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Towing a 31-ft sailboat with a Montauk
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ContinuousWave Whaler Moderated Discussion Areas
ContinuousWave: The Whaler GAM or General Area
Towing a 31-ft sailboat with a Montauk
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| Author | Topic: Towing a 31-ft sailboat with a Montauk |
| elaelap |
posted 07-08-2010 08:37 PM ET (US)  
My 1982 Frers/Niagara 31-ft sloop blew its 28-year-old motor a while back, and today placerville/Matt and I towed the old girl about 10 miles north (from the SF Marina at Gashouse Cove to Helmut's Marine in the San Rafael canals, for you locals) through the San Francisco Bay to a dealership to have the motor replaced with a new one. Matt drove 'Amulet' -- my 1983 Montauk powered by a Suzuki DF70 (four stroke EFI) -- while I steered 'Syrinx' behind him. Here are some photos of the relatively uneventful tow: Passing Alcatraz Island: Up toward the Richmond/San Rafael Bridge. We got a nice lift from the incoming tide, and made about 6-6.5 statute mph over ground during the tow: Here's a shot of Matt and the Montauk facing south after we went under the bridge. Note the only damage to either boat, a broken aft light stanchion on 'Amulet' which will be easily repaired...by just making it four inches shorter ;-) My bad, I should have thought to pull that thing out before Matt began the tow. A couple of things learned by me (from Matt): It's easier to control a tight-cornered tow out of a slip and through a narrow channel with the tow-boat alongside rather than towing from the towee's bow. Once into the broad reaches of the Bay we resumed towing from the Montauk's transom bridle through a bow fairlead and around a cleat on the sailboat. And...take it slow and easy (I guess I knew that myself, and have written about it here a couple of times). My sailboat's dry weight, without her engine, sails, and all the stuff we have on board and without water tanks and fuel tanks full, is 10,000 lbs, at least five times the weight of the Montauk as equipped. In fact, the sailboat's external keel approximates the entire weight of the Montauk. Matt wisely never exceeded 2200 rpm during the tow, and in fact kept decent weigh on the sailboat for a while towing at 1800 turns and even trolling along when we wanted to go slow at 800 rpm. With everything moving in slow motion, we made good time and didn't risk pulling out a cleat or overburdening the Montauk's outboard. Thanks for the help, Matt, and for the lessons in line-handling and general seamanship. We're never too old to learn! Tony |
| Chuck Tribolet |
posted 07-08-2010 10:05 PM ET (US)
Huzza to Matt for helping you out. If you are going to side tow, and you don't have counter- And what's the story with the light stanchion? I don't want
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| lizard |
posted 07-08-2010 11:04 PM ET (US)
Tony- On New Year's Day a couple of years back, I towed an ultra-light racing sailboat (probably a 24-26 footer) back in after their ultra-expensive rudder snapped. We traveled slowly and it was 4-5 miles. I failed to think about the dry weight of their hull, even as an ultra light. We were in mild chop. All things considered it went very well. I wished I had a formal towing bridle and it is still on my short list. If you watch Sea Tow and Vessel Assist, all of their tight navigation towing is done side tow. Thanks Chuck, for the additional input. |
| elaelap |
posted 07-09-2010 01:20 AM ET (US)
Interesting info, Chuck. Matt did make the starboard side of the Montauk fast to the port side of the sailboat, but that's because it was the only possible way in the situation we faced...I guess we got lucky. I'm not sure how the aft light stanchion got busted. I should have had the brains to remove it before we began the tow. Liz, I made that bridle in about two minutes -- just tied a figure-eight knot in the center of a ~10-12 ft length of stout 5/8 inch line forming an eye, and made each end fast to the Montauk's lifting eyes, allowing only enough line on both sides of the eye to have the eye hang down behind the motor above the waterline (and, of course, well above the prop). Then it was easy to make the towline fast to the bridle eye with a bowline and pull was fairly evenly distributed between the lifting eyes. Some prefer to form the bridle without an eye, and let the towline slide from side to side along the bridle, which even more equally distributes pull between the lifting eyes (or cleats); this, however, risks some loss of control IMO. Tony |
| FISHNFF |
posted 07-09-2010 03:22 AM ET (US)
Nice job Tony. I've towed a buddy's 25 Hydrasports up to Helmut's and to OMS in Alameda from the West harbor, but that was in our 22 Grady. I've towed a friend's 22 Outrage in from the North bar on an outgoing tide back robots slips in Gashouse in my 17. Not too bad. I once answered a Craigslist ad to yuw a Cal 22 from Brisbane Marina to Berkley for $120. Did that in my 17 on 9 gallons. Kudos on towing a 31! I always tie a bridle and have the tow rope slide to equalize tension. |
| FISHNFF |
posted 07-09-2010 03:26 AM ET (US)
