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E39 Dinghy on deck

gadangit

Member III
I've titled this picture "now what?". The dinghy I had was a inflatable bottom type that I didn't love, but fit down into the v berth for crossings. The dinghy I want and now have will need to be stowed on the deck. I think I have two options? Strap down right side up on some chocks or upside down with some sort of customized chocking. The deck is still nice and clear either way.
Anyone want to add your opinion?

(I used MS Photo to resize the file to "best for thumbnails")

Chris
20191231_150156 Small.jpg
 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Well. No shortage of opinions here.

Since you have a lifting rig, I'd store it right-side up on minimal chocks. Chocks made of grey Trex or similar, maybe.

I'd figure that I'd need a full UV cover in either case, so why not have convenience.

My little Eastport pram is stowed on the foredeck upsidedown. It covers the forward hatch and the transom ties to the dorade guard.

Transverse ties to secure the bow got in the way), so I installed a folding D-ring on the deck.

The bolts were accessible through the headliner zipper. I overdrilled to protect the core. I believe the D-ring would withstand a breaking wave trying to sweep the dinghy off the deck.

A rigid-hull inflatable like yours is certainly best if you want to get anywhere far or fast.
 
Last edited:

markvone

Sustaining Member
Hi Chris,

Wow. Nice to have that kind of room to stow the dink of choice on deck. I'd be inclined to keep it upright and covered for simplicity and convenience. However does access to the mast or function of the forward hatch (open - partial/full) while the dink is on deck push the dink stowage position forward or forward and upside down over the partially open hatch? Maybe the current position is good and you just raise the dink bow up for hatch open ventilation? I'd still strongly prefer right side up.

I'd try to get the cover some pitch to force rain/water run off if right side up. Bonus storage in the dink under the cover.

Mark
 

gadangit

Member III
One reason for the RIB is to hopefully gain some efficiency with our torqueedo. That is the prevailing theory.

We tried inflated right side up and upside down. Inflated right side up actually creates a pretty big blind spot dead ahead and seems like a lot of windage. Inflated upside down offers the best visibility and windage of the two.

I'm pondering right side up with the front tube uninflated. This allows for a robust tied down onto chocks and better visibility.

Perhaps I can make some gathering straps to reduce a cover to fit this partially inflated state?

Access to the mast is slightly reduced with the tube extending past, but I think it is doable. Getting the pole onto the mast is not an issue.

I temped on a antal fairlead about 7' from the mast end of our pole and routed the staysail halyard through down to my temp lifting rig on the dinghy. Using the windlass capstan with remote and the pole to boom out the dinghy seems to work, proof of concept anyway. Dinghy lifts flat and is relatively easy to keep control of by one person. Can't take all the awkwardness out, but my theories are holding firm.

Chris
 

gadangit

Member III
I used some 2x8 cedar doubled up for a 3" base and covered both bearing surfaces with boat blanket. It took some time to get the mating surfaces correct on the dinghy side, amazing how much the hull changes in three dimensions in just 3 inches. Still looks bulky up there, so still work in progress.

20200119_133335 4MP.jpg
 

markvone

Sustaining Member
Chris,
I used to place my 10 foot, 4-piece wood floor Achilles inflatable in that same position on my E33RH when I didn't want to tow it. I would deflate the two big perimeter tubes and the keel tube to shrink the on-deck footprint (to get past it) and lower the vertical profile. The solid vertical transom at the mast was the tallest point of the deflated dink but the overall height was fairly low. I have a nice 12vDC air pump with a 30' cable extension that re-inflates quickly (they probably have battery versions now). Obviously, your rigid bottom and chocks raise your profile but how much lower is your profile with the tubes deflated?

Mark
 

gadangit

Member III
I have a nice 12vDC air pump with a 30' cable extension that re-inflates quickly (they probably have battery versions now). Obviously, your rigid bottom and chocks raise your profile but how much lower is your profile with the tubes deflated?
Mark
Hi Mark-We have a powered pump as well, we'll see how long it lasts. When we walked away we decided probably deflating the front tube at a minimum and possibly all. We will do some testing here soon and then again when we get a cover. Still need to get a couple of folding padeyes down for the transom tie downs.. I think we will use either the stanchion bases or the bow pulpit or all of them to tie down the bow.
 

gadangit

Member III
I wonder how she'd look stored upside down in that same location - but that's moot now.
It really is the best looking option. We test fit and didn't like how it covered the forward hatch and the head hatch. For visibility and overall appearance it was definitely the best option. I'm not finished yet, so we can always go back to that. The chocks are not attached to the boat and I don't plan to either.
Right now we can fully open the head hatch and get the forward hatch up about 8 inches.
I honestly think this will be a work in progress for the next year as we start to use it regularly.
 

gabriel

Live free or die hard
I've titled this picture "now what?". The dinghy I had was a inflatable bottom type that I didn't love, but fit down into the v berth for crossings. The dinghy I want and now have will need to be stowed on the deck. I think I have two options? Strap down right side up on some chocks or upside down with some sort of customized chocking. The deck is still nice and clear either way.
Anyone want to add your opinion?

(I used MS Photo to resize the file to "best for thumbnails")

Chris
View attachment 28230
Prob not a big deal but if you keep the dink right side up it might tend to collect water during a choppy passage? Prob just a matter of leaving the drain plug open but that’s just one more thing to worry about. Just my 02.
 

Tin Kicker

Sustaining Member
Moderator
Doesn't that interfere with the fore sail when close hauled or tacking? At the very least it looks like it'd catch the slack sheet.
 

gadangit

Member III
Prob not a big deal but if you keep the dink right side up it might tend to collect water during a choppy passage? Prob just a matter of leaving the drain plug open but that’s just one more thing to worry about. Just my 02.
Drain plug is out as we speak! No cover on the dinghy yet, so it is a big bucket up there. I'd imagine that we would do the same while on passage and then forget to put the plug in when we launch the dinghy. In fact, I can guarantee the plug will be forgotten more times than I care to admit.
 

gadangit

Member III
Doesn't that interfere with the fore sail when close hauled or tacking? At the very least it looks like it'd catch the slack sheet.
My initial look says we will be okay with the staysail close hauled. We can tack the jib with the innerforestay up, but the genoa hangs up. I'd imagine we'll find the same issues with the dinghy in place. We don't have any deck sweepers, so there is some clearance.

All things to try out in the bay over the next few months.
 

gadangit

Member III
We lost access to the front hatch, but now just hoist and douse into the dinghy.
The ratchet straps make this an absolute rock solid stow with the chocks.20200222_161912.jpg20200214_163841.jpg
 
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