I couldn't help but chuckle at your description - that's a perfect description of several times when I really regretted towing the dinghy and should have had it stowed (folding PortaBote, so it stows nicely inside the shrouds).
In those kind of wave conditions I think the dinghy should be stowed. Some say that if you let out more painter (like 40' or more) to get the dinghy riding on the right wave, it will do okay. That might work, but in steep, close spaced waves like we get approaching some coasts (or in large tide rips in wind against current situations), it won't. Riding on the transom wake is impossible because the waves are confused, and if you have 6' waves at 6 seconds (very close spaced), the timing will be too variable and the dinghy will still plough into troughs and then race forward on crests. Our dinghy doesn't flip or swamp fortunately, but when it starts going sideways, the painter coming taut puts a huge jerking force onto it. We lost a painter that way last month (actually a sheet bend knot in the harness pulled out) but fortunately use a secondary painter with its own harness as backup. Good time to stow the dinghy is before you get into waves like that. Most people avoid conditions like that, and in sounds it's quite rare, so that's why generally a lot of people can tow probably 95-100% of the time. -Patrick '84 LF38 Seattle, WA > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Josh Muckley <muckl...@gmail.com> > To: "C&C List" <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> > Cc: > Bcc: > Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2017 08:54:46 -0400 > Subject: Re: Stus-List Dinghy on fordeck > So for those who tow, what is the preferred method? > > We towed an inflatable one time. Had floating painter and made a bridle > on the dink. Tied straight to the stern rail station. No bridle at the > boat, not tied to the stern cleats. The painter was roughly 20'. In a > following seas with 6 foot swells the dinghy would surge down the face of > the wave catch up with the boat. At one point it got up next to the boat > and turned slightly perpendicular to the boat. When the slack was pulled > out of the painter, the force was sideways to the dinghy and was enough to > flip it upside down. It was painfully difficult to turn right side up. > I've been hesitant to tow since. I've seen others tow with a considerably > shorter painter but with my reverse transom I would rather avoid having the > dinghy bump or rub the back of the boat. > > Do you keep an outboard on the dinghy while towing? > > Josh Muckley > S/V Sea Hawk > 1989 C&C 37+ > Solomons, MD > > >
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