MacGregorSailors.com

Disclosure...I hate inflatables for cruising (rocks, can't be rowed, can't be sailed) but that means the hard dinghy has to be trailered to the Cape.

Present solution is car topping. As I get older and buy Depends by the caseload I think I have to start thinking of a better way.

I am thinking of ways I can mount a approx 10 foot100 # dinghy on my Mac trailer without seriously fubarring the tongue weight or trailering ease. I don't think wind resistance will matter much since I'm already trailering a container, but I dont want to damage the car on backing so I think the front of the trailer is out.

The simplest version I can think of is a simple outrigger on starboard side which lets the dinghy sit on its side along side the I think I can squeak that in while staying under 8'5" and maybe even 8' trailer beam?

I love my Optimists, of course, they nicely trailer up top under the mast.

When I take big crew to the Cape (7 up) I actually need both my Watertender and my Optimist to get crew ashore on anchor!

Catigale wrote:As I get older and buy Depends by the caseload I think I have to start thinking of a better way.

Oh, man. Not good.

The easiest thing I can think of as far as DIY fabbing goes is a slide system to get the dink on and off the car top. Essentially a pair of rails on the car top, and 'ramps' that you can hook into them to allow it to slide off the side, part-way down. Simple folding legs, or long enough to reach the ground. A wheeled dolly would make sliding easier, but so would nylon strips on top of the slides. With a little creativity, some multi-part rigging could help to pull it up there, but that may be getting too fancy.

A mount on the side of the trailer at the bow end would be pretty simple, too, but I'd have to draw it to visualize the size, and that's not simple as the big boat gets wider higher up, though the dink may end up at the rub rail anyway, so the plan view at the widest part may suffice.

You could do a trailer behind the trailer. Call yourself a road train then.
Seriously, is it because it's 10' long that it can't be mounted upside down at the bow, under the stowed mast? I guess M's might be different in that regard. I'm going to try my for the first time this season.
Regardless, what do you do with the motor?

R.

Get a portabote - it ignores rocks, rows fairly well, sails (not real well), planes with a 5hp and folds flat. Easy to store on deck while trailing, or it would be simple to rig a carrier alongside (or maybe under?) the Mac. It's a compromise, but then again - we own power/sailers!

http://www.porta-bote.com/index.php

I don't know how that would work on the side. How do you do it now? Securing it from bouncing around seems to be the tricky part. Maybe a sketch of what you are proposing would help.

Why not still car top and just use a loader?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlPyVSIsgAc

That's like watching grass grow
No one likes taking more time than to raise mast to launch.
Pickup truck with a cap and rack will haul your dink and store your bimini, and other gear.
Soft or hard Dink.
My 6.8 ft bed with cap easy hauls my 9.8ft 42lb inflatable or my 8ft. 36lb inflatable.Can also carry the DY5-8ft. 65lb ply dingy,or a 12 ft. aluminum 95lb John dink.
Just strap on and slide off the rear.

Dave

kadet wrote:Why not still car top and just use a loader?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlPyVSIsgAc

kadet wrote:Why not still car top and just use a loader?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlPyVSIsgAc

Wow. That's exactly what I was describing (slippery top with hook-on side ramps), but without the drill. Who knew?

Lets narrow the options:

0) you've taken car top out of the equation.
1) presuming we aren't changing the dinghy.
2) 10' is too wide to trailer perpendicular to the road. So an aft Davit mount is out. It is also too high to trailer vertically and get under many bridges in your area. So the dink must be parallel with the trailer and reasonably flat.
3) 10' is too long for the cockpit unless its angled up, and then it has to go under the mast. Won't fit.
4) the only remaining options I see are inverted on the bow or inverted on the cabin top. 10' will not fit under a pulpit pinned mast on the bow.

Ergo, cabin top above the sliding hatch and below the pinned mast is the only feasible location. Now, with the mast out the way, you could move it to the center of the boat so the dink is over the mast foot. Should actually work well in this location, and a simple set of 4' bungees could strap the ding in place to the stanchions and the mast to it, with a rubber or cloth item between them to prevent wear. Now the dink is a mast bracket as well.

Put a cloth down to prevent wear between the dink and the cabin top thought. Could be moved to aft over the cockpit, but I would worry about wind.

Matt

How about getting a pickup-truck as your tow vehicle instead of the usual vehicle? Dink in the bed, Mac on the hook. A crew-cab pickup truck would allow you to carry the gang as well. Should be able to find a decent one for around $5K?

Hey, get a plow mount on the sucker and make a few extra bucks in the wintertime, too!

Why couldn't you raise the mast attachment point at the bow pulpit to give any extra needed clearance, with a small extension bracket mod. I use a cluge made out of wood, in the winter, to get the tarp higher. Something like Highlanders alum truck hinge that he used on his anchor winch could work.

R.

Thanks for all the ideas folks.

The present beast is 11 years old, low miles so it probably has 5 years of use left. If I do car top it i definitely will put some rollers on to make loading easier. I have a couple of ideas here.

My Watertender will eventually be replaced by a Squall which is about another 20# heavier, so that is getting too heavy for me to lift solo.

I still want to try the concept of an outrigger dinghy mount on the front starboard of the trailer

Yous should contact Red Green Engineering for an inexpensive workable solution ... using duct tape and bungie cords!

Hey... we're not finished with you yet!

Remember the guy who installed two out-rigger arms on the stern so as he could lift the transome of his dinghy out of the water while towing their by just having the bow in the water creating less drag , he copied it from an advertized product , Well that concept could also be used on the road buy making a two wheel dolly that would be attached to the dinghy bow now this would only work on a hard dinghy which u have Steve ! what do u think

J