towing with outboard motor...WARNING

[captlloyd]

Originally Posted by Dennis.G

Not sure what this has to do with towing. Yes, falling out of a dingy with outboard motor and no kill lanyard is dangerous. Watched it recently at anchor. Dinghy wildly circling again and again. Can be deadly.

Patrol boat came by with a good solution: They towed a floating line in the way of the dinghy. Rope fouled the prop and killed engine. No trying to jump on board the running dinghy required.

That is a great solution !

[Hardhead]

Since we're on unrecognized safety issues - kids hanging over the bow of boats is another serious danger. One big wake, off they pop, and right under the boat & prop. Terrible every which way.

[Paul Kelly]

I've had small outboards both with killcords and without (a push button to stop). My dinghy is generally only a tender to take me out to my big boat.

I prefer the killcord versions as you are more guaranteed to stop when coming alongside. The push button needs a bit of a push and in a lumpy sea or with other distractions it is possible to fail to push it properly. Even when going very slowly it's possible to overshoot your mark. Much less chance of that with a killcord. But then again that can be more fiddly to reset!

[sailing_gal]

To prevent accidentally pulling the thing out and killing the OB on my dinghy, I just attach the end of the lanyard to my foot - keeps my hands free and I can reach alot of stuff without pulling out the cord from the OB with my foot.

[Ken Pole]

For what it's worth, towing with a dinghy is best done in reverse i.e. with the bow pointing to the towed vessel. We do it routinely at our club with boats up to 36 feet as well as long dock sections which have to be moved before our harbour ices up. This obviously requires two persons in the dinghy, i.e. one to drive and the other to manage the towline. It also keeps the towline away from the O/B prop.

[Dougtiff]

I had a friend who fell overboard off his dinghy at St. John years ago, the outboard prop got him, right across his cheek bone, he was floating face down, was found quickly by another cruiser, and taken ashore, he survived, i didnt use the safety lanyard until this happened, do now.

[mikedefieslife]

Originally Posted by Mr B

Doesnt your outboard go back to idle when you release the throttle,
Thats a dangerous move on your part if it dont,

I've not come across an outboard that does this. It's not a motorcycle, the sea is incredibly bumpy especially when planing. If the throttle was sprung back I can't imagine how you'd accurately hold the exact throttle position you want whilst bouncing up and down violently.

[Cheechako]

All my outboards always went back to idle if I didn't grip. I'm not sure it was a spring thing or not, I think there is a small spring on the bellcrank in there usually. But the vibration makes it happen mostly. I actually dislike that it was that way. But is safer I suppose.

[ramblinrod]

Originally Posted by quahauq

pulling string of logs or towing large boats with outboard in skiff/small towboat? Outboard had wrist clip I didn't have attached to my wrist. Imagine my 8yr old son in the bow watching the boat going in circles at high speed winding me up in the tow rope after losing my grip on the OB tiller and being thrown overboard! Wouldn't take long before the prop got me!

Now there is a revelation...

Warning! Defeating safety equipment may be hazardous.

[chris95040]

Originally Posted by quahauq

pulling string of logs or towing large boats with outboard in skiff/small towboat? Outboard had wrist clip I didn't have attached to my wrist. Imagine my 8yr old son in the bow watching the boat going in circles at high speed winding me up in the tow rope after losing my grip on the OB tiller and being thrown overboard! Wouldn't take long before the prop got me!

No one can tell if this is a question or a hypothetical situation or something that happened to you.

And it doesn't seem to have anything to do with towing specifically.

And it's spelled "quahog".

Nice.

[Chuck Hawley]

Originally Posted by sailing_gal

To prevent accidentally pulling the thing out and killing the OB on my dinghy, I just attach the end of the lanyard to my foot - keeps my hands free and I can reach alot of stuff without pulling out the cord from the OB with my foot.

Yes, and this works really well on console boats (like big RIBs) where the lanyard tends to wrap around the steering wheel. It allows some freedom of movement, but tends to get pulled off less frequently.

Chuck

[Hyrdflyr]

Originally Posted by Ken Pole

For what it's worth, towing with a dinghy is best done in reverse i.e. with the bow pointing to the towed vessel.

I've found over the years that trying to move any larger displacement boat by towing can be extremely hazardous. After losing a drive system on a 40 foot trawler, I found I could push it with my 10 foot dinghy with a 15 HP Johnson much more efficiently and safely than trying to pull it. Just have someone at the helm of the pushed vessel.

[fxykty]

Originally Posted by Hyrdflyr

I've found over the years that trying to move any larger displacement boat by towing can be extremely hazardous. After losing a drive system on a 40 foot trawler, I found I could push it with my 10 foot dinghy with a 15 HP Johnson much more efficiently and safely than trying to pull it. Just have someone at the helm of the pushed vessel.

Or barge with the dinghy alongside. Very tight breastlines and spring lines make this a very secure arrangement. In bigger seas maybe not though.

We’ve barged a 38 foot Hanse with a 9 foot soft bottom RIB and a 5 hp motor. Slowly (2.5 knots or so once we got going). We were able to get her up a channel to a marina and onto the fuel dock without much trouble, with the yacht doing the steering.

[mikedefieslife]

Originally Posted by ramblinrod

Now there is a revelation...

Warning! Defeating safety equipment may be hazardous.

Sounds like one for US citizens. Like those stickers they have on car mirrors.

[BugzyCan]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

So you shouldn't take your dingy out on a calm day if there is any chance of boat wakes...or rain?

Do you often go out in a dingy in rough water naked? I would probably pull my rain jacket down to cover the button, that is sitting on my wrist, or inside my jacket around my neck, to keep water off it, knowing it will stop my motor.

It's called adaptability.