How do you transport your inflatable

[Mac26Mpaul]

After my recent scare with my family and an inflatable, I am turned off them. I picked up a cheap 6 foot fibreglass dinghy on Fleabay. I tow it, but what is the bonus is that it is so small I can pull it up over the pullpit and lash it on deck. Although I havnt done it yet, it looks like it should be no problem there when sailing too! Stowing on deck is great for the trip from my my house to the water and I am sure will be very useful come rough weather too, but I'll still tow for the most part.

The dinghy is perfectly fine with me and my wife in it, but the other day, we had the whole family (two adults and two young children) and the bow wave of a passing ferry nearly swamped us. But hey, a 6 foot fibreglass dinghy aint really built for 4 which I guess will mean two trips to the shore to be on the safe side at most times..
Not good enough for some I'm sure, but I'll take that over an inflatable anyday...

[Hardcrab]

We hoist our inflated, 9.5' Baltic, inflatable floor, upside down, 79lbs (mfg data) onto the foredeck with a long bridle, the jib halyard, the jib car and track, then to the winch with just Admiral power.
79 lbs isn't much weight for the stuff used to make it happen, including the Admiral.

The bow tucks in perfectly at the pulpit and the two pointed tubes just straddle the mast.
It works great and it fits like it was made for it.

A semi-downside is the reduced visibility for the close-in bow area, but it's not a show stopper at all.

[Sumner]

....... Our only concern would be the line fowling the engine or rudders. And we back into our slip, which also makes it difficult. Any ideas on this issue? Robert

We used a floating line the first trip and a couple times still had problems with it and the rudder and prop. There was some wind and then it would be still. During the still times the dinghy would float up to and around the back of the boat and around to the sides and was a pain. The first night we also had similar problems. With the tow bar all of that goes away.

Now saying that at night....



http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner ... iac-4.html

...I pull the dinghy along side the boat. I feel it is more secure there from the remote possibility of someone coming and cutting the line and taking it and also it is right there if I need to climb in our out and use it. Also if we are going in to a dock or a slip for fuel or whatever and know what side we will be tying to we quickly tie the dinghy to the opposite side.

I keep two tow lines from the Mac to the dinghy for redundancy. One is through the tow bar carabiner and the other isn't. I let the line through the tow bar out and use the other to pull the dinghy along side. When we leave I release the one line and pull the dinghy back to the tow bar with the other. Simple and fast to do either. This works also for backing down if needed as long as you have enough width for where you are backing into for the Mac and the dinghy side by side.

After my recent scare with my family and an inflatable, I am turned off them. I picked up a cheap 6 foot fibreglass dinghy on Fleabay. I tow it, but what is the bonus is that it is so small I can pull it up over the pullpit and lash it on deck...............The dinghy is perfectly fine with me and my wife in it, but the other day, we had the whole family (two adults and two young children) and the bow wave of a passing ferry nearly swamped us. But hey, a 6 foot fibreglass dinghy aint really built for 4 which I guess will mean two trips to the shore to be on the safe side at most times..
Not good enough for some I'm sure, but I'll take that over an inflatable anyday...

I guess I missed the 'scare'. What was it and what kind of inflatable was it. I feel very secure in our Zodiac in rough water as it seems to ride up and over about anything. The same when it is being towed. Also if it hits the boat it is soft sided and easier on the gel coat.

Down at Key Largo I went and rescued two local people in a small hard dinghy when there battery went dead going across the bay there. They were both pretty big and the water/waves were almost going in over the sides of it. They had a small anchor over the side and were hanging on it and trying to cell phone someone to come get them when I saw them and took our dinghy over and towed them to shore,

Sum

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

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[Chinook]

Hey Dive, you asked for it, and you've gotten loads of great suggestions. Here's mine. Put your hard floor dinghy up for sale and replace it with a new one. I bought a 9.5 foot model (HP-275 I think) from West Marine prior to our Bahamas trip, and it worked great. It has an inflated keel tube and a high pressure inflated floor. It's very easy to pump up on the fore deck. It stores nicely in its storage cover. I can deploy it or pull it out of the water and store it in 15 minutes or less. I trail it in protected waters, but deflate it and stow on deck or below on longer passages. As far as the motor goes, I don't like trailing with the motor attached to the dinghy. I realize yours is heavy, but I'd be setting up a block and tackle hoist arrangement, and a mounting bracket so it's carried on the Mac while underway.

[Sumner]

..Put your hard floor dinghy up for sale and replace it with a new one. I bought a 9.5 foot model (HP-275 I think) from West Marine prior to our Bahamas trip, and it worked great...

Great advice. Ours probably has another year or two of good life in it and since the Endeavour has dinghy davits we will use it there for a while, but the next one won't have a hard floor. Ours also has the blowup keel and I think that is important. Ruth is also going to sew up an easy to install cover that will cover the tubes and help protect them from UV and can stay on all of the time.

