Loading up small boats....to the limit.

[w00dy]

Captain Smollett was talking about theoretically being able to carry his trailer sailor in a high capacity canoe. Quite a mental image...but it got me thinking.

A year or so ago, I took some friends out sailing on the bay and we anchored near a deserted beach for the night. A few of us went ashore with a cooler full of beer and started a bonfire. At some point, one friend rowed the 1/2 mile back to the boat to pick up another friend who was still aboard.

Anyway, at some point, it was getting late, and cold, and the fire was dying, and everyone wanted to go back to the boat. So, rather than make two trips, we strategically placed everything in the 7ft dinghy at once:

-a large cooler full of beer
-myself, at the oars
-Jim
-his girlfriend, who sat in his lap, up forward
-Tom, aft
-Tom's large german shepard, in his lap aft
-several fishing poles

We had less than 6 inches of freeboard, loaded down. I could also only sweep the oars a foot at a time. It was the Longest. Row. Ever.

So, please share your stories of over loading your boat, or pushing it to the max. Pictures get bonus points.

[Captain Smollett]

My 9 ft 6 inch inflatable dinghy is 'rated' at 960 lbs.  I cannot for the life of me figure out how one could get that much "stuff" in that boat, short of 12 hauling Group 27 lead acid batteries or something.  The four of us total a bit over half that, and we sure don't haul 400 lbs of gear around with us.

If I were rowing and hauling water, it's just under 100 gallons.

Gotta say, though, I do like having what I see as "reserve." 

Did your dinghy feel 'sluggish' in the water with that much weight?

[CharlieJ]

Well, here's a pic of my previous 6'6" MiniPaw (B and B Yacht Designs) with right at 500 pounds in it. Mike claimed 325 and I was at about 175 at that time.

It was pretty well loaded, but you can see, had a good bit of freeboard still ;)

I'm almost done with another one just like it :D

[Frank]

nuff said   ;D :D ::) ;) :o :)

[rorik]

"...trailer sailor in a high capacity canoe...."

Got me thinking of this:

[w00dy]

Alas, Rari, last sighted in Los Angeles harbor, was lost with all souls seals aboard... ಠ_ಠ   ;D

[Seafarer]

I currently have two dinghies.

The Edey & Duff Fatty Knees 7 was my first dinghy and the one I learned to row on. I only weigh 160lbs, and my girlfriend at the time was about 130lbs. I don't know how much Group 31s weigh, but we had four of them in there, plus the two of us. I'm pretty sure the throw-able cushion I used as a seat on the dagger-board truck was keeping water from flowing right out of the trunk. The eye-bolt leaked, too, so the forward compartment would fill up with water :P I only just fixed that problem last week.

My other dinghy is a Walker Bay 8, which I bought out of exasperation when the oar-locks of the Fatty Knees had wallowed out the mounting holes badly enough that the bolts and screws holding them to the gunnels had to be re-tightened a few times between the boat and the dock. I couldn't find a 10' Walker Bay for a good price, so I ended up with the 8. I was showing Starquest to some potential buyers, a husband, wife, and relatively small child.  None of them were over-weight, at least, but fitting three adults and a child into the WB8 and rowing it out to the boat was a bit delicate.

I've noticed that they always seem to row better with a little weight in them. Some extra momentum to help punch through the chop, or just keep the hull moving between strokes. Don't get me wrong, both boats row well, but they seem to handle better with at least two people, or just me and a bunch of heavy stuff on the floor.