Towing a tender

[Simi 60]

We tow ours quite a bit
14ft Alloy with a 30 on the back + fuel weighs around 650lb
Cant say we notice any difference to speed or fuel burn

While there is load there, its not much as I can grab a handful of rope and pull the dinghy forward.

 

[Billr2019]

Ideally the towed vessel should be "in step" with the towing vessel.
For example, both vessels in the same relative position with respect to waves; both on the top or both in the trough, both climbing the wave or descending.
It is much easier or both.

 

[Group9]

I've towed our 11 Whaler to the Bahamas, all the way to the Exumas and Eleuthera and back twice. Have two independent tow lines. It is not fun trying to go back and recover the boat in any kind of ocean swells.

But, totally worth the trouble to have it with you when you get there. We upgraded from an 11 to a 13 for our next trip.

 

[Seabag]

So what is the conventional wisdom on the length of the tow line. I've never done it but will be trying it with our "new" boat and dink. The mothership is a 55 Californian with twin Cat 3208 T/A. The dink is a 12 A/B RBI with a 30 hp Tohatsu. Cruise speed will be 8-10 kts in Washington and British Columbia waters both inside and out. Thoughts?

 

[Art]

So what is the conventional wisdom on the length of the tow line. I've never done it but will be trying it with our "new" boat and dink. The mothership is a 55 Californian with twin Cat 3208 T/A. The dink is a 12 A/B RBI with a 30 hp Tohatsu. Cruise speed will be 8-10 kts in Washington and British Columbia waters both inside and out. Thoughts?

I've spent as much time towing a tender as not; during several decades of boating.

Power boats doing the towing generally ranged 32' to 38'. Towed boats ranged from 10' wood dink with 3 hp Johnson to 13'3" Boston Whaler with 40 hp Johnson. Current towed boat is 14'8" Crestliner with 50 hp Johnson. Can you tell I sorta like ol' Johnson o/b's? LOL

Have towed tenders in Atlantic ocean for hundreds of miles, towed in waterways, in bays and in docking areas. Experienced towing in many weather and sea conditions.

Every tow boat is different in the wake it creates at the speed it travels. Towed boats also have their intricacies as to how they set in the water and/or react during tow.

Depending on many factors... the length of tow line may need to be short, long or mid range. A bridal off the stern may or may not be required. Side tow at considerably slow speed in calm waters is sometimes the best way to proceed.

Soooo.... in effect, all towing situations have their own needs for appropriate set ups. I advise you experiment with line configurations.

Happy "Tow-Boat" Daze! - Art

 

[smitty477]

So what is the conventional wisdom on the length of the tow line. I've never done it but will be trying it with our "new" boat and dink. The mothership is a 55 Californian with twin Cat 3208 T/A. The dink is a 12 A/B RBI with a 30 hp Tohatsu. Cruise speed will be 8-10 kts in Washington and British Columbia waters both inside and out. Thoughts?

We have towed often and for longer trips with many sizes of RIBS and one hard dinghy. The towed length is typically on the back side of the second wave generated by the towing boat - in our case that was about 85' back off the stern. In our experience that sized RIB with a 10 knot tow will be an awkward combination for a few reasons: the RIB will not pop up at those speeds, the RIB will need to get the bow up (check RIB tow point), that sized RIB can 'wag' back and forth at those speeds with some weather.
Generally we did not like towing RIBS under about 15' unless the weather conditions were very good. RIBS with strong low tow points, self bailing hulls, longer, and preferably two tow points worked very well for us.

 

[Pete Meisinger]

You probably want to invest in some floating tow line, or add some pool "noodles" or floats. Especially close in to the mother ship.

Here is a bit of advice for a couple years down the road. Sunlight deteriorates poly lines in a couple years. If your line starts to get "hairy", chalky or stiff, get rid of it.

pete

 

[smitty477]

You probably want to invest in some floating tow line, or add some pool "noodles" or floats. Especially close in to the mother ship.

Here is a bit of advice for a couple years down the road. Sunlight deteriorates poly lines in a couple years. If your line starts to get "hairy", chalky or stiff, get rid of it.

pete

A good thought - we have always made the majority of our towing bridles with Amsteel or the equivalent. Utilizing small floats near the towing boat for a "V" lead line to take up some shock is also a good idea. The ability to connect and disconnect the tow line quickly can come in handy (snap hooks) as well as the ability to adjust length when in close quarters.

 

[Group9]

You probably want to invest in some floating tow line, or add some pool "noodles" or floats. Especially close in to the mother ship.

Here is a bit of advice for a couple years down the road. Sunlight deteriorates poly lines in a couple years. If your line starts to get "hairy", chalky or stiff, get rid of it.

pete

For sure. From years of towing, we've managed to wrap a tow line around the prop a couple of times! Worst was in Mobile Bay during a thunderstorm, and having to go over the side in some pretty good waves. Not fun! Easiest was when I did it at No Name Harbor on Biscayne Bay once (actually my wife did it, but I was not able to talk her into going over the side to undo it! )

 

[Nomad Willy]

I’ve always thought that mounting the towing eye low on the stem of the bow would aid directional stability of the dinghy. Anybody have an opinion on this?

I could wait till I had a problem w the dinghy hunting back and forth and then (after slowing down) re tie the dinghy to something on top of the house that would be rather high up compared to the usual tie-off on the cap rail. Has anybody tried that?

I suppose it would be relative to the length of the painter. What does a towing line have to do w paint anyway?

Opinions ?

 

[Billr2019]

I made a bridle to the dinghy.
It is an 8 foot alum. rib with 6hp OB.
Main line is 1/2" floating line and 2 (1/4" line) others to the eyes on the sides of the inflatable tubes to keep it from yawing.
Common tie point about 10 feet in front of the rib.
Single longer floating line to the towing boat.

 

[smitty477]

I’ve always thought that mounting the towing eye low on the stem of the bow would aid directional stability of the dinghy. Anybody have an opinion on this?

I could wait till I had a problem w the dinghy hunting back and forth and then (after slowing down) re tie the dinghy to something on top of the house that would be rather high up compared to the usual tie-off on the cap rail. Has anybody tried that?

I suppose it would be relative to the length of the painter. What does a towing line have to do w paint anyway?

Opinions ?

"I’ve always thought that mounting the towing eye low on the stem of the bow would aid directional stability of the dinghy. Anybody have an opinion on this?"
On at least a few larger heavier RIBS we have attached two lower mounting points for the tow and they have worked out very well.

"I could wait till I had a problem w the dinghy hunting back and forth and then (after slowing down) re tie the dinghy to something on top of the house that would be rather high up compared to the usual tie-off on the cap rail. Has anybody tried that?"
In our case attaching the tow point higher up on the towing boat did not help at all , but we typically towed at 15-17 knots. Things that did help keep the towed boat from 'wagging' were longer tow line after the 2nd wave, lowering the towed boat outboard (did not like this approach) , adding a two point tow connect to the towed boat.