Hi gang, May interject a note of warning? If you have a hard dinghy that has a centerboard (daggerboard) trunk, make certain that you have a cover with a good gasket for the trunk that can be firmly fastened in place (wing nuts at both ends is best). Otherwise you may experience - as we did - what a wonderful sea anchor a dinghy filled with water can be. In our case, we had a 9 foot sailing dinghy with a dagger board slot. We were towing it behind our Tripp-Lentsch 29 down the English Channel heading for Calais. It was a pleasant sailing day; the sails were nicely filled, and the boat was marching along. Then the speed kept decreasing, and finally hit zero. Huh? What's going on? We're not aground on a Channel sand bank; the depth finder said we had lots of water under the keel; ....what gives? Then we saw the problem. Our 9 foot dinghy was swamped. We pulled it alongside, and I started bailing; .... and bailing, ....and bailing. A 9 foot dinghy has a large internal volume, and I had to get all the water out.... The water had squirted in through the daggerboard trunk; squirt; ... squirt; ....squirt; until finally as the dinghy filled with more and more water, the squirt became a steady stream (we had been doing about 5.5 knots) When the job was finally done, and we were in Calais, I found that I had lost an oar to Neptune. The next day, with weather deteriorating, we went into through the lock into inner harbor, (the Channel has a 25 foot tidal range) and then I walked into town and looked for a ship chandlery where I could buy a new oar. You then learn that single oars aren't available: you have to buy a pair. When we departed Calais, I had my three oars fastened to the thwart with bungee cords, and I had rigged up a provisional seal for the dagger board trunk. Live and learn. Connie Tim Diebert wrote:
"When we go to sea, my wife and I, with a dinghy in tow, we always (Always? Well, nearly always) bring a long painter aboard from the stern of the dinghy, which is kept slack until it is required to be cast overboard to steady the little boat. On this occasion I had forgotten, and left the drag painter in the bottom of the dinghy"
What a great idea. Thanks for that David.
The inflatable kayak shaped units seem a great idea. From what I have seen it seems to work out really well. The part I like is being able to deflate and stow. For me personally it isn't really an option. I have tried kayaking a few times and it kills my back. Thing is though.... I can row all day long. Go figure.
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