[davidpm]

I moved a boat about 100 miles from the Hudson river to Shelter Is, LI NY with the owner of a newer 43' sailboat.

The trip was through Hell Gate and Plum Gut.

I strongly suggested that we do not tow the dinghy. It is an inflatable with an air floor so wasn't that hard to deflate and re-inflate two days latter.

The owner of the boat couldn't figure out how to hook up his power inflate to a battery and said that the manual pump would not inflate the floor.

We compromised and figured out how to tie it on the fore-deck. It rode there well although it made forward visibility a little harder.

The owner gave me a lot of grief, said he was just kidding but I couldn't be sure about that decision.
So we kept the dinghy on the for-deck for the first day of about 80 miles then towed it the last 20 miles.

The weather was supposed to be mild but it is the LIS which is notorious for fickleness. Do you think I was too cautious or would you have done the same?

 

[Sabreman]

Makes sense. If you weren't going to use it anyway, there isn't any reason waste fuel and speed towing the thing.

 

[TQA]

Putting it on the foredeck was absolutely the the right decision. I might tow mine a few miles in very sheltered conditions but on a passage like you made NO WAY JOSE!

Even though it is a hassle single handed to get the 18hp OB up onto the rail and my heavy RIB on to the foredeck it is Raisy Daisie [ Sammy Farha ]

 

[tempest]

The deck certainly beat towing it 100 miles. But I'm with you. I would have preferred to have it deflated and out of the way.

I don't know what kind of manual pump he has but my Footpump inflates the air floor and inflatable keel with no probem.

WEST MARINE Bravo 7 Foot Pump | West Marine

 

[harmonic]

I used to tow mine until I got caught out in a squall,its very hard to lift an inflatable dinghy on deck when its half full of water and blowing 25 knots it almost blew me over the side,not good with 2 young kids on board who cant sail.You wont catch me towing a dinghy anywhere now.

 

[SVAuspicious]

I think you did the conservative and responsible thing. You may find that like me you'll take (hopefully) educated risks with your own boat that you won't with someone else's.

 

[Jaramaz]

The 43 ft owner hired you as you have competence he doesn't. Why is he then questioning your decisions? Why do you let him?
This is, I think, the important question.

The issue of towing or not ... is not a real issue. You do not tow 100 miles because you cannot find the equipment, or doesnt k now how to operate it. Claimining the manual equipment is not up the the job - OK, why is it on board?

/J
PS: I tow a lot because I am lazy. That is something competely different.

 

[Minnewaska]

I would never tow over that distance. Too many variables that could change.

 

[cthoops]

While I haven't personally bern through Plum Gut or Hell Gate, I've read enough about them to know that I wouldn't tow my dink through them, nor would I tow it for 100 miles.

 

[socal c25]

I used to tow mine across the Catalina channel all the time (25mi.) with no problems, I would of preferred to stow it on deck BUT it is difficult with a 9'6" dinghy on a 25 foot boat, that was even too big for a 30 ft boat.

 

[adki110]

I have been through both multiple times, dinghy was always on deck or davits. I watched a flooded dinghy almost pull a 38 foot power boat under going through Plum Gut. The owner had to cut the painter to save his boat. It was a very close sinking in the standing wave.

 

[smurphny]

You absolutely called it right. I would never even consider towing a dink through the Gut or the East River for a whole bunch of reasons.

 

[aeventyr60]

If you had towed the dink and it was lost at sea, what would the owner have said then?

 

[Minnewaska]

The real answer is to never do a delivery with the owner aboard, unless you're very comfortable telling them they are wrong. It is rare to have a relationship like that. This was a pretty minor issue, the next test gets tougher.

 

[-OvO-]

I don't understand why you put it back in the water for the last 20 miles. Were there some problems with keeping it on the foredeck?

 

[CalebD]

Several years ago I was lucky enough to secure a crew spot on a 50 something Bendytoe from Tortola to Turks & Caicos with just myself & the owner as crew. The owner had taken the boat across the Atlantic with the ARC to Grenada so I felt I was in very competent hands on a well equipped boat.
The owner had recently bought a WM inflatable dink which he made a tether & bridle for it for towing it. I was a little surprised by this but realized that he made sure to keep the motor for the dink on the back rail while underway. Still, the home made bridle worried me and sure enough, after 3 days of towing the dink one of the lines chafed through and I noticed that the sounds the boat made were somehow different. Then I noticed that the dink was no longer faithfully trailing behind but floating free several hundred yards behind. I roused the owner from the seat of ease below and we were able to retrieve the $2K inflatable dink.
I'm not sure why the owner did not deflate the dink for the 400 mile crossing but I suspect he will not likely make that mistake again.
As usual david, you're instincts were spot on.

 

[davidpm]

If you had towed the dink and it was lost at sea, what would the owner have said then?

That is where it got interesting.
He brought up my insisting on pulling the dink about a dozen time on our trip to Westbrook. I finally asked him if he was serious or just breaking my chops.
He said he wasn't serious But!!!

Then after we got the dingy in the water at Westbrook and the motor sorted out, it was still in the wrapper, we take off for the Marina about a mile from where we anchored. We got a couple hundred yards and I remembered we didn't have a navigation flashlight. He said it didn't matter to him as I was the paid captain and he knew I had a house and business.
Joking, maybe but their is no way to tell. We went back to get a flashlight.

I had a great trip we got along fine no problems at all. It is just that some people make me nervous.

I have a lot of respect for Hank from OPO this captaining thing has issues.

 

[CaptainChaos]

The real answer is to never do a delivery with the owner aboard, unless you're very comfortable telling them they are wrong. It is rare to have a relationship like that. This was a pretty minor issue, the next test gets tougher.

I think the better answer is to make sure you know before hand who the captain is, the owner or someone else. If one feels comfortable with the owner being captain then do the trip, otherwise find another one.

I know people that tow dinghies in open water but I prefer not to for many of the reasons cited here. Davits can be ok if being pooped isn't an issue and the davits are strong enough.

 

[Jaramaz]

He said it didn't matter to him as I was the paid captain and he knew I had a house and business.
Joking, maybe ...

Ooops, one of those.

Whereever, whenever, in life, there must be a mutual respect, otherwise things doesn't work out well.

This guy ... no.

Guess this is the same 43 boat ( and owner) as have been described on some other recent threads. Story seems to have many issues.

Easy to say that responsibility and roles should be sorted out prior to leaving port, but with a guy like this, such agreements are always broken.

/J

 

[juggleandhope]

Some rich guys (or just guys, or just people?) feel an intense need to be the one "in charge" of the situation - or at least in charge of the narration of the situation - with them looking "right" and you looking "wrong".