Do You Have A Tender Behind?

[Wussername]

What happened to the tender, the dinghy?

That wonderful extra that you hired together with your cruiser. The big yards had a dinghy man and you would often see him on changeover day collecting them all up from the hire boats. A long line of them all tied together, fifteen or twenty of them. Sometimes he had a boy would could run and leap from one to another as they took them away for some TLC.

Many yards had a progress board, boxes would be ticked. Fuel, toilet, water and so on. At the bottom of the list the last box. Dinghy. Rowing/lugsail/outboard.

The most hateful, spiteful, nasty, evil thing imaginable was the outboard on the back of your hired dinghy. As a trial run driver all those years ago my heart would give a terrible thump on the realisation that I was going to have to demonstrate the bloody thing. It would never start; it either flooded or simply sat there like an inert carbuncle on the stern. In the heat of a Saturday afternoon I would wind a bit of rope round the top of the thing and then spend what seemed to be an inordinate amount of time pulling and tugging. It never started. I used to lie. It's flooded mate. It'll be alright once it has dried out. Trust me. By the time the hirer had his go I was well gone. Having a well earned swifty in the local pub.

On return at least one member of the crew would have a large weal down the side of his cheek, where the rope had caught him. On one occasion a hirer informed me that he had lost his outboard overboard. I considered that a result. (The hirer was told not to leave the outboard on the dinghy overnight..........In case somebody nicked it........ regretfully nobody ever did) You never seen them now. Probably little piles of them on Ranworth and Salhouse broad.

Then there was the rowing dinghy. Invariably full of water and had to be bailed out frequently. They always seemed to be very expensive to hire.......For what you got. What you did get was a bit of kit that had been used and abused by generations of anglers and pimply youths.

They were the most unstable of things imaginable. You got in one one-side and promptly fell out on the other side. One of the most delightful spectacles to witness of course was the evening pilgrimage to the pub. Everybody climbed into the craft, Dad mum, granny, grandad  and the kids. From Ranworth quay, looking out across the broad you could see them. Bulky yellow life jackets. The thing had about two inches of freeboard.

Dad, Dad, me bum is getting wet............Well sit in the middle like I told you!
The whole ensemble, huddled together resembled an outing of Henry Blog and his mates on a training night. It was then, and only then, although they did not realise it, was that they did not have a pair of oars. They had oars all right, but of different sizes which meant of course the boat kept veering to the right or left as it tacked across the broad.
The journey back to the cruiser after the pub had closed was full of song and laughter, oblivious to peril, by good fortune they all returned safely.

By far the most practical of all was the dinghy with a sail. The lugsail. Not the most complicated bit of kit however, what fun. Kids loved them, father could go off fishing for a few hours. Known as respite in this day and age. Grandad, for him it was a relief. Wind issues you understand. (Grandads name was Carter. He was a champion ****** When the wind wouldn't blow, and the boat wouldn't go, he would let out a **** , just to start her)

So there you have it, the dinghy.

It gives you independence, the ability to move away from a crowded mooring during busy times, at Ranworth, Womack, Salhouse. Wherever.

Noise, Pollution, Solitude, Privacy, if it is an issue, there is a solution.

And do you know what? It is great fun. Part of the adventure. Entering those spooky inlets, Rowing down a dyke for the morning provisions, a trip to the pub, a sail on a broad, a fishing trip for that elusive monster and finally that wonderful experience of seeing children enjoying themselves devoid of computer, tablet and smartphone.

Many people hate dinghies with a passion.

It is my belief that they have missed a Broadland experience and deny others.

 

Andrew

 

Edited February 18, 2017 by Wussername

[JennyMorgan]

From a yard's perspective dinghies were a right pain in the wotsits. More than once we had to traipse over to Breydon to retrieve one from the tide line where it had drifted across the mud after not being tied up securely, that was provided that some unmentionable bit of scum hadn't whisked it away, along with the usual harvest of boathooks and mops, to have its identity changed ready for the autumn boat auction. Inevitably there would be the odd squashed dinghy, people reversing into a mooring and forgetting that the dinghy was there. Dinghies didn't tend to be profitable!

