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Cruising Roo · 12-01-2023, 03:15

Hello. Now I know I am asking so many bloody questions and I WANT to reply to them all but...I do not know how to get to where I posted it despite one member telling me. What I also learned is that "general" questions just do not "cut the mustard" on sites and I am learning. If I have not responded to your reply. OMG..please do not think I do not appreciate it and having joined this site less than a week ago (I think) and I most certainly will return the favour for others when I know what the hell I am talking about. This question is so elementary and perhaps silly but here it comes. I am thinking of towing a small 13 foot alloy tender with 35 PTT motor with full covers to keep the weather out. Do you think this is a good idea in terms of fuel economy on the trip or am I better to install a lift to put in on the hull. The covers I will install will stand up to what I can imagine for the type of motoring I am doing. Oops. As of today…I am going motor boat 100% and any sail options are off the table unfortunately but life is what it is. Thank you sooo much. Darren

**Pete7** · 12-01-2023, 04:00

Regular occurrence to have the dinghy turn upside down if it's rough. How would your outboard handle that?

Yachts tend not to tow more than a short distance because the drag can take 1/2 knot of your speed. So yes if you are just popping round to the next bay, but beyond that no, lift it on board.

Pete

chrisr · 12-01-2023, 04:06

agree...tow is for short distances or sheltered waters only. just too risky otherwise

and think hard about a RIB instead of a tinny. your boat will appreciate it ! (also much more stable)

cheers,

Muaddib1116 · 12-01-2023, 04:17

I think you'll need to provide more details about the boat you will tow the dinghy with. Depending on the size of your primary vessel, a 13ft dinghy with a 35hp motor is generally considered small. If it is, then your primary vessel is probably big enough to carry it on board.

Also, I'm assuming you are talking about a Tinny, not an aluminum hulled RIB? What do you mean by cover? A cover for the motor? or a cover for the whole boat?

ranger58sb · 12-01-2023, 04:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cruising Roo

I am thinking of towing a small 13 foot alloy tender with 35 PTT motor with full covers to keep the weather out. Do you think this is a good idea in terms of fuel economy on the trip or am I better to install a lift to put in on the hull. The covers I will install will stand up to what I can imagine for the type of motoring I am doing. Oops. As of today…I am going motor boat 100% and any sail options are off the table unfortunately but life is what it is. Thank you sooo much. Darren

Incorporating a powered dinghy into your plan is more than just a small boat. It's a whole system of boat, outboard, fuel, sometimes battery maintenance... plus pesky details like how you'll launch it, recover it, transport it.

Latter depends much on the mothership. Tow? Lift? Carry where? Stern? Bow? Boat deck?

And in turn can affect your decisions about which mothership to pursue.

Alloy tenders can beat up the mothership. Not insurmountable, but that's one reason (of a few) why you see so many inflatables/RIBs used as tenders.

I've only towed for very short distances in protected water... and I didn't like doing that. Extra effort to get in and out of a 4-way slip with a towed dinghy...

What's a "35 PTT" motor?

-Chris

Muaddib1116 · 12-01-2023, 04:55

I'm guessing a 35 horsepower power tilt/trim.

Pretty big tender in my opinion. It becomes "normal" sized around 55ft. I'd say it only becomes a "small" tender if your primary vessel is above 65ft.

rslifkin · 12-01-2023, 06:12

I'll agree that's a big tender. We carry an aluminum 12 footer (no console or anything and a much smaller outboard). And we frequently get comments on it being the biggest dinghy someone's ever seen. It's right at the limit of what we can manage size-wise on our 38 foot powerboat.

Padding a hard tender (aluminum or otherwise) is certainly possible. I've done it to ours. The only spot I need to do something about is the handles on the aft corners, as it's possible to smack a boat with them and do some damage if you're not careful. But the rest of the dinghy is sufficiently padded that you can't really damage a boat with it unless you try.

The picture below shows both just how big a 12 footer is to carry, and how we've padded ours.

Bill O · 12-01-2023, 06:34

Darren,
Do not know what area you will be towing your dinghy, but sooner or later you will get in rough water and wish you were not towing it. Once this happens, it is usually too late.

As the example above, davits would be a good option if you are going to go with an alloy 1 piece dinghy. Could do a 2 or 3 piece alloy nester if you want to store it on deck.

