FreedomYachts.org

For the first time in 12 years, we have 2 to 5 inches of ice on our lakes and canals. Who talks about global warming??

Alabama Queen on ice.

Yeow!

What is your dinghy doing upright in that mess, Michel? Seems like you'd have it turned over and lashed.

hahaha, if I turn it over, it'll scratch my deckpaint..... and if we get snow.....it'll thaw in two days. Like the ice, it's gone already. Ow, and I made a drain hole in the Walker Bay dinghy.

Scratch your deck paint? ...

Well, a good project would be to obtain some worn out 1-1/2" fabric jacketed firehose, slit it lengthwise, stuff it with that slit-foam pipe insulation (sized to fit the interior diameter of the firehose), slip it over the gunwhale and then lace the whole thing on from stem to stern on each side. It'd look right "shippy", and then you could lash the dinghy alongside for boarding or whatever without nicking your topside paint.

The firehose is easily scrubbed and can be bleached with a weak bleach solution without damage (as long as you don't rot your lashings in the process). It'll add a few pounds to the dinghy weight, but nothing you can't handle getting it on/off the boat.

If you decide to do this, be sure and post the pictures.

A call to your local fire brigade (or whatever they call them there) might get you set on to where to locate the hose...or just show up with a giant fruitcake or something else edible and they might just "find some laying around". The hoses are taken out of service when the covers get a little worn, or when they get damaged or punctured in use, or when they fail a pressure test. Usually, most of the hose (typically in 50' length) is ok and just a part of it is damaged.

The shorter pieces are also handy for chafe protection (for a line running through a chock or over a toerail, for instance). You can punch a hole in the hose and tie on a tether line, then tie the tether line to the line or chock to keep it from sliding down the line.

A slit-open and flattened-out piece is also handy for protecting the deck or cabin sole when banging around on some piece of boat or engine part (for those times when you'd have to haul it to shore to do otherwise).

If you don't want to do all this, there are "foam chocks" available that are made for carrying these boats (and kayaks and whatever) upside down on car roofs. You could still flip it that way. It'd give the ship's cat a place to get out of the rain.

Two words.

Pool Noodles



George

Puh--leeeze George

Those would look right at home on a dinghy for a Hunter or some other "Clorox Bottle Boat"...let's try to keep a little class in the Freedom stuff.

The firehose and foam thing would mean a lot of work. Here in the NL's lots of small boats and larger motorboats called 'vlet' have a 'kabelaring', a piece of 1.5" or larger manila rope around the deck edge, sometimes with a thickenend piece at the bow, a 'leguaan' (an iguana).
See http://www.rope-fender.com/langmankabel ... bowfenders

But all this wouldn't solve my dinghy thing because only the bow and transom corners would touch the deck, not the gunwales. On the front, I have a little manila iguana. I have a small cover and support strut, but the drain plug works okay.

Well if you want to get real fancy you can put the pool noodle in a sunbrella tube. I have a friend who has a fender system for his dinghy made of old crocks! Now *that's* some cheese! But it can be forgiven because it's Key'sy cheese and therefore verging on art.

Speaking of sunbrella I just dropped the walking foot sewing machine off at the repair shop. Apparently leaving them set in high humidity atmosphere is bad for them.

George

I found that the automobile PVC trim strips meant for cars make good non-marking rub strips. I've had such on my little home-built dinghy for the past 18 years (the acrylic adhesive is the greatest). I covered to tip of the bow with a strategically split tennis ball. Works for me. Herm

I have a big old slab of old growth teak I'm going to rip down for rub rails on the Minto. I've got to practice on some cheap wood first. That one board cost more than the fiberglass dinghy shell!

George