Dinghy Question..

[Greg H]

If you stow your dinghy upside down on deck, how do you keep the top of the g'nnels from getting beat up.. I've seen rope rubrails for the side, is there any way to do this, or something similar, on the top edge?

[Jack Heinlen]

Some hardwood chalks, lined with leather and with an eye for lashing is what I've seen. Some strategically placed hard foam gunwale guides sold in canoe stores for use on a car's top would work too if there were secure lashing points handy. They're awfully easy to lose though.

[Greg H]

Hi Jack, that would work on the boat cradle. But I was thinking about something permanent on the dinghy. Sort of like padded canvas gunnels, but neater.

[Mike Vogdes]

Those foam pool noodles that are used in swimming pools to float around on are usefull for this kind of chafe protection. You can slit the noodle leanthwise with a sharp knife and simply clip the noodle over the gunwale where it will come in contact with the deck.

[JimConlin]

If you'll frequently carry a dinghy on deck, chocks and stout lashings are a good idea.
If you do it only occasionally, good lashings and a decent gunwale protection is OK. For the gunwales of dinghies that'll be bumping into shiny bigger boats, i use 'gunwale guard', a dacron canvas & foam rubber cushion. It's available from Hamilton marine for $6.25/ft. It's heavy but looks good and holds up well. Fasten with screws and cup washers.

[ 08-17-2004, 08:57 PM: Message edited by: JimConlin ]

[paladin]

if you use a cradle for the dink old fire hose works well to protect the gunnels...

[Greg H]

The gunwale guard looks good!

[Ian McColgin]

You definatly want chocks. Without them the dink will slither about under the lashings and eventually loosen up in an unopertune break for freedom.

A lot of dinks fit lower unpside down and this is the way to carry it off-shore or in bad weather anyway but if you've room a right side up chocks that take the keel and turn of the bilge are very nice if you're beach padoodling and if there's clearance under the boom or whatever for the dink to ride right side up.

I have a bow line and a line from each side of the cockpit. The bow line length was determined by how long it needed to be to let the dink set at the boarding ladder when the line was made fast to the forward spring cleat. The other two are the same length. All eyesplices. So it's very easy to gather a bridle of these lines in one hand, clip them to a hallyard, and sway the dink up.

Better yet, so's not to disturb a hallyard and to be able to recover the dink with the boat hove-to and the hallyard thus in use, I now have a spare topping lift or whatever. Since there is no winch handy for this job, I hang my 5:1 handibilly (that I have for overboard rescue and other odd jobs) on the lift, run it up as high as it will go with the bottom of the fall still hanging on to the dink's lines, secure the lift, and sway the dink up with the handibilly. Added advantage that I can get out by the rail and keep the dink clear of the lifelines more easily.

G'luck