After swimming to shore on last summer's sail to Boston and back, having a dinghy became a priority. We looked at what's commercially available and saw nothing we liked. There are fiberglass or plastic tenders which are heavy and rather expensive for what they are; and there are inflatables, which are not only expensive but ugly too. So building one became a winter project. We bought plans for an eight foot skin-on-frame tender from gaboats.com, and started cutting wood.
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| Stringers and ribs |
The total number of pieces to cut and fit is very high, and each one gets glued in. Once we used up all the c-clamps available, we'd let the glue set before starting the next section. Stringers, keelson and gunnel are straight pine, 3/8”, ribs are oak – steamed and bent. Trim is mahogany, and seats are octagon cane mesh. Skin is dacron fabric with diagonal kevlar roving, polyurethane on the inside and white latex paint outside. Oarlocks are nylon, and we carved oars from a straight and clear 2x10 plank.
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| Applying polyurethane inside and out. |
With the mother ship named 'Eclipse' (by the previous owner, but we like it) her dinghy is christened 'Partial Eclipse.' She weighs about 30lbs, so we can lift her up on deck (when transiting a lock one is not allowed to tow anything) and at eight feet she fits between the bow stanchions and the mast. Not only that, but she's often the prettiest boat in the harbor, and rows beautifully.
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| Maiden voyage |
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| Prettiest boat in the harbor |
That is a great looking tender!
ReplyDeleteShe's a tender tender.
ReplyDelete