As for those engines, Seagulls generally, very definitely female. Seagull outboards were great, in the hands of a man who actually understood their quirky ways. Exactly the same with a man and a woman. and how many men understand them? About as many as understood Seagull outboards! 

[Gracie]

Old Wusser, in your wonderful post, the part about the rowing dinghy, you have just described my family and me, you wasn't following us at Ranworth were you? lol

We have just the best fun rowing in a dinghy, no laptops or mobiles, just good old fashioned fun, although how you row in a straight line is quite beyond me, if you want to know how to go round in circles I'm your girl We were mud weighted on Barton Broad one year and took the dinghy out just before sunset, it remains in my heart as one of the most magical nights we have ever spent on the water

The time I climbed into the ruddy thing and nearly went flying over board is another story

Grace

 

[Timbo]

I am in the market for one of these...with the lug sail...and a matching pair of oars....and some planks of wood to row it with! My future happiness aboard Royal Tudor will not be complete without the dinghy...pronounced 'dingy' in the case of the really shabby ones. It's going to be essential for pottering about, fishing and rowing the beagles for their ablutions when moorings are scarce and/or I fancy swinging around on the mudweight. A wooden one would be nice. Already picked out her name..she would be The GT Tender to RT or in full The Gracie Tatie. Tatie as in potato..dunno why but its the nickname we have for grandaughter Grace.

[JennyMorgan]

Have a peep at the Heybridge Roach, very tasty and no battles with termites:

http://www.anglia-yacht.co.uk/brokerage/index.html

[Broads01]

Ive only had a dinghy once,  back in 2000 when my children were young (22,and 17 now).  In some ways it was fab,  rowing in to South Walsham inner broad having mudweighdted on the outer springs to mind. In other ways dinghys are a pain in the arxx.  Think every stern mooring when you have to pull the darn thing to the boss,  think side on but the dinghy thing seems always to float out to where it blocks everyone else and you're always having to pull it out the way. 

[Polly]

The Whimp is a Broads built dinghy, I love it. When we moored  Rondonay at  Ranworth, I sailed it  all day and Phill read the paper and chilled out on the mooring, perfect. 

.

As hirers, we always asked for a dinghy, it added so much to the holiday, well worth the occasional inconvenience they caused us.

Out and about we almost always mudweighted and rowed to the pub.

[TheQ]

I do occasionally tow my own dinghy and unless just across the river,  it would be centre tied.

From the point of view of someone sailing the other other way. The sudden appearance of an unmanned dinghy corner tied on, on a long lead, swerving out in front of you, is a definate hazard. Several times I've seen boats wrapped /  trapped in the painter, between motorboat and dinghy. The confusion of sailing in one direction to suddenly being towed backwards with an off centre pull is quite dangerous.

It is most useful to be able to row across from one side of a river to the packed other when needed.

[addicted]

Cruising along the Chet last Summer returning from Loddon we met a hire boat coming towards us with a dingy on the usual long rope as we past on a bend the dinghy swung out across the river and smacked into our hull. We were not impressed!

 

Carole

[Poppy]

7 minutes ago, addicted said:

Cruising along the Chet last Summer returning from Loddon we met a hire boat coming towards us with a dingy on the usual long rope as we past on a bend the dinghy swung out across the river and smacked into our hull. We were not impressed!

 

Carole

Trouble is Carole, nobody has told them the correct way to tow a tender. See it regularly!

Here's the proper way.

 

[trambo]

At one time, when booking with Blakes, a dinghy came as part of the hire unless the stern shape was inappropriate.

Personally I think they are more of a nuisance than a help, although I would consider one at the height of the season for places like Horning and (especially) Ranworth.

When my son was a lad we used to hire a sailing dinghy which he always enjoyed. Only had two mishaps with dinghies over the years, once in the 70s at Norwich Yacht Station on Brooms Navigator 2 when we were away from the boat and got rammed by a Martham boat. Fortunately witnesses had informed the yacht station master. The other was on Golden Realm 2 from Pearsons in the 80s. We were coming into berth at one of those wild moorings on the Ant, when as usual James went to check the dinghy was correctly aligned, to which he returned and exclaimed "the dinghy aint there!" We made our way back down the Ant and found it downstream of Ludham Bridge. Somebody had kindly tied it to the piling. We retrieved it and made our way back upstream, delighted to find the mooring was still vacant.

