The reasons for towing a dinghy are many. You can save space on deck and on the swim platform, and save money on davits or cranes. Some even say that having a dinghy deployed and ready could save your life.

Of course, the trick is to do it properly. Towing a tender without an adequate dose of forethought can result in lost gear – including the dinghy itself – and damage to both the dinghy and its mothership.

You want to create a secure and manageable towing system that is built to handle the loads associated with towing. A system like this is not difficult to assemble, nor is it expensive. But it will take an afternoon of work and a bit of experimentation – and the investment is well worthwhile.

Alan HugenotA towing bridle made of floating polypropylene line.

What follows are some tips I have learned during years of making all the common mistakes. Hopefully, they will make your towing much smoother.

TOWING LINES

Start by examining your tender and removing loose gear. Life jackets, fishing rods, anchor and anchor line – anything you do not want to lose to the sea – should be stripped.

Many boaters leave the engine, tank and oars in place, with the engine tilted up and the rest tied on, but I maintain that these too should be removed if the engine is light enough. Why take chances?

The next step is to gather a set of proper towing lines, including a bridle and a hawser. The hawser is your tow line. The bridle is the "Y" shaped piece that attaches to port and starboard of the dinghy's bow on one side, spreading the load, and then to the tow line on the other.

In a standard towing rig, the dinghy has a bridle that is attached to the hawser, which is then tied off on the stern of the boat.

An inflatable dinghy is a relatively lightweight tow compared to towing another vessel, and the towing line does not have to be as stout. Because inflatables are light, you can use polypropylene line, which floats and should not get fouled in a propeller. If you are towing a hard-shell tender, a nylon line is a better choice.

Polypropylene and nylon can be found in every marine store and they are not especially expensive. For most dinghies, a 3/8-inch line should be adequate. You will want to make up your towing hawser before you put to sea, and the design will depend on how you plan to tow.

The standard rig is a single hawser – long enough to pull the tender well behind the boat – with a stainless steel snap clip attached on one end with a seized (whipped) eye splice. The clip attaches to the bridle. However, I have made coastal passages with some owners who like to double-up their towlines, so that if one line breaks they still have the second in place.

This is done by running tow lines from each of the stern cleats on the boat to the dinghy bridle. Not only is this system redundant, it also helps the tender track better behind the boat.

Whatever system you use, make sure you buy plenty of line – enough to put several waves between your boat and the tender. You won't always use all that line – the length of your hawser will vary with boat speed and conditions – but you will want to have it available.

TOWING BRIDLE

The hawser will attach to the towing bridle, which is that "Y" shaped assembly that fits onto the bow of the dinghy (see photos). Most dinghy manufacturers provide "D" rings on port and starboard to accommodate the bridle, which divides the towing forces in half and applies them in shear rather than tension.

You can buy commercially-available bridles, some of which include a large float to keep the line from sinking, or you can assemble your own. Just be sure to use seized eye splices and stainless fittings (see photo), and inspect your gear regularly for wear.

Polypropylene line is slick, and it has a habit of untying itself, which is why the recommended attachment to the bridle at the dinghy end is a snap clip. Attaching the towing line to the boat is also a place for care. A simple double loop belaying a polypropylene line to a cleat is not to be trusted, because the line itself can slip loose – and the next thing you know, the dinghy is gone.