SAIL

TOW YOUR BOAT

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My friends George and Ann have a lovely 50-year-old 44ft Hood/Maas steel sloop called Allez. When she was launched last spring, the old Perkins engine would not start, but they needed to get her to their marina on the other side of the harbor. That afternoon, I met Ann on the dock. She explained the predicament and asked if I would launch my dinghy and give Allez a tow. George is a wily old man: Ann is a refined, courteous, Southern Belle whose request would be hard to refuse. He needed a tow and knew how to get one. Somehow, I had to move their 18-ton boat, with my 10ft 6in dinghy and its 9.9hp outboard.

If you’ve ever tried to tow a big boat behind a dinghy, you probably

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