Fred

[addicted]

You're absolutely right of course. Some years ago before we moved out boat to the Broads. we were spending a day with a friend on his boat who  had moved there from the Ouse. We were moored on the island at Horning, sitting in the cockpit chatting when suddenly there was a series of bangs  and crashes  getting out to investigate my husband found a hire boat had  come in in front and their dinghy on a long rope was smacking into the bow of our friend' s boat. A complaint from my husband received the response "We've been told to keep it on a long rope" " Yes maybe so" said my husband but not when you're moored and not if it is banging into someone else's boat. They couldn't understand why he was cross  and told him he was an unreasonable man!  It  almost put me off moving to the Broads as you didn't get situations like that on the Ouse and I had the feeling that  if someone did that to our boat  his response would probably have landed him in jail!

 

Carole

[addicted]

17 minutes ago, Poppy said:

Trouble is Carole, nobody has told them the correct way to tow a tender. See it regularly!

Here's the proper way.

 

 

[JennyMorgan]

Poppy, do you really tow your dinghy that way? I've tried it at sea, great, but on the Broads not so good. When going about the strain falls onto the windward quarter when tacking and I've found that that can put me in irons when the wind is low.

On a MAFI it makes perfect sense but of course hire yards don't supply enough string for doing things properly. 

Just an idea for some folk who's dinghy might have a deep fore-foot and no skeg aft, sometimes such boats tow better stern first, worth sucking and seeing..

[Poppy]

21 minutes ago, JennyMorgan said:

Poppy, do you really tow your dinghy that way? I've tried it at sea, great, but on the Broads not so good. When going about the strain falls onto the windward quarter when tacking and I've found that that can put me in irons when the wind is low.

On a MAFI it makes perfect sense but of course hire yards don't supply enough string for doing things properly. 

Just an idea for some folk who's dinghy might have a deep fore-foot and no skeg aft, sometimes such boats tow better stern first, worth sucking and seeing..

I don't tow a dingy - but I war addressing the pilots of motor boats on the Broads. I accept that at sea a long tow is correct, but it should be shortened in congested areas - the bridle method illustrated reduces almost entirely the yawing .

[Vaughan]

3 hours ago, addicted said:

4 hours ago, Poppy said:

 

 

On a hire boat, if you supplied them with this lot, I think I know where it would end up. Round the propellor.

A dinghy on the Broads should be towed on a fairly short line, about 3 to 5 feet but not so short that it is actually suspended off the aft cleats of the transom. Try to keep any weight (such as mast and sail) towards the aft end, and above all, ensure that you have raised the centre-plate, if it is a sailing dinghy.

This is why you never get into a dinghy which is being towed, as your weight forward will make it start to fish-tail on the tow rope and may even drive the bow under the water.

 

[BroadAmbition]

Dinghy's - love em.  We have a 'Tender To' sadly still sat on my drive awaiting my attentions.  It has a full set of sails, oars and a 3:5hp outboard engine too.  Maybe I'll get it sorted ready for this year - He says whispering as MrsG has threatened on more than one occasion to turn it into a flower bed.

Bridles - yes but as has been stated the yards hardly ever give you enough length to achieve this so they have to be on a short lead.  We take a dinghy with us on every Lads week.  Our previous Golden Retriever Dusty Dog, loved them, he was always getting in dinghy's whenever he had the chance, whether they belonged to us or not, mattered not a jot to him.  He rarely went walkabouts far from the boat but if he did and we 'Lost' him, the first places to check was any dinghy’s close by.  One year at the top of the Ant, we were berthed up for the evening tied to the trees either side of the river in the normal manner.  Dusty had gone walkabout - not that he could get far there as there wasn't really anywhere to go.  After a fruitless search I noticed the dinghy was missing too.  It was a Lads week so all crew were quizzed / checked upon to see who was missing and had taken the dinghy out, also had any of them seen Dusty? - Nope no one missing but no dinghy or Dusty either – Strange.  So out binoculars from one of our boats on t’other of river, it was reported that the dinghy was meandering across Barton Broad towards Neatishead, the ‘Crew’ was one happy Dusty dog in command of his own vessel for the first time ever, only he wasn’t rowing or sailing.  Not having another dinghy with us, we had to cast off one of the cruisers to go and retrieve the retriever with said dinghy.  What had happened was, we had ‘beached’ the bow of the dinghy on the bank away from the transom of the cruiser to enable fishing.  Dusty dog had seen his chance and jumped into said dinghy.  Dusty being a big lad then sat at the back of the dinghy patiently waiting for someone to take him for a row.  No one came but his weight lifted the bow off the bank and they were off.  The mischievous devil never barked, just kept stum.  He was most miffed to be ‘Captured’ and relieved of his new command

