inflatable question

[Hartley18]

Originally Posted by cnc33voodoo

i was on a hunt to buy one yesterday.
i ended up buying a 4 person at west marine.
they had a very good deal on it.plus the sales guy was a moron,in a good way.
when i got back to the marina yesterday and opened the box i realised he gave me a higher model by accedent.
well....too bad for him.
now i need a more powerfull engine than my 2hp.

Nah.. just row harder. It's good exersize.

[cnc33voodoo]

quick question...
heading out tonight for a week or so of island hopping.
im planning on towing the inflatable and im recalling when i bought it the sales guy asked if i wanted to also buy a towing kit for it.
can i not just use what i used on my firbreglass dinghy?
(basically a rope).
i noticed someone here describe a "towing bridle".
is this what the sales guy was talking about and is it necessary?
if so can i make one myself?
last time i towed a zodiac i tied a line thru the front side hooks into a triangle and tied off on a cleat on the stern.
is there anything wrong with that?

[sailingdog]

You probably want to use a floating line, like Polypropylene. That will be less likely to get caught on your prop.

[sailingfool]

Originally Posted by cnc33voodoo

....
last time i towed a zodiac i tied a line thru the front side hooks into a triangle and tied off on a cleat on the stern.
is there anything wrong with that?

The problem with that is...if you tow the inflatable in choppy seas, say 4-6 footers, the bridle will often end up jerking the inflatable off the top of a wave. Not a problem other than the direction of pull on the inflatable's D ring patches may be 90 degrees from the tube surface. The D rings are reinforced against forward pull, not downard pull. The jerks eventually start to rip the D rings off the tubes, resulting at least in the need to patch over them if not rtheir seperation.

I add a middle line from handle/eye on the bow of the inflatable to the head of the bridle, sized short so this third line takes all the strain from straight ahead. the two bridle lines serve to limit the yawing of the inflatable.

[bushrat]

I just made the switch after trying a hard fiberglass one for our 27.5 footer. The fiberglass one was nice but a bear to launch and carry. I ended up getting a 9.5 Baltic which came with an older 6hp johnson. It's probably as big a motor I would care to haul around on a regular basis. This rig doesn't plane even with one person? I'm wondering if I should get something smaller if I can't plane anyways. It's rated for a 10 hp but I don't want to handle one. Thinking about trying a different pitched prop or wondering if the top end power is lacking on this old outboard? It seems to run and start great though. I just expected to plane with 6hp??? Anyway we are finding the inflatable much more convenient in every respect. Stores, stows and tows easily. I won't go back.

[cmendoza]

Originally Posted by cnc33voodoo

... noticed someone here describe a "towing bridle"... is it necessary? ...if so can i make one myself?

That was me...

Necessary? No.
Convenient, Yes?

Can you make it yourself? Absolutely!
I used Polypropylene as sailingdog suggested and spliced on a couple of brass snaps I picked up in the bargain bin of a Marine Supply store... that's it!

Easy on, easy off and secure... towed dinghy continuously for about two months from Ft. Lauderdale to Key West and then North to Beaufort, NC.


Carlos & Maria
SV Rocinante

[chucklesR]

If the chop gets real bad just pull the inflatable up so the bow is out of the water resting against your stern. Cuts down on drag and won't hurt a thing.

[sailingdog]

Unless you have a transom mounted rudder.

Originally Posted by chucklesR

If the chop gets real bad just pull the inflatable up so the bow is out of the water resting against your stern. Cuts down on drag and won't hurt a thing.