The Dinghy - an essential tool for your sailing charter in Croatia

Why is your Dinghy essential for your sailing holiday?

First of all, what is a Dinghy?

The Dinghy is a small rowboat or an inflatable rubber life raft that is, in most cases, an essential part of your obligatory equipment on your chartered yacht. Usually, it will come with an outboard engine depending on the size of your chartered yacht. It is essential because, for example, your sailing yacht's deep keel prevents you from going to places like shallow bays with beautiful beaches; therefore, having a dinghy is an essential accessory that extends the capabilities of your yacht.

You'll be using your tender a lot when sailing. If you're going to be making several shore excursions in the bays, you'll need a sturdy and reliable dinghy.

Mooring buoys

You will often use the Dinghy when moored to a buoy instead of anchoring. If the buoy doesn't have a line to grab it, you may have had to lasso it first. If your boat has a high bow, you can use the Dinghy, which doesn't have to run its engine to get the mooring lines in the right place.

Rescue support

The Dinghy is an excellent way to get help for sailors who want to do other water sports. For example, stand up paddlers, kite surfers, and windsurfers should have a backup plan if something goes wrong, and the Dinghy can pick them up if equipment failure happens or the wind suddenly stops. You can get to the coast by following a group of swimmers on a dinghy. As a solution, the Dinghy can be placed between the swimmer and the approaching jet ski or turning boat.

Think about how you will get into the Dinghy from the water. The sea lion "flop" works for more active people, but most people find it easier to use a ladder.

Some pieces of advice:

When leaving with a dinghy, what should you do, and what should you avoid?

1) Wear a kill cord at all times!

2) If there is a swell, keep the Dinghy away from the docks by using a small anchor.

3) Ensure the crew has waterproof bags for things that shouldn't get wet, like their personal belongings.

4) Don't put too many people in the Dinghy. Instead, make two trips to the shore.

5) Don't leave at night without a flashlight. A headlamp on the driver works well.

3 most favoured ways to carry a dinghy while on a yacht charter in Croatia

There are also many different ways that you can transport your small lifeboat. Towing it behind the boat, carrying it on the stern of the yacht and holding it on the deck are the three most common ways to carry a dinghy. It is entirely up to you to pick where you will carry it, as each option has advantages and disadvantages.

Towing the tender

It might seem like the easiest thing to do to tow your Dinghy. It just follows you around, wherever you go. Also, since the Dinghy is already in the water, it is straightforward to use. The problem with towing a dinghy is that it slows you down as you drag it through the water behind you, and when the wind stops at night, it keeps tapping on your top sides. You can prevent the tapping by putting bumpers between the Dinghy and your hull. Ensure the Dinghy is close to the boat, as a non-floating line can end up in the prop.

Dinghy Hanging off the stern.

Keeping the Dinghy in davits off the stern is one step up from towing your Dinghy because it gets it out of the water, which means you won't have to drag it along. Davits are permanently installed and ready to accept your Dinghy. All you need to do is connect the ropes and crank it out of the water. The problem with davits is it keeps your Dinghy right side up and hanging off the back of your stern. Should you find yourself in the rough sea conditions, a boarding wave could crash into the Dinghy and fill it with water. The surge of weight would rip your davits right off and potentially cause damage to your hull as the davits yield under the weight. If the davits don't break, your stern will now be severely weighted by all that added water, and this will cause it to squat lower, posing more risk. 

Stow the Dinghy on the deck

The last option is to stow the Dinghy on the deck. Here, it is out of the water and can be stored upside down, making it less of an issue with boarding waves. On-deck storage may sound like a great idea, but it presents a significant setback: loading and unloading.

While it may seem impossible to get a heavy dinghy on the deck by hand, it is pretty doable with your rigging. Attaching a halyard to the Dinghy will allow you to lift its weight using a winch. Now you can carefully hoist and position the Dinghy on your deck without breaking your back!

This might seem like the easiest and safest way to store your Dinghy, but it does take some time to set up the rigging and carry out the launching and recovery of the Dinghy.

All three places have pros and cons, depending on what you are willing to deal with. Where you keep your Dinghy is a personal choice as to what kind of Dinghy you choose to carry.