carrying dinghy on roof of 22'

[lloyds]

I noticed in a lot of pictures that lots of folks are carrying their dinghys on the roof of their 22's. I have a 2.85 Avon that is a bit on the heavy side (59#) but I want to try to carry it up there as well. Some people have them right side up, some upside down. Is there any concern about scuffing your roof, either with the transom board or from sand on the bottom? Seems like the dinghy would be really hard on the roof. My dinghy is a roll-up with a roll-up aluminum floor. Maybe right side up with the tubes resting on the handrails would keep the bottom of the dinghy off the roof but just getting it up there is going to be dragging it across the gelcoat. Any input or suggestions?

[thataway]

I prefer lighter dinghies, but my 9'4" air floor is close to 60 lbs and no problems with both of us being "elderly" and with bad backs. There should be no sand, the boat has been moving thru the water. We each pick up one side by the rope around the boat, and pull the dinghy up on the side of the boat right onto the roof in one or two movements--occasionally one of the other needs to get a better grip, as it comes up. We have done this on Tom Cat, C Dory 22 and 25, with no problems. The wood transom has fabric over the bottom of it. If you put it upside down, then put a foam pad under the wood/aluminum transom. We usually carry the dinghy right side up. The exception is if it is raining hard or we have an ususual crossing. With the smaller dinghy and slat floor, which weighed about 30 lbs, I had no problem doing it alone.

We also have set up the Gauheur davit to pull the dinghy to the roof of the Tom Cat--looking for those days when neither of us will be able to lift 30 lbs.

No scuffing the side of the boat--the fabric is softer than the gel coat.

[Roscoe]

We have a small Avon with a hard bottom that we carry on the roof. No problem for us "oldies" either.

We keep ours upside down because we don't want it filling with rain, and also because of ospreys. They're quick to try to build a nest, and it's best to have them up piling their sticks on the outside of the dinghy. (We keep our ensign attached to the anchor light, and keep it in place all the time as an osprey discourager, too.)

[breausaw]

59# isn’t bad, think ours weighs in around 50#. If your dink has a drain plug you can store it upright, ours doesn’t so unless the forecast is for clear skies I have to lay it over. It’s a heck of a lot easier laying it on top of the cabin upright, wish I could do that all the time; the flip requires a little finesse. When stored upright the dink is a great place to toss empty gas cans and other stuff you want off the deck.

[Adeline]

Upright with the transom plug out. When I lower it down onto the water it is standing vertically on it's tube ends and any accumulated rain can be dumped by a brief tilt.

Great place to store stuff (no sharp edges !).

A cover helps to "seagull proof" it.

[Catch 22]

I've hauled our two 43# Kayaks up there (86# total) and could not tell they were there.