DS II Water Tow

[Cal]

Brought my DS2 in from the mooring to drain the remnants of Issac from under the hull liner. It was the usual pain, yawing in both directions but more into the wind (90 degrees), S 5kts, than away from the wind (20-30 degrees).

No rudder, CB up (beaching), going slowly, and a bridle attached to each bow cleat. Same problem going out to the mooring earlier this summer using the bow eye.

I wondered if the extra water was making it difficult but the earlier attempt was when the boat first went into the water. What does it take to get a DS to tow in a straight line?

Cal

[Moose]

I remember reading somewhere, maybe in an old owners manual, that the DS should be towed via a rope attached around the base of the mast. Check this out for yourself before trying it though.

You also have to tow the boat below it's theoretical hull speed, so very slowly. It's a light boat and prone to bouncing around, especially if it starts to plane. Might want to consider having someone on board to man the tiller and keep the boat in line.

[jeadstx]

My boat had to be towed this summer after my capsize in June. It was very full of water, very swamped. Towing was slow due to the added weight of water and me hanging on the stern. It was towed using the bow eye, board down partially. Someone from the tow boat was in the cockpit. From my vantage point it towed in a fairly straight line.

I would think it would keep it from yawing by having the CB down 4" to 6".

John

[GreenLake]

If you attach the tow rope around the mast, you apply forward force at the pretty much the same point where the forces from the sails would be transmitted to the rest of the boat. And you can expect that the places is strong enough to take the towing forces for that reason. That's why small sailboats of any kind are usually towed that way.

I've had a bow eye fail on me - the entire load goes to a single bolt with the kind I have on my boat - and I wouldn't use it for crewed towing. Having someone in the DS when you tow it would be the way to do it, I think. I occasionally get a tow off the lake when the wind dies right after our local beer-can race, and that's how we do it. Works fine.

In a way, you could think of towing a comparable to downwind sailing (mast pushing the boat forward), so you don't want your CB down all the way. As it sits aft of the mast, you'd think it would help orient the boat, but if it's allowed to generate lift it would push the boat sideways.

[Cal]

I hadn't thought of using the mast as an attach point, just assumed the bow eye or cleat would provide a more centering pull. I will try the mast and report back.

Both times I was by myself and no one to steer. The one time I did have help the rudder kept it straight as expected.

Had the CB up to avoid the grass and seaweed near shore, I will experiment with it down a few inches.

I was rowing the first time so the speed was slow. This last time was with a 6hp outboard just above idle. The greater the speed, the greater the yawing.

Cal

[K.C. Walker]

Cal

Every once in a while I tow my boat a couple of miles from the mainland out to the island. I put the motor down a little bit to stabilize it. I also drop the board a couple of inches. It's not perfect, but not too bad. Oh yes, and I use the bow eye. I have not tried tying the rudder to midship but that might work. I'll probably be doing the tow next week so I may try the rudder.

[LennyR]

I don't have experience towing a DS, but I do have many miles under my keel towing dinghies behind larger sailboats. Your problem is that the bottom of the boat is smooth (on purpose, of course) and there is no lateral resistance to keep random sideways forces from starting a yaw that is then maintained in cycles by the wind created by your forward motion.

The way to damp out the yaw is to provide lateral resistance, the further aft the better. Lowering the board 6"-8" may be enough; attaching the rudder, with a line across the cockpit holding the tiller centered, would do it nicely. You can bring the DS near to the beach, hop out of the motorboat to release the rudder hold-down line, then pull your DS up on the beach. Have fun!

-- Lenny

[Cal]

A slightly lowered CB did the trick yesterday and the DS didn't show any tendency to yaw. Strong crosswind (S13G23) made for an echelon formation and a damp ride in the dinghy.

Bow eye appears to be fairly stout, I beached on the sea grass and used my tractor to pull it up a six foot high bank with a 30-40 degree slope. Gale warnings were up on the coast last night so it was nice to have it off the mooring.

I have been sailing for a long time but this is the first boat that tries to go sideways when towed. I will have to try it on a calm day, with the CB up, to see if it is the crosswind.

Cal