My new dinghy

[Russ]

New dinghy for the Mac.
I can't lift it on deck, but it is fairly stable and easy to board from the Mac. Doesn't tow too bad and gets us to shore in 15 seconds.
This thing is scary fast. With its supercharged motor it has 215HP that takes it to near 70MPH in seconds.
The first mate likes to scout ahead of us. I actually bought two of these, but I can't see towing two of them behind the Mac.

[Ixneigh]

Looks like fun. Could it tow the sailboat if needed???
Ix

[Chopper Pilot]

I have bee wanting to do this for a while now. It is ideal. I am not sure about this with respect to dingy docks. I like this idea if something bad happens (heart attack, shark attack) somewhere far from help. Being a combat medevac pilot, I see every heart beat as steps toward death when blood or trauma is involved. So I need balls to the wall speed. This is how I sold the 26M to my wife. If something happens to the kids, we can get back four time faster than a normal sailboat.

[Tomfoolery]

Could it tow the sailboat if needed???

I saw a PWC towing a boat on that Erie Canal earlier this year. The boat, though a power boat, was roughly the size of my Mac, so I suppose it could do it, at least for short trips. I don't know how the engine would like towing over long distances at low throttle settings, though.

[WASP18]

I have bee wanting to do this for a while now. It is ideal. I am not sure about this with respect to dingy docks. I like this idea if something bad happens (heart attack, shark attack) somewhere far from help. Being a combat medevac pilot, I see every heart beat as steps toward death when blood or trauma is involved. So I need balls to the wall speed. This is how I sold the 26M to my wife. If something happens to the kids, we can get back four time faster than a normal sailboat.

I told my wife we could outrun thunderstorms. (well, some of the time)

[mastreb]

I've been noodling over ways to use a PWC as the power for a sailboat, where the transom is a "V dock" that the PWC noses into, or an extended swim platform of some sort. The PWC is then both the propulsion for the boat and serves as the tender. Would require both a custom boat and a custom PWC though. Perhaps easier to do with a RIB.

Could build a square Pram designed to clamp to the stern, where the sailboat's stern is flat and angled forward to align with the bow angle of the pram. That would be pretty simple.

[dlandersson]

Now THAT is cool - next step up from tubes when the kids are older.

[JohnCFI]

I just wish I could sneak something like that past my admiral.... but I just know I would get caught!!

[Russ]

You could tow a Mac with one of these. I'll have to try. They tow water toys and skiers with them all the time. It's way too much HP though. It's a 4 stroke so it should tolerate low RPMs for a while. Our son followed us at low (non-planing) speeds for miles.
A supercharged 215HP motor is not a fuel efficient beast. I read at WOT it consumes 18GPH! Although it's virtually impossible to run it at WOT because it scares the daylights out of you going that fast (70mph). It has a special key that limits the top end to 45mph for "training".
The other ski only has 115HP and is much more manageable and would probably work better as a utility boat.

I've never owned a PWC before and have learned a bunch about them. Towing a PWC at high speeds requires the cooling line to be "pinched" so as to prevent water from backing up in the heads. It slows our Mac down slightly (1 mph) while towing it. They can flip over and remain buoyant. Lots of real (molded) foam in there. They have built in bilge pumps (when the motor is running) that suck water out of the bilge. In fact, everything seems to be run from the jet pump, bilge pump, engine cooling, etc. The jet pump has no transmission, it's always engaged. There is a cup that will divert the jet down (neutral) or back (reverse) similar to the way aircraft jet engines stop. I'm amazed at how easily maneuverable it is in the marina. Turns on a dime thanks to little flapper rudders that drop down at low RPMs.

And yes, I suppose you could "dock" one with another boat.





--Russ

[Kittiwake]

Hmm. I am hardly a greeny, and in distant past I enjoyed the speed of motorcycles; but I am uneasy (to say the least) about these things in bodies of water having any significant marine life (including waterfowl, seals, etc). Must be a heck of a shock wave at the hull/water interface at 70 mph.
Kittiwake

[DaveB]

When I feel the need for speed I hop on the Motorcycle.
Nice Dink for towing and having fun but how do you do Trailering behind your Mac. on the road?
Dave

[Seapup]

I used to have a RXT before the mac, they are a blast in the ocean. Its been a few years so it may have been addressed, but google supercharger bearings for them if you haven't yet. The factory bearings used to have a major flaw that destroyed a lot of motors.

[Russ]

Nice Dink for towing and having fun but how do you do Trailering behind your Mac. on the road?
Dave

Well, we keep the Mac in a slip and don't tow it but up to the marina in the Spring and back home at the end of the season. Same with the skis. Right now, we rented a second slip for the skis next to the Mac. We'll take the skis home when weather starts getting cold and sail the Mac until we are forced to pull her.

We have an inflatable dinghy and 2.5 motor that our son would ride around in exploring things. That little outboard was pretty noisy and annoying. Surprisingly, the Seadoo isn't very loud compared to the 2.5 outboard. It keeps the teenager entertained and he actually wants to come aboard and sail with us as well.
Who knows, the novelty may wear off quick and we'll sell them. I do like that the skis are easily trailered and launched. I may take them to Yellowstone or other places that I wouldn't bother to bring the large Mac and spend time rigging her.

--Russ

[SKIPPER2C]

AND THE NEXT TOY.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jkpMDbO ... EwCUJJTBPw

Man live is good.

[dlandersson]

Lots of legal liability.

AND THE NEXT TOY.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jkpMDbO ... EwCUJJTBPw

Man live is good.