Carrying a Dinghy

[Canada Joe]

Does anyone have any experience/suggestions for carrying a dinghy on a 232 Gulfstream with twin F150 outboards? Would davits work to hang one behind the motors or would the balance be put way off? Any weight restrictions? Best type of dinghy to use?
Thanks!

 

[Hookup1]

A 232 is a small boat to begin with and a dinghy needs to be a reasonable size to be useful. Not sure what you are trying to do here. Maybe towing it wound be the best answer.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

Are we talking about an actual 10'-12"+ aluminum dinghy or something more like an inflatable life raft that's only going to be used in an emergency situation? If the latter, I know of companies and guys on here as well as previous Grady White's that have been sold where they put them on top of the hardtop. If the former, and for a 10'-12"+ aluminum dinghy? I think you'd have to have a tow line for it as I don't think you'll have anywhere close to enough space for it to sit on your boat and I'm thinking it would be pretty difficult to do with only one or two people to move around even if you could find a spot. Perhaps you should tell us a little more about yourself, what you'd use the "dinghy" for and so forth, so that we could give some better suggestions?

 

[Canada Joe]

My cottage is on the West Coast of British Columbia. When I’m there I’ll be leaving the boat on a mooring bouy and need to get to the beach without getting soaked. The bay is a bit protected but can get waves to 2-3 fr. The dinghy should be able to get my wife and I into shore and be light enough to pull up to above the high tide line. I will be getting transom wheels as well to make this easier. We’ll also use it for gunkholing on overnight trips. I’m thinking it will be about an 8 ft inflatable, preferably with a rigid hull as the rocks can be rough on the beaches. I may or may not use a small 2 hp outboard on it.

 

[Hookup1]

I had a West hard bottom inflatable with a 10hp for my 42' Egg Harbor. Davit on the bow. The dinghy was heavy to handle. It didn't run well either with two people.

I don't know if towing it around is an option for you.

 

[D.D.]

You are better off towing than anything. Also, from the bottom conditions you described, the life of the dinghy would be significantly shortened. I would install a dock so that I could safely reach my destination.

 

[glacierbaze]

If you go there often enough, why not leave an unsinkable dinghy on the mooring?

 

[Mustang65fbk]

I agree with glacierbaze, I've got a beach cabin on Whidbey Island down here just north of Seattle and have a similar setup where I've got a permanent mooring buoy out in front of my cabin. During the summer, if I got out fishing when it's a low tide, the tide will go out probably a hundred yards or so from the beach. It can also get pretty soupy in some spots to where I don't want to drag our 12' Lund aluminum dinghy out over it, even with the wheels on the back and sink up to my knees. So, I bought a kayak for going out there by myself in, attaching it to the boat, taking the boat off the buoy and then clipping the line of the kayak to the mooring buoy. If I'm picking up people on the low tide, it's all sand and I'll nose up to the beach, pick them up and then take off from there. If not, then I'll just start fishing when I get off the buoy as there's pretty good fishing right in front of our cabin. If the conditions are questionable or if you are going out with 2-3 other people and it's high tide, I'll take our 12' Lund out and do the same thing where I'll just attach it to the cleat on the boat, take the big boat off the buoy and then attach the Lund to the mooring buoy and leave it. We're in fairly protected waters in the Puget Sound as well, but you will get 4-5 waves at times when it's really windy and when freighters go by, but I've left out 12' Lund out on the buoy for days at a time without any problem. I can't really help out with towing a dinghy or storing one on your Grady, but do have over 30 years of going back and forth from the beach in a row boat, kayak or standup paddle board. For going back and forth to shore, I'd get a 10'-12' aluminum dinghy with the wheels on it and something that's light as an outboard/fuel tank just add extra weight imo, and I'd just row back and forth if it's fairly protected with mild winds/currents. Or, depending on how rocky the beach is, you could drop them off on the beach at high or low tide?

