Dinghy boarding from a C-22

Ken O

Ken O

Member
We need a better method to get in and out of our dinghy. The dinghy is a 10 ft. skin-over-frame Whitehall-style, weighing around 40 lbs. It stores well, rows well, and handles waves well. We can get it to and from the cabin roof fairly easily. The only weak point is boarding from our C-22. We have a transom boarding ladder for swimming and emergency reboarding, but the transom does not work well for dinghy boarding.

What solutions are people using? It seems like some sort of movable ladder on the side of the cockpit might work. We are not as nimble as we once were...

Thanks.
 
I would suggest securing the dinghy to the grab handle on the side of the cabin and to the aft cleat. Fenders along side, as well. To enter the dinghy you can then either put a short ladder with gunnel hooks over the side into the dinghy. Or you can sit on the gunnel and then move and sit down in the dinghy.

Very nice dinghy!
 
I think I have solved the same problem for entering my very light kevlar canoes (10 ft and 12 ft Wee Lassies, 16 and 25 lb, respectively), Minnesota 2 (42 lbs) from the C-dory, at least mostly. The problem is that they are so light they tip easily, so, until you are in them sitting in the bottom, they are very unstable. The Minnesota 2 also needs some extra weight in the bottom for stability. I tried lashing the sides, and that kind of worked. Now, I lash them, take 5 gallon plastic Scepter water containers, fill them, and put one or two into the canoes. Having the 40 or 80 lbs in the bottom of the canoe makes the canoe much more stable. In the case of the Wee Lassies, I return them to the boat, for the Minnesota 2, I use them to balance and stabilize this otherwise tippy canoe. I got the containers to use on Everglades "Wilderness Waterway" trips by canoe where you need to carry all or most of your fresh water. Earlier, I removed the water tank from my CD22, and carry whatever freshwater I need in them. As I said, its a partial solution, but right now it works for me.
 
I like your dingy. In order to make your dingy a stable platform to exit from, it will need to be secured to the side of the boat where you could then step on the outside of the dingy seat to use as a step to exit over the gunnel of the C-dory. I would consider installing a stainless ring low on the bulkhead to tie a line from there to the dingy gunnel. and secure the bow or stern as well. Here is an idea of what could be used but maybe find something more directed toward marine use. https://realtruck.com/p/bull-ring-retra ... l+Products

Sorry, not sure how to make this web location active so you can copy and paste into the search area. This is a retractable anchor for a pickup truck bed but gives an idea of what may be used that is non-protruding when not in use. Good luck
 
Beautiful pulling boat~! We have always done the sit on the side of the boat, rotate the butt around technique. Or the step on the pontoon and into the inflatable boat. The issue you may have with this dinghy is the rounded chine--and lack of stability as you step on one side as in distinction to an inflatable where the inflated pontoon is as stable as is the floor. We had the same issue when using a hard dinghy or a 16' Gloucester Gull Dory as a dinghy with larger boats. In these we had a mahogany boarding ladder, but that would be too big for the C-Dory.

I might consider a removable ladder where it can be detached and perhaps even used as the bow ladder. The down side is that it costs $500. You could make your own mounts and use quick release pins thru the pivot point of the U shaped deck fitting on a standard Windline ladder. But then you have these rather obtrusive deck fittings.

Here is a link to an article on The Hull Truth, along with the link to the person who sells these mounts. The photo is a 5 step ladder but a 4 step, or perhaps even shorter, can be used as well.

An advantage of this is that the ladder stands out from the boat, and you are not fighting the gunnel hook, plus the ladder stows in a flat configuration, takes up little space, and a second set of the flush mounts is easy to install for the bow to the beach exit.


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My 22 has two swim steps. I can board the dinghy from one swim step and then manage the dinghy position from that step while any passengers board from the other step. Having grab handles on the back of the hull also helps.
 
Ken O":2qb95k03 said:
Dinghy photos:

http://www.c-brats.com/modules.php?set_ ... _photo.php

http://www.c-brats.com/modules.php?set_ ... _photo.php
Click to expand...
I'm surprised that boat weighs only 40 pounds... what is the "skin" made of?

Because it is not a flat bottom boat I can see how it might be tippy to climb in from the side. If you could "hang" it from a cleat while boarding that might help.

While I think that dinghy would be awesome on the water, the logistics of loading the dinghy on to/off of the roof, and boarding the dinghy on the water makes me think a flat bottom inflatable might be best for me.
 
The skin is 11 oz. Dacron sail cloth.

We bought the plans here:

https://gaboats.com/collections/row-boa ... classic-10

The plans say the boat is actually 27 lbs., but we went with the heavier Dacron and added floorboards. It really is no trouble to get the boat in and out of the water--we just need to collapse the Bimini.

The suggestions so far have given me some good ideas to tinker with for boarding. I think we will get one more West Marine flat fender, secure the bow and stern to cleats and add a cam cleat for a line to steady the dinghy at mid-gunwale. This would be a start.
 
Ken O":3uwx7k1a said:
BTW, we considered an inflatable, but we like to row, and this boat negates the need for another outboard.
Click to expand...
That's pretty cool. I'm struggling with the whole dinghy thing, but I have been advised it would be good to have one, with the dog and all.
 
Like most things that involve risk, especially to those in older age groups
(C-Dory owners...), a good dose of common sense and a reality check is needed.

On the topic if stepping down into a skittish dinghy from the gunwale or transom
of a boat, know your abilities and your limitations. Accidents happen. Risks and
sequela are higher for injuries from falls in the elderly.

Consider this real option: just don't do it.

Aye.
Dirty Harry even said, "A man has got to know his limitations."
 
Good point, Foggy. I think we will still proceed with setting up a system for boarding and try it out. We have a lifetime of experience in canoes and kayaks, (many more years than with the C-Dory) and have been pretty good at weighing risks. I think the key for us with the dinghy will be to judge the conditions (wind, waves, cold, are we tired, etc.) and always be willing to not go. Swimming is fun, but only when you plan to go swimming. Thanks for your thoughts.
 
Boarding a skittish dinghy can be tricky, even for the nimble.

If you have the mindset to "do it anyway", thinking ladders, securing it to a cleat or
using fenders will safely facilitate your decision, guess again.

My suggestion for the stubborn is to practice*, a strange concept to some with self
assured high degrees of balance, dexterity, judgement, experience and ability to
recover from injuries despite their advanced age.

Aye.
Again, Dirty Harry's words, "Think you're lucky, punk?"

* In waist deep water from a dock, without assistance, with perhaps head
protection and your cell phone ready to speed dial 911, practice stepping into a
canoe or seating yourself in a kayak until your imagined abilities are confirmed.
 
We have a 7' 6" inflatable dingy on Golden Heart, that is stowed on the cabin top while underway. We tie a 20' painter to the front handle on the dingy so we can just flop the dingy into the water right from the cabin top. Then we tie the dingy painter off on the stern cleat, leaving enough slack to easily turn the dingy parallel to the swim step from the swim step, stay low while entering dingy, then pull in painter slack till we can reach the cleat and untie and we're off...
 
I cobbled up a kayak stabilizer that attaches to a folding boarding ladder. Took a couple of lines that hooked onto the ladder on one end and a big fender on the other. I ran the lines inside of some PVC pipe so the fender stands off of the boat. It works great..I just stuck a pic in the B. C album
 
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