How do you transport your inflatable

[Catigale]

My experience is that a loaded inflatable (>2 people) will not be rowable over any distance, unless you spend huge bucks that are usually out of line with our boats.

The body will to be too flexible to allow good transfer of power from oars to speed imhe.

I notice that 90% of the people who row on the Cape have a hard skiff or dory...the 10% have inflatables with non-working motors....

[Sumner]

My experience is that a loaded inflatable (>2 people) will not be rowable over any distance, ................

To add to that you aren't going to row it even a short distance in high wind without worrying about ....

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner ... ll-09.html

....getting swept down whatever body of water you are on. Also add high currents to that worry.

For us I wouldn't go to a hard dinghy, but I also wouldn't have an inflatable if I also didn't have a dependable outboard to use on it when needed.

On our recent trip I had to go out and tow two people in a hard dingy that was almost swamping due to their weight and the wind when their battery went dead on the trolling motor they were using while crossing Sunset Cove at Key Largo.

Our dinghy's are great, but can also become dangerous in some situations....

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner ... ll-09.html

....I ended up with a fractured shoulder with a screwed up rotator cuff due to the dinghy, but I'll take the blame and not put it on the dinghy,

Sum

Our Endeavour 37

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Our MacGregor S Pages

Mac-Venture Links

[Catigale]

That story still scares the p*** out of me Sum, and I only read it once...

[DaveB]

Sum, Sometimes you need a redhead with a battery power drill that sets a eye bolt in those all rock anchorage.
I always relied on 300 ft. 3/8 BBB chain to anchor anyware on my 35ft. . The Chain acts as a anchor when sand is only 6 inches deep before it hits coral rock or stone.
The links in the chain actually holds the sand and after 30 plus feet at bottom acts as a anchor before any strain to anchor.
In a Mac. it is not practical to carry that much chain but with 1/4 proofcoil 50 ft. and then 3strand will help big time regardless of bottom type.
Mac's should have a anchor locker to store a Fortress F11.
Dave

My experience is that a loaded inflatable (>2 people) will not be rowable over any distance, ................

To add to that you aren't going to row it even a short distance in high wind without worrying about ....

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner ... ll-09.html

....getting swept down whatever body of water you are on. Also add high currents to that worry.

For us I wouldn't go to a hard dinghy, but I also wouldn't have an inflatable if I also didn't have a dependable outboard to use on it when needed.

On our recent trip I had to go out and tow two people in a hard dingy that was almost swamping due to their weight and the wind when their battery went dead on the trolling motor they were using while crossing Sunset Cove at Key Largo.

Our dinghy's are great, but can also become dangerous in some situations....

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner ... ll-09.html

....I ended up with a fractured shoulder with a screwed up rotator cuff due to the dinghy, but I'll take the blame and not put it on the dinghy,

Sum

Our Endeavour 37

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Our MacGregor S Pages

Mac-Venture Links

[Sumner]

....I always relied on 300 ft. 3/8 BBB chain to anchor anyware on my 35ft. . The Chain acts as a anchor when sand is only 6 inches deep before it hits coral rock or stone.
The links in the chain actually holds the sand and after 30 plus feet at bottom acts as a anchor before any strain to anchor....

You know funny you mention how the chain will anchor the boat. On the Mac we use a 22 lb. claw and a 25 lb. Manson and a lot of times they come up with a lot of mud bottom on them. When we bought the Endeavour the first purchase was a 35 lb. Manson and the boat has probably a least 30 feet of I think 3/8 chain on the rode. I was dreading pulling the anchor up since there is no windlass on the boat, but does have an anchor roller.

So the couple times we anchored out moving the boat from Ft. Myers Beach to Charlotte Harbor Boat Storage it was a pain pulling the heavier chain up and I thought the anchor would be even worst. Well when I had the chain all up the anchor came up real easy and had no mud on it and was completely clean. I'm wondering if just the chain was holding the boat. The 4 nights we were on anchor we had winds of at least 20 mph on two of them and we weren't protected and had good size waves. We never drug at all and I wouldn't of wanted to of been on the Mac anchored where we were with the waves. It wouldn't of gone anywhere, but it would of been a very bumpy night/day.

It almost seems like under the conditions above that the Endeavour puts less strain on the gear than the Mac does. The boat is 20,000+ lbs. so might take more to get it moving. I'm sure there will be times that we are glad that we have the Manson, but did you every experience anything like above when you had your larger boat? Do you feel that since we weren't in extreme conditions that the chain by itself was really holding the boat?

Thanks,

Sum

Our Endeavour 37

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Our MacGregor S Pages

Mac-Venture Links

[David Mellon]

You don't want to get caught drilling holes in the rocks at Lake Powell, it's illegal. They don't even want you tying onto the rocks. The best "anchorage" I found was when I put extra fenders on both sides of my V-Hull and ran it into a canyon. Sat out a storm without moving at all wedged into that canyon. It was quite awesome, the depth sounder read 300' and the walls went straight up at least 200'. There is no place I've seen to compare with the middle third of Powell.

[Catigale]

Very clever Dave. Would be nice and stable too.

On Cuttyhunk, in mud, my chain works it's way down into the mud in the first day, I actually just realized this was a lot of my holding power last month. Swinging 145 degrees with the wind won't pull the chain out of the mud, let alone the anchor.

Thanks for sharing the experience DaveB.

[Québec 1]

This is how I do it with my 7foot 7 dinghy




Q1

[Catigale]

Portland Pudgy will be on my full time cruising list - complete with sailing kit for fun.