 

[JJF]

To be quite frank/honest, I don't think it's a good idea.

 

[seasick]

I would also leave the dingy at the mooring. Although the 232 is a 'big' boat, it is a big Small boat

 

[DennisG01]

I would also leave the dingy at the mooring. Although the 232 is a 'big' boat, it is a big Small boat

Agree.

About the only way I can think of to carry a rigid inflatable is to pull it up over the side of the boat and lay it across from one gunwale to the other, but flip it upside down to make securing easier.

 

[glacierbaze]

How far is it to the cabin, and how often do you go?

 

[Canada Joe]

Thank you all so much for your input. I really appreciate your help sorting out my thoughts on this.
I think what I'll do is get a small rowboat to keep on the shore at the cabin and maybe carry a light kayak or an inflatable on the Gulfstream for gunkholing. We have a dock up at the cabin on Texada Island, but its a community dock and we cant leave larger boats tied up hogging the available space during the busy season. We can however usually access it temporarily so I could leave the rowboat ashore and just tie to the dock then get the rowboat out the Gulfstream and tow it over to the mooring bouy.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

I bought a cheap 10' kayak at Walmart for around $180 this summer, of which when I launch the boat for the season, I'll put it in the truck bed and then in the back of the boat when at the ramp. I'll put the boat in the water, drive the boat around to our cabin with the kayak in the back, put the boat on the buoy and then push the kayak in the water and climb in. I do this at the start of the season as well as at the end of the season where I do the same thing but opposite. The kayak that I bought is only about 45 lbs, is plastic so you won't have to worry about it scratching up your boat and you can carry it with just one person. I think even the lightest 10'-12' aluminum boats are probably going to be at least double that weight, and you could probably even get a smaller/lighter kayak depending on your weight. I bought the 10' version because it will hold up to 275 lbs, of which I weigh about 265 lbs. All of the others though had smaller weight ratings around 200-225 lbs. Is the community dock always in the water? If so, I'd kayak out to the boat, bring it into the dock and get any other people or items that might be coming onboard for the day. If the dock is high and dry at low tide then perhaps adding a 10'-12" aluminum dinghy as well for when you might need it.

 

[Fishtales]

At some point, a bigger boat would be the best solution. A few solutions for a short haul. Install on hardtop, inflate when you need it and deflate when you don't or tow it behind you and store in the cockpit when the boat isn't in use. I did them all with the Marlin and all have big tradeoffs. In the end, I ditched it but will be going back to it next spring as my yacht club has a nice dingy dock and the charge is only $80 a season.

 

[drbatts]

No easy solution here. Bringing a dingy on my 305 sucks, using a dingy on my previous 265 sucked even more. Cannot imagine it on a gulfstream. If you want to try carrying it on the boat then Your basically looking at a soft floor inflatable with floor slats that rolls up rather then a hard floor. You will never be able to get the hard floor into place on a boat of this size. I have tried carrying the dingy on the bow, in the cockpit and towing it. Never put it on the hard top due to antenna arrangement. I have also tried deflating and, then re inflating it in the cockpit, which can be done but only if you really hate yourself. I end up just towing it. If you want a rib you will have to tow it. In my case, I'm using the dingy to ferry people and dogs back and forth from an anchored boat to a local island. I use a tow rope for a tow behind tube, and a bridle as it tows the best this way. Over the years I have used a couple of west marines, a merc and the current dink is a 10ft rib. There was also a thread on here a few years back by someone who put in a davit and cradle on his marlin, however I don't think this will work with a gulfstream.

 

[232Grady]

One suggestion, see attached. Advanced Elements 10 1/2, more stable than a fiberglass Kayak, lighter, easy to carry. Very durable on rocks-barnacles, etc.
Ours are going on 10years!
I am trying to find an old picture, Seattle Yacht Club. Grady with a aluminum bracket over both motors, swiveled to fold back to launch a RIB. It was pretty cool, 8ft (I guessed)