[PUP] Dingy Wheels

[Peter Pisciotta]

> I have a 9' inflatable tender that is a spare.  It's
> very, very light with a plywood floor.  It has 
> NO motor.  Would it be a reasonable substitute 
> to use the light rather than clutter
> up the RIB with wheels?

Some of the West Coast cruisers like Bob Austin could
better answer this, but my opinion is no - this isn't
a workable solution except for absolute budget
cruisers. The distance from anchorage to beach is
often long, afternoon winds strong enough to make
rowing difficult (especially in an inflatable), and
the beach-surf untenable without a motor.

I have to admit, I have never mastered the art of
surf-landing a dinghy. On San Miguel Island off Santa
Barbara CA, I watched a charter boat deliver
passengers via a large dinghy through 4-foot surf. The
"coxswain" waited for a favorable set, maneuevered
close to the beach, then quickly turned the boat
180-degrees so it was bow to the waves. He then put
the engine in reverse and gunned it into the beach,
killing and lifting the outboard at the last moment.
I've never seen that done before or since. I launched
from the beach a few minutes after he did with far
less eloquonce and a lot more wetness. It's one of
those things that seems like it would be easy....

I've been a hopeless addict of Latitude 38 since it
was first published in the mid 1970s. This San
Francisco based sailing magazine (and sponsor of the
Baja Ha Ha sailing event, the template for FUBAR)
features many cruiser stories. A common theme emerges:
big, fast dignhy with wheels. Those who substitute
lessor dinghies almost always upgrade. There are
exceptions - I met one fellow last year on a sailing
cat who carried a pedal-powered cat water-bike
contraption. He was quite happy with it.

Your spare dinghy may see some use, but probably not
much. Hopefully, you'll dawdle long enough that
launching a RIB is a small price to pay for days of
fast transportation. A word of caution thought:
outboard theft is sadly not uncommon. The temptation
is just too great in these anchorages near poor towns.


Speaking of which, does anyone have any better locking
solutions that the slide-bar and master lock which
tend to rust-freeze within a few months? Other theft
prevention measures? Painting the engine cowling so it
hides the size and makes it hard to hide?

Peter
W36 Sedan
San Francisco