Towing a small fishing skiff?

[Valhellian]

Towing tender

I tow an 18 foot fibreglass tender with a 125 Merc on it. Have had no trouble with this. If the weather gets heavy, we just stay at anchor. Just don’t forget it’s there if you need to back down suddenly. Getting your tow line off of your drive shaft can be tricky, and there is the possibility of bending your shaft!! Getting in and out of your slip will be a challenge also. Good luck.

 

[caltexflanc]

BTW, my expected tender/dingy is a Livingston 14. Some people have suggested that the TwinVee and Livingston are copied hulled. Truly amazing the seas that boat will handle.

That's a great boat for what you are planning to do. You've got some fun ahead of you!

 

[Xlshrimp]

I’ve opted to use a simple light 10’ aluminium tender and she tracks well on a short line. Stored on the swim grid on her bumpered gunnel with a swiveling transom mount. Docking easy while on your hip, and I felt she was more durable then an inflatable. Safer then the little rowboat, not concerned about scratching the tinny. Eventually I’ll have her on davits, but it’s fishing season not fixing season now!
Like others said being flexible, drama free is key, always adapting to conditions. ����

 

[Art]

Our Tollycraft.

Our tow behind four seater, 15' Crestliner with 50 hp. Johnson at side tie while we're at anchor and on an excursion.

PM me with name and phone if you want to chat. Been boating for many decades.

Cheers! - Art

 

[dwiggl]

This is a great thread!
Brings up some questions about a (new to me) 11" Zodiac rib-jet.
These these little bastard boats are a hoot to drive as they have a cantankerous 2 stroke Yamaha jet-ski power unit and go like stink. (they stink too). They tow straight.
They are sort of heavy, 800 lbs, rigid bottom, and it is scary hoisting the thing up onto the top deck with the davit crane. So I prefer towing. I am highly concerned about losing the boat under tow.
I would like some guidance on properly rigging the tow bridle,Line material, proper fasteners for quick release instead of knot tying, etc.
I already have the length thing and actual towing down pat. Just want a bad-azz-duel- double throwdown rigging for peace of mind. Open to all advice.
And one more thing: since the jet drive intake is probably receiving water and potentially rotating the crankshaft, do you think this may produce accelerated wear on the engine?

 

[Xlantic]

This is a great thread!
Brings up some questions about a (new to me) 11" Zodiac rib-jet.
These these little bastard boats are a hoot to drive as they have a cantankerous 2 stroke Yamaha jet-ski power unit and go like stink. (they stink too). They tow straight.
They are sort of heavy, 800 lbs, rigid bottom, and it is scary hoisting the thing up onto the top deck with the davit crane. So I prefer towing. I am highly concerned about losing the boat under tow.
I would like some guidance on properly rigging the tow bridle,Line material, proper fasteners for quick release instead of knot tying, etc.
I already have the length thing and actual towing down pat. Just want a bad-azz-duel- double throwdown rigging for peace of mind. Open to all advice.
And one more thing: since the jet drive intake is probably receiving water and potentially rotating the crankshaft, do you think this may produce accelerated wear on the engine?

I have a similar boat, an Avon Seasport Jet, which is one of the dinghies I have and occasionally use. I have towed that Avon several hundred miles across the Mediterrenanen without issues.

I always use a bridle. For towing I have used either half-inch (or so) Nylon three strand or 1 inch (or so) polypropylene. Nylon is good and stretchy and polypropylene floats.

At times I have used an elastic line that connected the mid-point of the tow rope to the flying bridge so that, when the boat slowed down or stopped, the tow rope would be pulled in, away from the props.

One thing to check is that the nuts holding the towing eye in the dink are tight. One time I noticed the ones in my Avon were loose which could have led to a really bad situation if they loosened all the way , specially during an overnight passage.

With or without the automatic retrieval by the elastic line, the Admiral always stands-by in the cockpit when we stop, say to anchor.

 

[Xlantic]

And one more thing: since the jet drive intake is probably receiving water and potentially rotating the crankshaft, do you think this may produce accelerated wear on the engine?

My Avon, which probably has the same engine as yours (80 hp Yamaha Waverunner engine) is directly connected to the turbine, no transmission and no clutch.

As such, when the engine turns, the turbine turns, and vice-versa. The water forced through the turbine while towed would not generate enough torque to rotate the engine's crankshaft.

 

[Xlantic]

I would like some guidance on properly rigging the tow bridle,Line material, proper fasteners for quick release instead of knot tying, etc.

I use one of these at the dinghy end. For a quick release at the mother-ship end i would just untie from the cleats or, at worst, use a knife.

 

[TBill36]

Look up tow line on the internet - there is some good info on the design. You do not want a shallow angle on the bridle as the shallower the angle, the greater the load at the attachment to the mother boat. Nylon bridle for shock, polypropylene for main tow as Gilberto mentioned. Also make sure the attachment at the dinghy is adequate - may want to add a backing plate. Finally, I purchased a rearview mirror with a suction cup that attaches to my console when towing. Makes it easy to glance back and make sure it's still there.