 

Griff

[addicted]

Dusty dog probably made a better fist of the dinghy than some people I've seen, in particular me. My  husband bought me a dinghy and outboard. I just couldn't get my head round the principle of the tiller as opposed to a steering wheel.. We were out on the river at Denver Sluice on the great Ouse where the river is very wide I was at the tiller.," Steer the other way",  says my husband "steer the other way!", STEER THE OTHER WAY YOU SILLY C*W!  !  " I AM STEERING THE OTHER WAY!!!  BANG! Who put that jetty there? What a stupid place to put a jetty! I never did get used to pointing the tiller the opposite way to where I wanted to go,

 

 

Carole

[Bound2Please]

You havnt a video of it by any chance Carole

Charlie

[addicted]

Unfortunately not Charlie, It would have made hilarious viewing

 

 

Carole

[Polly]

We often tow the Whimp alongside. Yes on a bridle, or on a short single line if we want neater tacks. Just depends on what we are doing.

[JanetAnne]

You dont know what a tender behind is until you have had someone run a belt sander across it!

 

As for dinghys, love em! Never afloat without one, sometimes two, or one and a canoe. Always got a lug sail but never an outboard - he needs the exercise!

 

[JennyMorgan]

Belt sander, sacrilege & vandalism! A panel scraper, even a piece of broken glass is the real way, really enhances the grain.

I see that the graffiti vandals have had a go at one of your drums. You really should have considered our sensibilities and turned the drum around  !

[JanetAnne]

15 minutes ago, JennyMorgan said:

Belt sander, sacrilege & vandalism! A panel scraper, even a piece of broken glass is the real way, really enhances the grain.

I see that the graffiti vandals have had a go at one of your drums. You really should have considered our sensibilities and turned the drum around  !

wood is new and was too wide to go through the planer so arrived sawn finish. I reckon you'd have worn your old piece of broken glass away enhancing that 

For a minute you had me going ref drum. As soon as I saw your comment I thought the worst.... nice one! 

[BroadAmbition]

Another incident that springs to mind (It does happen now and again).

 

The year would have been 72 or 73, putting me at a tender age of 12 / 13.  We had berthed on the port grassy bank just at the entrance to Ranworth Dam, said grassy bank was a popular berthing spot for us (Sadly said wild mooring grassy bank is long gone now) I got out of the dinghy onto the bank only got it somewhat wrong.  I ended up with my hands on the grass with ankles and feet in the dinghy with ones torso stretched bar straight across the water.  I was proper stuck. Looking to my left I saw the back of Dad who was chatting to another chap on the bank.  ‘Dad’ I shouted, Dad did not turn round but back came the reply ‘I’m Talking’ (In those days interrupting an adult was a definite no no).  At this point I was slowly making an inevitable appointment with the oggin and could not hang on much longer.  ‘DAD’!!!! I hollered.  Dad’s reply came back as before but this time the volume was raised somewhat with an unmistakable warning tone to it.

 

 

I was in a predicament now, option 1) – Get wet  -  Interrupting once more and the consequences could well have been worse than going in the drink, or 2) I could throw caution to the wind and go for it.  Decision made, option 2) it was going to be.  Seeing as I was going to throw caution to the wind I would risk it all and go for it proper -  ‘Pretty flowers then’  I hollered.  That did it, Dad spun round just in time to see me making a slow dignified decent into the wet and crinkly stuff - ‘Dive to periscope depth’

 

 

Finally Dad sprinted down the bank, fished me out and uttered those immortal words that I have never forgotten ‘Why didn’t you tell me’?     Really Dad?

 

 

Griff