Nice job Tony. I've towed a buddy's 25 Hydrasports up to Helmut's and to OMS in Alameda from the West harbor, but that was in our 22 Grady. I've towed a friend's 22 Outrage in from the North bar on an outgoing tide back robots slips in Gashouse in my 17. Not too bad. I once answered a Craigslist ad to yuw a Cal 22 from Brisbane Marina to Berkley for $120. Did that in my 17 on 9 gallons. Kudos on towing a 31! I always tie a bridle and have the tow rope slide to equalize tension. |
| Sal A |
posted 07-09-2010 05:51 AM ET (US)
Nice job guys, And the pictures illustrate how much I wish I lived there sometimes! |
| towboater |
posted 07-09-2010 09:38 AM ET (US)
Yo Tuco. Never fails engines let go at prime time. I am using a new 4 cyl Perkins on a deck winch...GREAT MOTOR for $12k. Probably less w/o radiator. Common term for "side towing" is HIP TOWING...or "hip-up" to one side or the other. By far the perfered method if you have strong cleats, good fenders, enough rudder power to compensate for the drag and weather permits. 6.5 is pretty good speed. You guys did a great job. mkj
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| boatdryver |
posted 07-09-2010 09:53 AM ET (US)
Thanks for the interesting yarn and the equally (as usual) interesting photos, Tony. Sorry about the engine failure. The 1999 Evinrude/Suzuki 40 HP 4 stroke on one of our sailing club's safety boats siezed up due to overheating (plugged with mud, is my guess) on the first day of summer session. New engine prices are no fun.... 2011 Etec 40 is enroute from Wisconsin. OK, why were you heading South after crossing under the Richmond Bridge? JimL |
| FISHNFF |
posted 07-09-2010 10:36 AM ET (US)
Nice job Tony. I've towed a buddy's 25 Hydrasports up to Helmut's and to OMS in Alameda from the West harbor, but that was in our 22 Grady. I've towed a friend's 22 Outrage in from the North bar on an outgoing tide back robots slips in Gashouse in my 17. Not too bad. I once answered a Craigslist ad to yuw a Cal 22 from Brisbane Marina to Berkley for $120. Did that in my 17 on 9 gallons. Kudos on towing a 31! I always tie a bridle and have the tow rope slide to equalize tension. |
| WT |
posted 07-09-2010 12:34 PM ET (US)
Why didn't you just sail your sailboat? :-) I wish I could have joined you guys. Warren |
| elaelap |
posted 07-10-2010 07:58 AM ET (US)
I considered sailing up there, Warren, but it would have been difficult (if not impossible, depending upon wind direction) to leave my slip and tack through our narrow channel out into the Bay, and I didn't trust the uncertain winds outside. As it turned out, morning breezes were very light, dropping to flat calm in some locations, and though I would have had a nice uphill lift from the flowing tidal current -- which we planned for and which was helpful during the tow -- the sail up to San Rafael would have been unnecessarily anxiety-filled. Thus, the tow. Tony P.S. Now if I had had Rob/ratherwhalering along -- who campaigns large racing sailboats and knows the Bay like the palms of his calloused hands, maybe it would have been a different story... |
| towboater |
posted 07-16-2010 10:34 AM ET (US)
Tuco New 2 cyl Yanmar for sale up here, 6500. mkj |
| elaelap |
posted 07-16-2010 12:23 PM ET (US)
That's a good price, Mike, but I'm stuck with a saildrive unit without doing very extensive and expensive modifications to my boat's hull, so I'm going with another Volvo saildrive diesel (this time a big 18 hp, up from the original 13 hp). Once I bite the bullet, take out a second, third and fourth mortgage on my home, and make my kids drop out of college and go to work to pay for the damn thing, I suspect it's going to be a gas having a brand new, reliable motor with a new exhaust system and upgraded electrical system in the old girl. No fun having one's motor blow up on a dead calm day right in the SF Bay shipping lane with a strong ebb tidal current pushing one toward an incoming container vessel, that's for sure. Tony |
| boatdryver |
posted 07-18-2010 02:41 PM ET (US)
Tony, what did the autopsy report show? (on the engine) So many diesel engine replacements in pleasure boats are not because the engine was used so much that it "wore out", but from a failure in the cooling exhaust, or lubrication system. I'm always curious because I had to have a 4 cylinder diesel generator rebuilt on our cruising boat because it ingested salt water through an anti-siphon loop in the exhaust system that was not high enough. This after running fine for 2,000 hours in ocean work. Ouch... JimL |
| elaelap |
posted 07-18-2010 04:26 PM ET (US)
Helmut is just finishing up on a 65-ft boat and hasn't even hauled mine yet. We'll see what happens, but I'm pretty much set on replacing the motor and exhaust system, and going with a new freshwater-cooled, 50% more powerful motor no matter how rebuildable the old motor is. If it can be rebuilt or parted out, Helmut will give me something for it, he says. The total replacement isn't cheap by any means, but the sleep-at-night value for me is incalculable. Tony |
| towboater |
posted 07-20-2010 10:20 AM ET (US)
I affectionately call boating excesses "SLEEPERS". When I go home at night, I sleep like a baby. Examples |
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