Again from the above pic, would agree a 12' of similar construction may be about the largest dinghy to stow in davits. Not certain you need a 35 hp to put that 12' on plane. Maybe a 15-18hp would do.
Lots to think about, but getting your boat first will help sort things out.

rslifkin · 12-01-2023, 06:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill O

Again from the above pic, would agree a 12' of similar construction may be about the largest dinghy to stow in davits. Not certain you need a 35 hp to put that 12' on plane. Maybe a 15-18hp would do.
Lots to think about, but getting your boat first will help sort things out.

After adding trim tabs to it, ours planes with a 6hp, although a 10hp would probably be a better choice (and would certainly be fun). The 6hp is good for ~13 kts with a total weight of ~450 lbs (dinghy is ~260 including outboard, fuel, oars, anchor, etc.). Increase the total weight to ~650 lbs and it's good for 9.5 - 10 kts and still planing. Like many hard dinghies, the weight capacity is somewhat limited, so 750 lbs total weight would be fully loaded for us (legally). That's enough weight capacity for the 2 of us, the dog, and some stuff. Or 3 people and no stuff depending on the weight of the people.

Thinking about it, while more power would be fun, I'm not sure how useful it would be in the real world. Anything beyond 10hp would be a waste without a different hull shape I think. As it stands, if it's not almost dead flat, I end up backing off a bit when alone to avoid pounding myself (and the dinghy) to bits. With 2 people it could do with a little more power, but probably not a lot. The extra weight (and having the weight a little further forward) does make it ride a lot better, so it could probably handle going a bit faster than it does now when loaded. With 2 of us in the dinghy, I've run it WOT into a 25 kt headwind and 8 - 10" chop. Made about 8.5 kts and the ride was plenty comfortable.

**Jammer** · 12-01-2023, 08:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by rslifkin

I'll agree that's a big tender. We carry an aluminum 12 footer (no console or anything and a much smaller outboard). And we frequently get comments on it being the biggest dinghy someone's ever seen. It's right at the limit of what we can manage size-wise on our 38 foot powerboat.

Padding a hard tender (aluminum or otherwise) is certainly possible. I've done it to ours. The only spot I need to do something about is the handles on the aft corners, as it's possible to smack a boat with them and do some damage if you're not careful. But the rest of the dinghy is sufficiently padded that you can't really damage a boat with it unless you try.

I have a 14' aluminum boat (with a 9.9) that I have towed as a tender in protected waters. We towed it extensively on a bareboat charter of a 45' houseboat on the Crane Lake/Namakan/Rainy Lake chain on the USA/Canada border. I have it fendered up but not as well as yours. I like what you've done around the bow and may try something similar although right now I don't have any trips planned where we'll be using this as a tender.

On my 10' dinghy I have a D-shaped EPDM rubber bumper adhered all the way around the gunwale, which has worked well so far:

Shrew · 12-01-2023, 08:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cruising Roo

I do not know how to get to where I posted it despite one member telling me.

1) Goto the top right-hand side of the screen and click on your user name where it says "Welcome, Cruising Roo"

2) Goto the Statistics tab

3) Select one of the following:

"Find all posts by Cruising Roo"
OR
"Find all threads started by Cruising Roo"

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cruising Roo

What I also learned is that "general" questions just do not "cut the mustard" on sites and I am learning.

The more information provided in the question will yield more information in the responses.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cruising Roo

If I have not responded to your reply. OMG..please do not think I do not appreciate it and having joined this site less than a week ago (I think) and I most certainly will return the favour for others when I know what the hell I am talking about.

There is no need. Think of it like a group sitting around a social gathering. Responding to each and every post is not only unnecessary, it's kind of awkward. Answer questions, ask for clarifications.

Shrew · 12-01-2023, 08:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cruising Roo

This question is so elementary and perhaps silly but here it comes. I am thinking of towing a small 13 foot alloy tender with 35 PTT motor with full covers to keep the weather out. Do you think this is a good idea in terms of fuel economy on the trip or am I better to install a lift to put in on the hull. The covers I will install will stand up to what I can imagine for the type of motoring I am doing. Oops. As of today…I am going motor boat 100% and any sail options are off the table unfortunately but life is what it is. Thank you sooo much. Darren

I tow a 13 foot fiberglass Boston Whaler behind a 39 foot trawler. Boston Whaler's are unsinkable AND self bailing (with the garboard plug removed). A tinny is neither of these things.

The Whaler is 1,100 lbs wet. A tinny is too light. I'd be concerned about flipping or swamping. If you're towing this behind a sailboat, I have concerns that you'd be able to keep this boat bailing with the garboard plug removed.

I'd look at towing an aluminum rib. The aluminum is lighter than fiberglass and has a more substantial towing padeye. I don't see how you're going to keep the cover affixed while towing.