Dinghy Cover

M

Maxwell

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Joined
Jan 21, 2009
RO Number
31042
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378
We launched our new (to us) dinghy last week and it ran great. I bought a cover with it however when I went to put it on I didn't have a lot of faith that it would stay there. I spoke with one of my slip neighbors and he said that most of the covers he has seen usually end up full of water or blown off into the harbor. He thought that I would be better off just leaving the dinghy uncovered and keeping a small submersible pump in my dock box to pump it out as needed. Does anybody have any other advice? The dinghy is Hypalon AB rigid hull inflatable and is kept in the water (tied off in front of our boat) on Lake Michigan.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

max
 
You have to tent the cover or it will fill up. I use a simple but effective technique, I run a line from the front ring on the dinghy back and over the top of the outboard motor and I tie it off tight. I then put the cover on and the line creates just enough of a tent effect that the water runs off. I have never had the cover blow off and all that it has is elastic band around the edges.
Good luck
Niles
 
I do it similar to niles with the outboard acting as the rear support. The cover is as much for the UV rays as it is for the rain.
 
A lot of people use fiberglass or wooden bows and bow sockets & perhaps a vertical cover pole if needed: http://www.boatfix.com/catalog09/74.pdf

Edit: whoops sorry, just noticed this is for an inflatable so you might have a little trouble attaching sockets and keeping it inflated ;-D .
 
max, your comments make me think you have the wrong cover. My cover which was ordered by the reseller for a 11 ft 2009 Novurania is a tight fit at bottom of the tubes and i can't imagine any winds that would blow it off. That's w/o attaching bungees underneath from o ring to o ring that came with the cover. I have mine on a lift. Apparantly all covers not created equal.
 
My cover is pretty crappy but it didn't come off in the 50mph gusts we had this past weekend. PeteMrrs is right about blocking the sun more than the water. In case I get water while it is hanging I leave the plug out and most of the time I remember to put it in when we use the dinghy :)

here is a pic
Photo-0034.jpg
 
Buy the biggest beach ball at Wally world....blow it up and put in the dink before you put the cover on. Similar to an above the ground pool winter cover.
 
Thanks for all of the answers. It was a little windy (20kt) and sprinkling when I tried to cover it for the first time last week. I will give it another try this weekend if its nicer and see what I can figure out.

max
 
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