Where do you put your dingy?

[northoceanbeach]

I'm going on my first cruise, going to Puget Sound and I want to do alot of anchoring. I'm only going to buy a 22-25 ft. boat. Some come with dingies, most don't. I have a 9'6" kayak. This not only would get me to shore, it would be a lot of fun. Do you think it would fit? Or would it take up too much deck space. I've seen boats docked with a kayak strapped to their deck, but I don't know if anyone cruises with one. Thanks.

[Faster]

We cruise with 2 9'6" kayaks, as do many others these days. Most set them on the side decks or just forward of the cabin, depending on boat size. We have carried them strapped to the outside of the lifelines so that there is no interference with activities and sailhandling on deck. They are lightweight but you do need to be sure that the hardware (stanchions and their attachments) are up to the task. Also in heavy air beating they tend to get too close to the water and can take some water in - they get rather heavy in a hurry. On deck is safer in the rough stuff.

They do not tow particularly well. We did tow them one season and had several random capsizes, and an upside down kayak is one hell of a good speed brake.

A 10 foot kayak on a 22 foot boat will present some challenge.

Another thing I've seen is strapping a kayak to the dinghy and towing both.

The big advantage these things offer, besides exercise and recreation, is their inherent ruggedness for beaching - barneys, oysters, rocks, etc all death to an inflatable are no problem for these rotomolded plastics.

[PBzeer]

I see a lot of kayaks tied off to the lifeline stanchions, but in the size range you're looking at, you won't know until you see the boat, how doable it is.

[lbdavis]

Depends upon how much I've had to drink!! Sorry, couldn't resist.

I think you're gonna find a kayak will eat up too much deck space on a boat that size. There are many benefits to a "full sized" tender as opposed to a kayak:

- holds more than one
- holds lots of stuff
- can be sailed or motored

I tow my Walker Bay. It tows nicely even in moderate conditions. I can lash it down to the foredeck if things get nasty.

Another beauty about a Walker Bay or any other plastic dinghy is that you can beat on it just like Faster beats on his kayaks.

[Freesail99]

I also have a Walker Bay, but I have a davit that I installed on my boat.

[CharlieCobra]

I tow my new SeaEagle behind Oh Joy, works fine. Of course, she's a bit longer than yours at 38'.

[sailortjk1]

I will have to think about that for a while and choose my words carefully.
My first impulse is to say that I put it where ..............

I just better not respond to this one, I have been in enough trouble lately.

[Sapperwhite]

I have a Wilderness Systems Tsunami 140 (14') on my side deck. I also tow my inflatable. My boat is 27' LOD.

It really depends on the boat. You say "22-25' boat", that could be a lot of things. I have one of the biggest 27' boats I know of aside from a Bristol Channel Cutter (28'1" LOD).

If all else fails, you could tow a kayak if you put the cockpit cover on it so it doesn't get swamped.

[northoceanbeach]

I'm hoping to go and find a cal25 although I've been looking on craigslist for 2 months and haven't seen one yet. Those have a nice big deck.

[anderbra]

A friend added a bracket to the ouboard of his stanchions (on a Catalina 28)and carries his kayak on it's side. Works well, but also creates a lot of windage.