Need assistance, need a tow

[Alex Magnus]

Hi everyone, I'm new here. I know it's a long shot, but I need some help and thought I would post here in case there's anyone that can give me a hand. I'm in New Hampshire, 2 days ago the motor on my sailboat failed, I was caught by the current, my mast was bent by the Spalding turnpike bridge. The Great Bay Marina responded to the emergency calls and towed my boat to one of their docks. It will probably take me at least a month to get up and running again, I can't afford to rent a dock here. I'm posting because I'm hoping there's someone in the area who would be willing and able to give me a tow to a mooring I could hang out at for a month or so while I make repairs, a gentleman here recommended Durham as an ideal location.. I can provide gas, and I'm very desperate, if I can't figure something out I'm worried they'll throw me out of the marina and I'll lose the boat, which will leave me homeless with two cats. Any help would be greatly appreciated. The vessel in question is 19 and a half feet long, weighs about one and a half thousand pounds

[Alex Magnus]

Oh and by the way, I'm registered and have all of the required safety equipment, including running lights.

[Peregrine1983]

If you can find a tow back out to Pepperell Cove by Kittery Point, we've seen people anchor outside the mooring field there and I know there is a public dinghy dock and harbormaster. Not sure if there's a limit to how long you can anchor.

[JPA Cate]

Alex, it may be that you don't need a tow (which can be dangerous), but do need a dinghy to hip tie, and move the yacht that way. Many more cruisers have experience that way than towing. Hope you can get someone to help.

Ann

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

Alex, it may be that you don't need a tow (which can be dangerous), but do need a dinghy to hip tie, and move the yacht that way. Many more cruisers have experience that way than towing. Hope you can get someone to help.

Ann

I’m going to second what Ann just said. I am extremely familiar with these waters.

What do you have for a dinghy?

If you time the tide right, you can certainly get to Durham with a hip tie.

I’m not sure I would run the river down to Kittery point. That’s a hell of a current when you don’t have an engine.

What do you draw? You could anchor outside the channel a little bit toward Durham. I wouldn’t just take someone’s morning. That’s not nice. You can anchor near those mornings in the tiny little Durham Harbor. It’s basically a small pond. There’s no fetch. There’s no current. Nothing. I’ve stayed up there myself before. These days there might even be some Amazon lockers and things around Durham Landing. You could also check out Newmarket, but if I remember correctly that’s a lot further away.

And welcome to the prestigious club. My first boat was 23 feet. A trailer sailer with an extremely unreliable Johnson Sea Horse 9.9. I was in York. I decided to poke my nose out to see if the weather was going to be bad. Of course the Outboard also failed on me and I got swept out to sea in really bad weather. And I was able to sail back around to Kittery point. A long awful day that was. To top it all off, I threw a fire extinguisher back down into the boat that was rattling around and the plastic nozzle broke off. The thing exploded and covered the entire interior with white powder. Took me forever to clean that a different day.

But it’s quite a prestigious club to join when your motor quits in those currents. Those are some of the strongest currents there are.

[Oeanda]

Almost any dinghy or skiff with a small outboard should be able to move you no problem. Hang down a couple bumpers from your stern quarter and tie the skiff alongside there. Preferably so the outboard prop is slightly astern of the sailboat rudder if possible. The further astern the outboard motor prop is, the better steerage it will have.
Run the skiff/dinghy bow line through some convenient spot on the sailboat side, and then back the skiff, where the skiff driver can quickly release it. Once underway, steering can be achieved with the sailboat rudder in conjunction with the outboard. It helps to have two people but isn’t strictly necessary.
We’ve done this many times (40’ sailboat boat and other smaller ones, log booms, barges, etc) and it’s a piece of cake in decent weather. Work with the tide.

Edit. I read ‘hell of a river current’ above -so, hmmm… take my idea FWIW.