Dinghy tow rope, what length?

[River Bank]

What length should the rope be for towing an 8'2" RIB travelling behind a R25 at 10 knots?
Bob

 

[trailertrawlerkismet]

Bob:

We did this for a while, before we set up a swim platform dinghy mount, so we have some limited experience. Based on what I read we decided to run a line to about the crest of the third wave behind our R27. This will be different for you then us because we travel at a slower speed so you'll need to do a little research by trial and error. We ran a line from both the port and starboard dinghy pontoon to a center point about 5 feet in front of the dinghy and then ran the long line up to the center transom rail, ran the line around the rail and over to a side transom cleat to secure. We also had three floats (like a ski rope) inserted and knotted off on the line to keep the line afloat and visible for when we slowed down. I'm guessing about 100 feet but again this is based on 7.5 knots in our boat...10 knots may or may not make a difference in your rear wake.

Jim

 

[River Bank]

Thanks Jim

Will do some measuring to that third wave the next time out.

Bob

 

[rporterfield]

regarding towing. I added a full sized cleat in the center of the boat above the flag staff base. I backed it with a piece of oak. The cleat is the same size as the two stern cleats...8 inches on my R-27. This can be used to tow the dingy, to stern tie to shore, or to tow another vessel. When I tow other vessels I usually like about 100 ft, as mentioned the third wave. I have found that a straight tow works best. As a private citizen and as an Auxiliary facility I have towed boats up to 44', even a 36' sailboat. My other tows were with other boats. My R-27 is new.

Robert