Richard wrote:
KLC Lewis wrote:



I would second most of Wilbur's advice, though you might have trouble
fitting a Walker Bay 8 on deck. Towing a dink is okay in protected
waters, but for any real passage-making, it should be properly stored
on deck, upside down where it can't hold water. You may, or may not,
have the available space on that boat where it will both fit and not
hinder crew movement. And, of course, I would have to dismiss the
advice not to listen to advice from other posters. And finally, what
Wilbur considers "unnecessary crap that women feel (we) can't do
without" is more necessary than he comprehends. We do have to remain
women, after all.



And bless you for it!
Over the last three seasons, I've been towing a dinghy in everything
from a flat calm to a force eight all over the English Channel and the
southern North Sea. On our 26' mid 60's yacht, there is nowhere to stow
even a tiny hard tender on deck so its tow, deflate and pack or do
without. Towing a hard tender is problematic as if it flips, you will
almost certainly have to cut it adrift (if the bow didn't pull off the
moment it swamped) Also you cannot bring it alongside to bail it in
rough water.

We tow a 10' hard bottommed Avon inflatable. I have a 100' floating
towline, (I usually use 5' to 15' but in bad weather off the wind you
have to give it a lot of slack or you'll get the tender on top of you in
the cockpit) with a drogue just in front of the tender that fills if the
tender is overtaking us, and a three part bridle with a swivel to attach
the tow line to which keeps the tender more or less streight under tow
and prevents tangles. There is minimum gear in the tender and what
there is is strapped in place.

Ive had to get into the tender underway to bail it two or three times
and had to hove to once to recover it when it flipped. Any of those
occasions would have probably been the loss of a hard tender. I fully
expect to loose this tender sooner or later.

For an inflatable it rows quite well. You wouldn't do so for sport, but
a mile or so to get to the pub and back is no problem as it has good
quality two part oars and decent rowlocks unlike most inflatables.

If I was off on a passage of over 24 hours I would consider stowing it,
and if going blue water I'd definately stow it but towing a well chosen
dink is a lot less hassle than many people will tell you.