I captured this screen shot from a drone video that someone shared last year of their Nonsuch. The dinghy tow set up intrigues me as I make plans for the coming summer. We will be taking a 3m Zodiac with us when cruising this summer (our second year owning Corbeau) and I would like suggestions on the best ways to tow a tender without adding davits. What do you think of this concept of using the hinged boarding ladder to mange the tender. Would it work well in following seas?
Nice to make plans like this as we wait for spring launch on Lake Ontario.
When I bought the boat it already had the dinghy towing system installed, which can be found here: http://dinghy-tow.com/. Drag doesn’t seem to bad but I don’t really have anything to compare it to. Maybe 0.5 knots?
I removed the ladder steps and added the plywood draw-bridge boards mainly to test it out last season. I’ll be making further modifications this spring: replacing the plywood with PlasTeak, and cutting off the lower rung so I can leave the motor attached to the dinghy and the ladder “arms” will straddle the motor while still being supported by the dinghy transom.
In general I really like the system for getting my dog on and off the dinghy. It’s not as stable as a dedicated swim platform (which I had on my NS26), but it’s not too bad. I would probably prefer traditional davits if I wanted to go all out, but I didn’t feel like scrapping this entire thing that was already installed.
Thanks for the update Matt. That was a lovely video BTW.
I’ve looked at the dinghy-tow website now and understand better what you have.
Regarding your “draw bridge” use of the ladder…is there any reason that the dinghy couldn’t be lashed to the end of the ladder and towed backwards using that? I’m still 2 1/2 months from launch here in Toronto but having fun planning for the summer.
Not really my area of concern (or expertise, frankly) but I would think that your ladder is attached to your transom in only two places and the attachment and philosophy of the folding ladder is that the forces on the attachment hardware are designed for upward or downward force. Pulling the dinghy is going to create lots of “pull the suckers right out of the transom” force.
(Yes, I’m quite proud of that scientific explanation !!)
I think that, in less than perfect motoring or sailing conditions, something will break.
Ernie A. in Toronto (Nice to meet up with you last summer at RCYC, BTW.)
The dingy needs to be secured both vertically and laterally so just hitching to the stern rail would not be very effective.
The dingy tow works well, used one for years . I’ve seen 8 hp motors and 10 foot hard bottoms being towed! But it comeswith rubber bushings and I swapped them for poly that is much more robust.
As well the pelican hooks that the attach the dinghy are chrome plated brass spinnaker hooks ( for wooden spin poles). They wear after time . I replaced mine with stainless ones and put nylon tubes over the connection points on the dinghy and after 5 years zero wear.
And lastly replace the hoist line with floating line and don’t ask why…
