CHAPTER 15 Loading
In calm conditions a good dinghy can accommodate a surprising weight of bodies and general cargo. When the going cuts up it can be a different story. Many manufacturers issue loading recommendations, which we do well to note. However, in the end it is down to the common sense of the skipper. Many a crew has rowed ashore in a heavily loaded tender on a calm evening only to find half a gale blowing when they return. At such times it is better to make two trips, however inconvenient, rather than risk the highly dangerous overcrowded alternative.
Boarding
Board a dinghy carefully, with due regard to the effect an individual’s weight will have on trim. By far the safest place to board from the yacht is amidships if freeboard permits. Even if the deck is too high above the water to make this a one-stop proposition, it may be better to use a solidly constructed ladder than to take your chances on the stern platform. The reason is that if there is any current or a strong wind, the dinghy will lie sweetly alongside, while under the stern she will be trying to blow or stream off continually unless securely tied up. It’s easier to board from a stern platform if the tender is brought up beam-on across it, but this is exactly where the dinghy does not want to be in anything other than calm conditions. If you’re stuck with having to board in this way, make sure the small boat cannot flip out as you step in.
Anchor and cable
A small anchor can be useful, not only to maintain position if the outboard fails and you can’t row for any reason, it can also be handy for holding off when the dinghy is left on a lee shore. Lay out the anchor as you come in, wait until everyone is ashore, then haul off a few feet, setting the hook as you do so. Now pull in hard on the painter and stretch the warp out, hop off and with luck the boat will hang just out of reach of danger until you return. If it’s warm weather, you can haul off properly, then wade ashore with the long painter.
Painter
A short dinghy painter is a waste of time. On a tight dinghy dock it’s also antisocial. To tow successfully a painter should be long enough to let the boat hang back to the next wave at least. To leave the dinghy alongside a tidal wall of even modest significance, you need a good 25ft, while to secure it on a busy pontoon with a short line stops anyone else using the berth. If everyone’s dinghy hangs off a few boat’s lengths, all can manage with ease.
number of sailors are lost between ship and shore every year. A sensible attitude is based on the assumption that some unforeseen circumstance will upend the dinghy. The question then is, ‘Am I confident that in the ambient conditions all aboard can save themselves without life jackets?’ Interestingly, the US Coast Guard do not insist that life jackets are worn by adults, but that one must be carried for every soul in the dinghy. This is not necessarily a policy recommended by this manual. It is included because no regulations are in place in British waters at the time of writing (2006), and it may offer a guideline for those who feel they need one.
Life jackets
Some countries insist that life jackets are worn in dinghies at all times. This catch-all policy is, of course, as safe as you can get. Without being gratuitously macho, others would say that they only wear life jackets in the dinghy occasionally, perhaps when they expect to be returning late in a strong tide. The decision is a personal one, but before making it, everyone should bear in mind that a large One dinghy on a short painter spoils everybody’s day.
MANUAL OF SEAMANSHIP | 139
Dinghy Work
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