towing a sailboat

[tino]

A friend of my needs his sailboat tow to a boat yard for repair.it about 5hrs from his marina at low speed. will I have any problems towing him with my boat with a 90hp on it. thanks everyone and safe boating. tino

 

[DuckHunterJon]

Re: towing a sailboat

I don't think you will have any problems towing it, but 5 hours at idle would be rough. I wouldn't want to do it to my motor.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: towing a sailboat

well I'm gonna venture a guess that you'd be fine and that you could bump up the speed to about 10 mph...... BUT it's only a guess since we don't know if it's a 14' sunfish or a 100' schooner....


might be alot more practical to source a small outboard to push it under it's own power

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: towing a sailboat

you'll drink a lot of beer in those 5 hours. And find out how good your friendship is.

I wouldn't be able to answer your question, though, without knowing your boat's specs and his.

The longer the tow line, generally, the better, so let it out in open water and tighten up at the docking area.

Have a storm plan and good anchors. That's anchors, with an S.

 

[funk6294]

Re: towing a sailboat

I would suspect you would be fine, however what size boat(s) are we talking about, what size body of water are you towing through, also what went south on his sailboat that he cannot either sail or motor it to the marina??

 

[tino]

Re: towing a sailboat

Sorry mates I was such a hurry to post the ?? about towing . the sailboat is 30ft long my boat 16SL boston whaler 90hp yamaha

 

[H20Rat]

Re: towing a sailboat

2 stroke yamaha? If so, it will be dead by the time you make it there if you are at idle for the entire time.

idling is REALLY hard on a 2 stroke, you need to get to a decent rpm at least occassionally. Even if that means just putting it into neutral and running fast idle for a little bit. (the best would be unhook, zip around a little bit to blow out the carbon, and then come back and continue your journey.)

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: towing a sailboat

now that we have the digits, that's a lot to ask of your rig, for 5 hours, and you would be in danger if adverse conditions arose. Your friend needs to fix his engine closer to home, or hire a tow company. Ona non-emergency basis he might get a decent rate.

 

[180shabah]

Re: towing a sailboat

what went south on his sailboat that he cannot either sail or motor it to the marina??

..sails were installed on the wrong sides...

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: towing a sailboat

have it repaired on site.....

 

[funk6294]

Re: towing a sailboat

Well after reading what you will be towing I would have some reservations mainly given the length of time involved in that tow. I am guessing based on time that you mentione the marina you are going to is around 25 + miles away which is a bit of a haul and could really pose some problems if you are not properly prepared. Even though you are driving a BW, if your boat becomes disabled or the weather picks up and you are no longer able to manage, you AND your buddy are going to be in a really bad place. I am thinking given the distance you might call Sea-Tow or one of those guys and see what the tow cost is. Again I am not sure why you are having to tow him that distance, the nice part about a sailboat (especially a 30 footer) is that it should have either an aux outboard or an inboard diesel. So if you cant sail it, then motor it or vise versa. If the boat is that disabled where you cannot sail or motor it then I would be looking at calling in the pros, they have the tools and back up to get you through any situation. Also if he is able to motor or sail then go along as a support vessel, but pulling that entire distance is a stretch. Take if from a guy who has used a BW for pulling a boat and had it swamped by a wave, it makes for a really bad day.