Towing dive gear

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bananas75

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Location
The South Pacific
# of dives
I just don't log dives
This is a bit of a shot in the dark as I can't find anything on the internet, but thought I'd ask anyway.

I'm currently sailing to far flung places and dive a fair amount, I have a ten ft rib and 15hp outboard which is good with four people in it but with full gear you could say it struggles. This is fine for a ten minute trip to the dive site, but I regularly go longer.

I'm thinking I need to reduce the displacement of the dinghy which will allow the engine to get her up on the plain. So, is there a sled out there (preferably inflatable as space is an issue) that people use to tow dive gear, and if so how effective is it?
 
We used a rescue sled once to tow some gear with a Zodiac and it went quite well but you have double and triple check that you tied everything down properly otherwise your gear will be flying out.

It was a tight fit but it worked well for the gear of 5 people.

It also severely limits your speed so unless the conditions are ideal you wont be going anywhere fast.
 
I would be adding more HP. Maybe not replace the 15HP but add a second one. Now you have a redundant engine for your far flung locations.
 
You need a bigger rib. Or less gear. Nothing else will be anything other then a mess waiting to happen.

This. I'm sorry to say, but unless it is on the extremely rare occasion, you need a larger tender or more HP.

If you're in a beautiful slack water bay, maybe slow n steady to take in the view is a good thing, but if you have to anchor a ways away from your dive site and want to get there quickly with 4 people plus gear, that 10 footer+15HP just isn't going to cut it.

I know it's not cheap, and you may be limited in size by your main vessel, but your options are likely limited to
A) Upgrade your inflatable/tender B)anchor closer
or(C) relax and take in the scenery....
 
You need a bigger boat or two boats or fewer people.
N
 
You could check if you can find a smaller pitch prop. Not getting up on plane probably means you're not able to get the motor into its good horsepower RPM range. The trade-off is top end, which you may find less important for coastal use. If you do go smaller pitch, pay attention you don't over-rev the motor on flat, no load days.

My take is that many small power boats are sold over-propped, as either cost or weight or hull rating argues against mounting a big enough motor, yet the prop pitch is biased towards lightly-loaded top end cause no one wants a slow boat.

I can't recall the last time I didn't prop down after buying a boat, or regretted doing so.

While a lower pitch will improve planing thrust, and is certainly an easy fix to try, 4 divers with gear sounds like a lot for a 15HP motor.

Your idea of a tow sled is intriguing, but finding something light enough with low drag, inflatable, and stable at moderate speeds might take some trial and error. How about a big flat pull toy like a Manta Ray? Not a flying version...
 
While a lower pitch will improve planing thrust, 4 divers with gear sounds like a lot for a 15HP motor.

Way back when, I had a soft-bottomed inflatable. It was 12.5' long with a 25 HP engine. Normally there were two of us diving, with a dog. On occasion though, I had 5 guys. and at least two of them were large. It floated and got us where we needed to go, but if the weather had taken a dump, we would have been bailing for our lives!

I also think there's something to the re-prop argument, but lipstick on a pig me thinks...
 
Thanks for all the responses. I was thinking of replacing the prop anyway as I banged up the exisitng one a few weeks ago, so will look into pitching.

Or I might just toss a couple of the crew overboard. :D
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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