Towing Boston Whaler

[llldks]

I would like to tow a 1972 13 ft Boston Whaler/25hp Yamaha motor behind a 1972 53ft MY. I have a single centerline eye on the whaler and two sampson posts on the MY. I would be towing at +/- 9 knots in Galveston Bay and would not see more than 3-4 ft waves typically. Couple questions:

1. Should I make a bridle between the sampson posts and if so, should the tow rope be fixed in the center or allowed to slide on the bridle.

2.How long should the tow rope be and what type of rope .

Any suggestions appreciated-
Larry
Seadation

[RT46]

I have towed the same set up at speeds up to 20 kts.

The whaler does fine back behind the second wave up to about 17-18 kts

once over 17 kts things go wild back there

I towed it from the bit on the bow with the engine up.

The whaler will track alot better with the engine down, but I have had some issues with collecting eel grass.

Once, With the engine down and the extra weight and drag of the collected eel grass, I dammaged the transome on an inflatable

[Pascal]

For short low speed tow, a simple bridle will do, don't let the line slide along the bridle (wear)

I prefer tow line to float, for obvious reasons, and adjust the length based on wake pattern

That said, I hate towing a tender, it s so easy to lift it that I rarely do

[rsmith]

What ever you do don't use nylon. It streches and can become a sling shot if something breaks.

[GJH]

I've taken to towing my 13 foot Whaler behind my 56MY lately at 9 knots or so. The reason, just FYI, is that I like to use my Whaler when docked at our marina and my current slip has the finger pier down the side the Whaler loads from to the boat deck via the davit. I use 3/4" three strand polypropylene because there was a big hank of it on the boat when I bought it, and it floats. Rather than a bridle from the stern cleats I cleat the poly to the starboard aft spring cleat, with another length of line looped to it an ties off to the port stern cleat, to keep it centered and provide some flex. This makes it very easy to adjust length and haul the tender in tight for close quarters maneuvering. Some day I'd like to have a purpose built bridle and tow rig but this has worked well. We have been in some pretty rough 4 foot choppy beam and following seas. The Whaler tracks beautifully, and we lower the motor just enough to get the skeg in the water. This has all been open ocean use plus entering and exiting an inlet.

[SKYCHENEY]

I tow our 1986 13' Whaler SS behind our 53 as well. No problems with a bridle. As stated, just get the Whaler set so it is climbing the second wave in the wake and it will ride there all day. Motor up is fine until you hit 16kts, then watch out as she'll start to wander from side to side and out of control. Put the motor down and all is well.

[bigbill]

i have heard that dragging a piece of chain behind the dinghy will stop the side to side at speed. has anyone done this. my rib tows fine at slow speed, but wanders at 15 knots and above. if you put the motor down and don't get it perfectly centered, she will pull to the side pretty bad.

[Angela]

I’ve asked Ed to chime in on this one as he knows the details better than I do. We towed a 15' Whaler to the Bahamas and back. Ed is a TowBoat captain, and he used a special kind of towing line with a very particular anti-chafing tube. He also put a bigger backing plate on the back of the towing eye on the Whaler, just for some extra strength and peace of mind. The bridle was secured to the back of a 58' MY by the corner aft cleats. The bitter end of the tow line was tied to the towing eye of the Whaler - we did not use any hardware there, such as a snap/hook. I do not remember whether we used a round SS ring to secure the two line to the line that was connected between the cleats or whether that was also tied in some fashion. Our set up worked well and we were never concerned about losing anything back there.

[Mike36c]

I've made dozens of Bahamas crossings towing boats to 20'. I made my bridle out of 1/2" 3 strand nylon which will give in heavy seas. Speaking of Rough seas I've seen 5' of blue water go over the skiff and have seen 5' of daylight under it. If you spend enough time out there you WILL get a butt kicking eventually. I've always towed with the engine trimmed down for that reason, just center the engine and secure the wheel with rope/straps.

[llldks]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone. Mike, what length was the 1/2" 3 strand nylon line and how did you connect it to the eye in the bow of the dinghy?

Larry