INFLATABLE DINGHY LIFTING STRAPS
©
2014 Tor Pinney - All Rights Reserved
For lifting inflatable
dinghies with soft or removable soles.
I bought a 9' inflatable
dinghy to take cruising, intending to carry it in davits during
short crossings. Its plywood transom had a secure attachment
point for a davit hoist line, but there was no provision for
hoisting the forward end. I tried attaching lift lines to the
port & starboard towing rings, but realized they would chafe the
tubes over time and might eventually pull off the glued-on
D-rings. So I designed a wrap-around lifting strap, and it works
so well I thought I'd pass the idea along.
The strap is made of heavy
duty 3½" nylon webbing covered with some chafe-resistant
material my canvas shop had - possibly the same as the dinghy
fabric. The strap passes around the entire front end of the
dinghy, with a seamed joint at the sides to shift the angle so
that it lays flat against the tubes all the way around. On top,
the strap-ends overlap amidships, level with the floatation tube
tops a foot or so abaft the bow, and are strongly stitch-bonded
together. Through that sturdy joint I installed an eyebolt to
which the davit hoist line clips. To prevent the sling from
slipping forward, it is lashed to the dinghy's port & starboard
towing rings. The strap's eyebolt is tensioned with a line run
aft through the transom's mid-ship attachment point and brought
up tight with a rolling hitch.
Although the lifting sling is
easily removable, I find it convenient to just leave it on when
I'm using the dinghy. In fact, when the dink's tied behind the
boat I habitually clip on the davit line as a second "safety
painter." As an added bonus, whenever rainwater collects in the
dinghy while it's laying astern, I can empty it in a minute from
the cockpit by lifting the bow with the davit line so that the
water drains out transom drain plug.
~ End ~
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