[Rhodes22-list] Dinghy Selection Complete and other notes

[Jay Curry]

Thanks for the feedback folks. I was looking at sea eagle models. Knowing 
others had used them successfully made the choice easy. We have a model 370 
package on the way.

I loved the idea of just beaching the boat, but in the Great Lakes for 
example the beaches are often very rocky and some serious rocks are often 
hidden just under the sand. In addition, exploring small islands is often 
much easier from the shore line than on rough trails inland. You often need 
the option of a stowable dinghy to get around. Shore waters can often be 
rough and you need a stable maneuverable boat to stay safe.

In my experience, most of my fellow boaters at anchor on lake superior, used 
their dinghy's solely for trips to shore for their dogs. They would get up 
at dawn, haul what often seemed like a Great Dane size mutt off of 
everything from small fishing boats to large sail boats and dinghy it to 
shore for a walk. Of course this had to be done in any weather and in in any 
conditions. I kept waiting for someone to just hold the dog over the side on 
a really bad day. I love dogs, but not on a small boat with two people 
already competing for space.

In October 2010, I took a transit on the Lady Washington from Westport, WA 
to San Francisco. The Lady Washington is an authentic wooden replica of the 
1787 Brig of the same name. She was instrumental in opening up the west 
coast to trade and exploration. The replica is now the official WA State 
ship. It is also the ship that Captain Jack Sparrow commandeered in the 
first Pirates of the Caribbean movie. It was fitted with a wheel for the 
movie. Ours had the original tiller back in place. We spent 7 days in rough 
seas with no showers and until the last two days, it was all under sail day 
and night. We crossed the Westport bar once at night and the Columbia River 
bar twice. The captain had a dog on board with its own life jacket and 
beacon.

Since the dog could not go to shore, they set a litter box on deck after we 
left the Columbia River for San Francisco. The dog refused to use it. The 
Captain did his best to walk the dog all over the ship and kept stopping at 
the box. The dog would just wag his tail and look up at the captain and keep 
motioning toward the area where he knew the gang plank was always set up. By 
the second day, you could see the dog crossing his legs and walking funny. 
He was bound and determined not to use that box. Toward the end of the 
second day, The dog was wandering the deck between walks around the litter 
box and came to visit me. It decided to let go right next to me while my 
attention was elsewhere. The crew saw what was happening and warned me in 
time, but I still nearly fell over board trying to get away.

Moving on deck was tricky, you had to time your steps with the motion of the 
boat. If you guessed wrong, you went for a tumble. I went for a tumble. On a 
trip to the head from my bunk one night, I misjudged my reach to the steps 
from my bunk, got caught by a violent swing to one side and got slammed into 
the stair rail. It left a mark. One of the other passengers misjudged his 
exit to from the hold in a similar manner and banged his head hard enough on 
the hold cover to cut his scalp. He refused any help and spent the next 
couple of days with a napkin on top of his balding head held down at each 
corner with Mickey Mouse band-aids. At least most of the time it was under 
his rain cap. It was an interesting trip.

Anyway, during the rest of that night and the next morning the crew on each 
watch spent a good deal of time throwing buckets over the side and hauling 
up water to wash down the deck. This was sometimes for the dog and other 
times for those on the crew who were sea sick. The dog seemed to now have a 
constant smile and the litter box stayed unused. I decided long ago, that if 
we ever had kept a dog on the boat, it would have to be trained to blow up 
the dinghy and then get to shore and back on its own.

I love cats too, but I am really confused by those who keep cats on board. 
The cat we kept for 18 years could peel the pain off of the wall for 10 feet 
around the litter box after a night out chasing critters. Imagining that in 
the small confines of a sail boat is nightmarish. I would bet our cat could 
have softened the fiberglass. Maybe cat owners with boats have found some 
feeding routine that helps like a full vegetarian diet mixed with carpet 
fresh.

Thanks again for the feed back. Take care.