 

[smitty477]

This is a great thread!
Brings up some questions about a (new to me) 11" Zodiac rib-jet.
These these little bastard boats are a hoot to drive as they have a cantankerous 2 stroke Yamaha jet-ski power unit and go like stink. (they stink too). They tow straight.
They are sort of heavy, 800 lbs, rigid bottom, and it is scary hoisting the thing up onto the top deck with the davit crane. So I prefer towing. I am highly concerned about losing the boat under tow.
I would like some guidance on properly rigging the tow bridle,Line material, proper fasteners for quick release instead of knot tying, etc.
I already have the length thing and actual towing down pat. Just want a bad-azz-duel- double throwdown rigging for peace of mind. Open to all advice.
And one more thing: since the jet drive intake is probably receiving water and potentially rotating the crankshaft, do you think this may produce accelerated wear on the engine?

We have found that shorter, heavier, and jet drives are all a problem towing. They have a few problems any of which we would want to avoid entirely...
- short and heavy makes them unstable towing in sea states
- harder to get the bow up and keep up with attachment points
- larger drag on tow bridle and all tow gear
- jet drives most often will hydrolock a cylider if the water cooling hose is not blocked before towing
- jet drive pickups act like a 'rake' with any floating or semi floating objects
- jet drive clearances are designed to be driven by the shaft and not the impeller vanes. The clearances typically are small (0.005") and can be a problem when vane driven.

 

[psneeld]

As stated above (maybe earlier but I missed it) if towing a jet drive ski or boat, check recommendations for shutting or pinching off water cooling line.


They may have resolved this on newer vessels, but some were very prone to it a few years back.


In an emergency tow, pinching off the line worked. but if towing regularly, I would find a method not likely to damage the line.

 

[Xlantic]

It is easy enough to put a quarter-turn valve in the cooling-water intake line. You just need to be sure to open it to use the Jet! (Maybe hang the "key" to the Jet on the valve when shut off.)

Nonetheless, at least in my Jet (Yamaha Jet-ski engine), the cooling-water intake is between the turbine blades and the exhaust nozzle. While towing, the exhaust nozzle will be out of the water so there would not be much pressure pushing water up the cooling-water line.

But, safety-first is usually a good policy so consider the valve!

 

[caltexflanc]

These folks are each very helpful scoping out exactly what is be$t given your $pecific mother$hip/tender combination. Highe$t quality. At the very least this gives you a good idea of what works best:

https://ropeinc.com/ropes-cordage-products/mighty-tow-yacht-tender-towing

https://www.miamicordage.com/products/tow-bridles/

 

[smitty477]

We have found that shorter, heavier, and jet drives are all a problem towing. They have a few problems any of which we would want to avoid entirely...
- short and heavy makes them unstable towing in sea states
- harder to get the bow up and keep up with attachment points
- larger drag on tow bridle and all tow gear
- jet drives most often will hydrolock a cylider if the water cooling hose is not blocked before towing
- jet drive pickups act like a 'rake' with any floating or semi floating objects
- jet drive clearances are designed to be driven by the shaft and not the impeller vanes. The clearances typically are small (0.005") and can be a problem when vane driven.

I neglected to mention one other issue with many of these jet drive crafts - corrosion.
If you are towing around one of these that do not have specific corrosion protection with zincs, isolation, etc they should not be left in the water for long periods of time when not in use. More than one of our friends found this out the hard way after one season in salt water.

 

[smitty477]

Our towing bridles have a "V" at each end for a two point attachment for each side. The towing side has 3 strand twist with chafe guard installed , the main line is amsteel with chafe guard on both ends, the towed boat side is a "V" made with asmsteel with SS clips one each side for a two point attachment and quick connect/disconnect.

 

[ERTF]

Ended up with a 14 ft Twin Vee with 50 hp. I can tow at 20 kts. Towed it in 4-5 ft seas with no issues. Low bow height worried me, but ended up being a benefit as pulling up on beaches and just stepping off is a great feature and it rides high enough when towing that it doesn't stuff.

Haha I take my 14ft TV offshore Miami all the time, it's a sweet 1 man fishing boat. I've been out past 20 miles dolphin fishing. A higher bow would make me even bolder, but I just pick my days. I troll weedlines alot, so that does keep the bow up when the seas get sloppy.

 

[wendybrann]

We have an older 40’ Ocean Alexander Europa Trawler, with a new 9’ double floored Achilles RIB with a 9.9 HP 4 stroke electric start (Group 24 Battery) on a Weaver Davit on the swim platform, and an older 17’ Fiberglass, V-Hull Center Console Angler with a 60 HP Evinrude 2 Stroke. We typically tie the dinghy off so they usually float side by side at anchor. Since we have both the dinghy and the Angler, when we need to head to a dock for fuel, we are able to “ditch” the Angler and beach her or tie her off in the mangroves so she isn’t part of the docking equation. Then we just go pick her up when we’re done at the dock (usually within sight or very nearby, for an hour or less).

We have towed just the dinghy behind us before for short trips in the ICW without the Angler with no issues. We are preparing to install cleats on the flybridge to tow the Angler when the dinghy is up on the davit (so the lines will go over the dinghy and not chafe along the sides). We are not planning any Gulfstream crossings with this set up, just tooling around the Keys and maybe a bit on the Atlantic ICW.

I’m interested to see what the OP ends up doing with his small fishing boat in tow.

Also, with no intention of hikacking the OP thread here,
any more experienced comments or suggestions on our setup?

Wendy & Larry
“Whitestar” - Fairwinds!

 

[SteveK]

Towing in itself is not the problem as most boats will tow without effort. I towed an 18 foot inflatable just once without effort. Not until I got back and went to the gas dock did I realize never again. Fuel consumption was double at least. Consider that and carry on.