Arwen's meanderings

Hi everyone and welcome to my dinghy cruising blog about my John Welsford designed 'navigator' named Arwen. Built over three years, Arwen was launched in August 2007. She is a standing lug yawl 14' 6" in length. This blog records our dinghy cruising voyages together around the coastal waters of SW England.
Arwen has an associated YouTube channel so visit www.YouTube.com/c/plymouthwelshboy to find our most recent cruises and click subscribe.
On this blog you will find posts about dinghy cruising locations, accounts of our voyages, maintenance tips and 'How to's' ranging from rigging standing lug sails and building galley boxes to using 'anchor buddies' and creating 'pilotage notes'. I hope you find something that inspires you to get out on the water in your boat. Drop us a comment and happy sailing.
Steve and Arwen

Sunday, 11 May 2014

Towing Angharad behind Arwen

This isn't something I have tried yet but I am thinking of doing so on the May half term trip up the River Lynher. Angharad would allow me to get up into some of those muddy creeks up river. That sounds fun!

You can see Angharad at this previous post
http://arwensmeanderings.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/finally-at-last.html


So how do you tow a 16' long open canoe behind a sailing dinghy? Well can it be done?

I'm guessing now,  in no particular order...........................................

  • Using a floating tow line so it doesn't tangle in the prop 
  • Having a bridle off the stern port and starboard cleats which clears rudder and outboard....although haven't worked out bumpkin situation. Maybe just towing her off the port stern cleat might be better. 
  • Alternatively have a bridle attached to Angharad which has a ring in the end of it. I could then cleat a tow rope on port stern cleat, pass it through bridle eye and hen cleat it off on starboard cleat where I could adjust tow length from there.......sounds a better option in my head....but need to see it in reality first!
  • Long or short tow? Have no idea. Is it a weather and wave condition dependant issue?
  • How do I mount the tow onto Angharad?  No idea .....need to investigate that one as well.
  • Bow high out of water or in the water?
  • What do I do if Angharad fills with water? Heave to, bring her along lee side, pump her out?
  • What about the wake from passing motorboats?
  • A long time ago, many, many, many years ago, I was a canoe instructor and 'fishtailing canoes' is a dim and distant memory trying to re- surface at the moment
  • I think, from those distant memories, I remover something about tying a harness round an open canoe, making it tight and hen attaching the tow line low down so hat he bow would ride higher out of the water and so be less likely to fill and invert.............I think!
  • Sailing downwind......I sense potential problems there and similarly towing going down tide 
  • Quick release knots....need to check up on those as well.......
  • Getting in and out of Arwen to Angharad........I sense some interesting issues there.......stability; tying her securely alongside
Um! LOTS......to think about as always.


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