The next one might be Hypalon, but with covers I think the PVC will last quite a few years if it isn't out all year, still some of the Hypalon ones aren't too much more expensive than the PVC ones,

Sum

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Our MacGregor S Pages

Mac-Venture Links

[Divecoz]

Yep theres been a lot of great advice.. No Doubt the best , though most expensive solution, is sell the hard flr and the 6 HP and buy a air floor and a 2 to 3 hp..humm maybe in time...
I have been towing mine and yes its PITA... I have my bridle off the back of the Mac..that clips to two lines coming from the transom of the dink and thru that SS attachment circle thing.. on the bow.. Yep she bangs into the motor some times, in following seas.. I lash her along side as soon as I anchor ...
Like My A/C .. Fridge ...Battery Bank... Solar Collectors...Full Enclosure etc etc etc .. I am trying to find compromises I can live with and still have all I want to have.. for a cost I can rationalize.. I did that ( spent to much on) among others my 65 Malibu Convertible and with my wife's MGB and a few other toys and Harley's along the way... I just dont want to follow suit with this boat..
I think for now I will look at building those stand offs.. SS Cable thru 3/4 PVC conduit..
Thank you one and all and if someone comes up with a New idea ? Keep me in mind ..

[Crikey]

You could put one of those winged keels, you've been talking about, on it. Maybe that would solve the handling problems.
(Meaning: I wish you'd talk bout the winged keel!)

Ross

[Divecoz]

This house may be sold (??) and as soon as I get to Fla. and get settled in .. weighted dagger board, winged "keel" and a full enclosure are tops on my list..

You could put one of those winged keels, you've been talking about, on it. Maybe that would solve the handling problems.
(Meaning: I wish you'd talk bout the winged keel!)

Ross

[rtrinkle]

Don't know if anyone has done this, but there also is anti-fouling paint to put on a rubber dingy. According to the write up, it will stay in place even if the boat is deflated and rolled up. Just as option, as we would like to leave the dingy in the water when tied up at the marina.

http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/us ... Boat+Paint
Robert

[Divecoz]

It sounds like a better Alternative than power washing? Its made by an Industry leader etc etc .
HOWEVER: For those of you with minimal HP this will have a negative effect on speed.. with my 6 hp this is a none issue.. and I DIDNT find it for anywhere near what one poster claimed he did !! The best price I find is $38 from Defender Not $18 as claimed by that @#$%^&..

Don't know if anyone has done this, but there also is anti-fouling paint to put on a rubber dingy. According to the write up, it will stay in place even if the boat is deflated and rolled up. Just as option, as we would like to leave the dingy in the water when tied up at the marina.

http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/us ... Boat+Paint
Robert

[rtrinkle]

West Marine had a quart of the Petit bottom paint for inflatables. I told them I could find the paint online for $38, and he dropped the original price of $80 to $40. Guess after shipping and handling form the website, I made out, except when it became time to paint

That paint settles quickly, and it was like hard clay at the bottom of the can. After mixing in a bucket for about 1 hour, it was back to its normal consistency for painting. The paint seems to dry pretty quickly as well. After 2 coats, any remaining paint in the can or the roller pan was pretty much dry.. Guess there's less to cleanup, just throw the used equipment out.

Hoping the paint does a good job. Don't think I'll deflate and fold the dingy completely,, just deflating enough to get in the back of the minivan to transport to the boat, then pump it back up. If all goes well, I won't have to worry about any growth on the bottom.

[Highlander]

In its bag of course !!!

Sorry Richard just could not resist EH !

J

[Catigale]

For my heavily loaded tender on the rocky Cape Cod I have abandoned inflatables. We have a five year old hard plastic skiff ( water tender 9.4 foot) that rows well, zips under 4 HP, and is indestructible.

PITA to top load on the car, but that's only twice a year

[Divecoz]

If I or better said , when I, replace my Old School Plywood Floor Inflatable, thats a real possibility..5 years ago or so.. here on this board when we were discussing this subject.. Numerous members had very convincing , negative comments to make about the hard dinks..I had two sweet deals, sitting in the wings. I went with the inflatable instead of the hard..In retrospect most those arguments dont hold water I'll now keep my eyes and ears open for another sweet deal and give one a try..I'll keep what I have as well..The wife and I have discussed , should we find we sail as much ( i.e. PokerRick) as we hope to, once we move .. and if I can find a Seaward 32.. that I can rationalize the cost for .. maybe even selling the Mac.. Its on the table but wayyyyyyy across from where I am sitting right now.. These boats are fantastic overall IMHO, with being able to , Live aboard for short intervals( weeks) and being able to shallow water sail and power, thats a huge plus to us.. and at $40K well set up not much to anyting competes with it.. Yep these boats are light weight meaning my boat lift is a few bucks NOT a lot of bucks..

For my heavily loaded tender on the rocky Cape Cod I have abandoned inflatables. We have a five year old hard plastic skiff ( water tender 9.4 foot) that rows well, zips under 4 HP, and is indestructible.

PITA to top load on the car, but that's only twice a year

[slugbug]

I love all the great ideas and solutions to the dingy towing problem. I have a small 4 man inflatable and it came with small usless oars I bought a cheap small trolling motor ($80) and Battery ($87) both come off the boat easily and I can clamp the motor to the pulpit and stow the battery below. The motor pushes the dingy slow when full but is better than rowing. I have ordered a stern rail and when installed will attach the motor to it with a lock. Good luck.