We did drag it a little ways at about 0.5 - 1 knot, but stopped when I struck the sails. I never saw a buoy associated with it. I had something similar to your Grab n Go, a device that goes on the boat hook and holds a Wichard snap shackle, works pretty much the same way. I had brought it from my last boat and attempted to rig it to do just what you describe, but discovered that the OD of the adapter device was about 0.010 too large for the boathooks that I had on this boat. And, damn it all, no lathe on board! I might have tried taping it to the boathook I suppose.

But there is still going to be some topside paint damage. On your tri you could winch it up to the crossbeam clear of the hulls. On a monohull it would be hard to keep the hardware clear of the paintwork. Granted, scratches in the paint aren't the end of the world, but the next thing to it!

I guess Jon Eisberg can put this down as yet another way the world is going to Hell on a road paved with technology: there would be no way those pots would be 10 miles offshore without GPS to find them again.