Storing the dinghy on the hip while moored is an easy, useful practice.
Issue 143: March/April 2022
A mother often finds it convenient to rest a toddler on her hip. A mother ship can benefit from the same approach when it comes to short-term storage for her tender.
Large sailing yachts frequently avail themselves of this option. The tender is pulled alongside, forward of the beam, with the painter secured to the bow of the mother ship. A three-point lifting bridle is rigged, and the small boat is plucked from the water with a spinnaker halyard. She’ll rest nicely against topsides or stanchions when raised 4 or 5 feet.
The tender Heidi is stored safely on the hip of the mother ship.
Smaller yachts, like our 36-foot 1991 Morris Justine, Sundance, also benefit from this short-term storage technique; I find it a great solution for our wooden rowboat, Heidi, when I’m away from the boat for a few days.
Just like toddlers, unattended dinghies are prone to mischief, while a dinghy on the hip won’t wander around or clunk into the boat like one on a tether. It will suffer a lot less abuse than a dinghy on a dinghy dock. The bottom will stay clean, and with the drain plug pulled, the boat won’t collect rainwater as she would if left on the towline behind the boat or at a dock.
Hip storage requires a lot less work than hauling and lifting a boat onto a dinghy rack. It’s superior to foredeck storage because it keeps the foredeck clear (and clean). Also, I can haul the dinghy into place on the hip by myself, whereas getting her over the lifelines and onto the foredeck requires the help of a crew member. For boats with dinghy davits, hip storage clears the transom, which can be convenient in some docking situations.
If theft is a concern, popping the toddler up onto the hip is a smart nightly routine that can stave off a nautical AMBER Alert. Thieves look for the easy targets, and dinghies floating on a painter behind a boat can be stolen without drawing attention. Dinghies suspended out of the water are harder to abscond with quietly and quickly. For additional security, dinghies and dinghy motors can easily be locked to the mother ship with a cable or chain when in hip storage.
Once you’ve built a lifting bridle and established lift points, hauling a dinghy a few feet out of the water is a quick and simple task. I used bowlines when building my bridle so I could easily tinker with the leg lengths until I had them optimally adjusted. I suppose purists would prefer to see splices in place of my bowlines. If so moved, go for it.
To keep dinghy weight to a minimum, I opted for soft lifting rings for the three corners of the boat. Ronstan 4mm x 80mm Dyneema links work well. I luggage-tagged them to a soft dogbone built from a wee bit of 3/16-inch New England Ropes Sta-Set line.
On most boats, a halyard winch will provide all the mechanical advantage needed for lifting. On my boat, the dinghy was catching on the rubrail of the mother ship on the way up. To solve this, I support a 4-to-1 purchase tackle with a spinnaker halyard. This allows me to strike the pose of an archer and hold the dinghy away from the hull with one hand while pulling it up with the other.
After hoisting, I lash the tail end of the lift line to the tackle above to ensure the line won’t slip out of the 4-to-1 lower block cam cleat.
To maintain manageable loads for the tender and lifting rig, a transom or garboard drain plug must be left open to allow rainwater to escape. The lifting bridle should be tilted to assure drainage toward that unplugged opening.
It probably goes without saying, but storing on the hip is a moored strategy; doing it underway is a bad idea. Even when motoring in calm conditions, rolling in a wake could dip the tender in the water, adding unanticipated loads to the lifting and lashing gear. When sailing, the lifting rig will interfere with the sailing rig. In either case, increasing wind and waves would make launching and reverting the dinghy to the towline challenging.
Like most things having to do with boats, dinghies demand compromise. Larger tenders have greater load-carrying capabilities, but they are harder to stow. Dinghy sailing rigs and/or motors can be fun, but the added weight can be a burden. Storage on the hip helps ease the tension. The lifting systems already aboard the mother ship are strong, and there is plenty of room out there off the rail forward of the mast.
Keep that toddler out of trouble. Keep her on the hip.
Christopher Birch is the proprietor of Birch Marine Inc. on Long Wharf, in Boston, where he has been restoring and maintaining boats since 1985. He sails Sundance, a 1991 Morris Justine.
Thank you to Sailrite Enterprises, Inc., for providing free access to back issues of Good Old Boat through intellectual property rights. Sailrite.com
