Towing a dinghy

[jimschu]

We plan to tow a 9' Boston Whaler with a 5hp Honda and the total weight being in the 210 lb range. I am looking for information on the length and size of a tow line. Appreciate any comments.

 

[trailertrawlerkismet]

We towed our 8' inflatable for a year and based on my research at the time I found it to be suggested to have the dinghy ride on the crest of the third trailing wave. Apparently this gave enough room to not only keep the dinghy away from the transom but allowed for the least amount of turbulence and drag. There is no exact number of feet because the third wave back will be different for your 29 then our 27 as well as the speed you travel. For us it was about 100 feet. We used a nylon line with a couple of floats to keep the line from submerging. Hope this helps,

Jim

 

[workingdogs]

It depends entirely upon the speed of the boat . If you go 75% power , great care must be taken and you will want lots of line . Also , best to rig dead center hooking onto a thick line between the cleats . Think water skier . Wind and sea direction also make a difference . If your going fast , start with 50 feet and be happy if you need less . If your going slow , it doesn't matter much , cuz it's easy .
We got tired of the down side of towing the Carolina skiff so we got a 10 ft inflatable and keep it on the swim step . Problem solved .

 

[Mystical]

We tow our 13 foot Whaler behind our R29. We purchased the tow line and a 7000 lb shackle from West Marine. Not sure of the brand of line, But it is yellow with a blue stripe in it. I am sure of you contacted them, they would have the correct products. We purchased 150 feet of line and conditions will determine length to use. Last weekend we towed in relative small seas about 60 feet out running at 16 knots. Everything went perfect. Love having that boat with us when we travel. Be sure to leave the motor down on the Whaler so it tracks properly

 

[Mystical]

Here is a link to the stuff we used.
http://www.westmarine.com/polypropylene ... e--2671642
http://www.westmarine.com/wichard--stai ... 60_002_004

 

[TonyM]

The only input I have on this is to use a floating line.
This will help keep the line out of the prop when you come to a stop and will allow you see where it is.
ps
Don't forget to fasten both ends securely, and look back occasionally to make sure your tow is still there. 😀
I helped a guy search for his dinghy for a couple of hrs before we found it 😳

If you want to get technical like the big tow boats, have a radar reflector on your tow and set the Garmin up to alarm if you loose your tow.