Dinghy Work


All yachts and power boats intending to cruise beyond their immediate home waters need a tender for emergencies and to ferry crew to and from shores too shallow to approach with the main vessel. Dinghies are expensive to buy, and choosing the right one can make a big difference to the success of a cruise. Let’s look at a few different types of dinghy.


Simple inflatable


Soft-floored inflatable dinghies are used in many yachts and power craft with no davits aft and a stowage-space issue on deck. These boats stow into bags similar in size to a genoa headsail. They can be inflated by hand. Rowable after a fashion, they can also take a modest outboard, but they are limited in range and endurance. Although their inherent buoyancy makes them surprisingly safe, they can be extremely wet. They remain the only realistic tender for many boats.


Small RIB


A hard dinghy, with either a pram (blunt) bow or a pointed stem, makes the ideal tender for anyone who wishes to row ashore. It can also generally carry a useful small outboard, but is unlikely to reach planing speeds. It is by far the driest form of shoregoing transport for the discerning sailor, but sadly it requires more space on deck than any of its rivals. For many production yachts it is simply a non-starter, although it is still preferred by most traditional sailors.


Propulsion


Most tenders have outboards, but oars must be carried against breakdown or fuel mismanagement, and they must be known to work reasonably effectively. It is perfectly possible to cruise around the world in peace without an outboard, and many have done so. The cost is low, theft and pilfering are reduced and the health-promoting exercise is nothing but good, but the dinghy must row well. Sadly, most inflatables do not. Rowing an inflatable When rowing an inflatable, don’t try to make long sweeps. Typical inflatable oars are really little more than paddles, so make short, deep strokes. With any type of dinghy it helps to angle the blades so that they bite into the water on the power stroke rather than trying to feather their way out.


In many ways, the RIB (Rigid Inflatable Boat) is the ideal yacht tender unless you intend to row seriously. Easily driven under power, a RIB can travel fast without a huge, thirsty outboard. RIBs are extremely seaworthy and, because of the way they plane, they are drier than regular inflatables except in strong winds. A RIB cannot be collapsed beyond deflating its tubes, so in all but the largest yachts it requires either deck stowage or davits.


Hard dinghy


Angle paddle blades so they ‘dig-in’ to the rowlocks.


138 | MANUAL OF SEAMANSHIP


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