What kind of line???

[Sam Vickery]

This Thursday we are headed to Catalina for a few days! My plan is to tow the dingy. I have made a bridal for both the dingy and the "mother ship". My question is, what would be the best line to use to connect them? What lenght? 100 feet? I could always pull some in.

Any tricks of the trade that would help me in my first towing?

Thanks,

Sam
86 32-3

 

[windjunkee]

Sam,

You definitely don't need 100 feet. Tow it far enough back that it will slide down the wake wave -- perhaps 30 feet back? Also, we use poly line that will float (kinda like water ski rope) this way it stays on the surface and won't foul your prop.

Jim McCone
Voice of Reason E-32-2
Redondo Beach, CA

 

[Jeff Asbury]

Sam, I use about 40 feet of double braided 1/2" poly. Line. The good suff, like you would use on a sheet. If the following seas are big I pull the dink in closer but usually I let it surf the crest of the wake closest to the stern.

That's my Sister at the helm BTW.

 

[treilley]

I don't like poly because it does not handle or tie well. This is what I use:

http://www.samsonrope.com/index.cfm?ind=1&app=6&rope=101&inst=1

It ties like double braid and floats like poly.

 

[Frank Langer]

My 25 foot line is sometimes about 5 feet shorter than I would like, but you certainly don't need 100 feet.

I have found that the length of the line needs to be adjusted as the speed of the mother ship varies, to keep the dinghy sliding down the wave--speed of the boat affects the following wave. As well, I always pull the dinghy closer when approaching the dock or navigating in a narrow channel. So it would be helpful to have some way of adjusting your line while underway.

I have found it works well on my E30+ to tie the line to a stern cleat where I can easily reach it from the helm to make adjustments (just adding a few wraps around the cleat will bring the dinghy closer, or in calm conditions, I can tie it off to the stern pulpit/pushpit as I approach the dock. I tow an 8' Walker Bay fibreglass dinghy, weighing 70 lbs, which exerts minimal drag on the mother ship. I know the preferred method is use of a bridal, and if I were going offshore, rather than coastal cruising, I would probably use one, but for me the stern cleat works well with no apparent downside.

Frank