the stern ?

Towing from bow eye, just pulled it up snug( bow line) it could swing a bit to either side.
Hollywood

 

[Slowmo]

We've towed our tenders for my entire boating life, which I hate to admit is 60+ years. This has mainly been in the PNW but in a variety of conditions. Often we towed two: a skiff and a rowing pram. Some tenders tow better than others, deeper V hulls tend to wander a bit but that's mainly takes some tuning of where on the wake it sits. Rough water in the PNW tends to be 2-3' waves and winds up to 15kn. In that type of condition I've never had any issue with the tender(s). In these waters, or a place like the ICW, I wouldn't be worried at all about towing. Similarly I've boated in the Bahamas and towed the dingy without any concerns. However if I were running offshore on the west coast and having to cross the river bars, no I'd probably have it aboard.

We dock regularly with the towed tender, you have to be aware of it and we tie it on the outside. Typically in a slip we tie it across the stern. I've seen people also tuck it under the bow, particularly inflatables which won't bang. Frankly it doesn't impact docking much, the most we have to watch is to make sure the outboard prop doesn't scratch someone else's boat. The tender does add one more thing to think about. We tow ours maybe 25' behind us but in harbor it's pulled up to just a couple feet so it's very close.

What is very nice is that the tender is available immediately. If you had an onboard emergency (e.g. fire) you can get into the tender immediately, whereas with a davit you may not be able to launch at all. Our current boat came with davit system which has been removed, I prefer to tow the skiff. We also have a rowing pram which we sometimes tow but often it is pulled across the transom just for convenience.

 

[CharlieO.]

How about added fuel usage while towing. Not enough to worry about?

 

[Group9]

How about added fuel usage while towing. Not enough to worry about?

For us, it isn't. At our favorite RPM and cruising speed (around 1500 rpm and about 6.7 knots), it apparently slows us down about a tenth of a knot under normal conditions, towing as opposed to not towing.