Downgrade to a Hard Dinghy ?

[Jimbo2010]

This is a Lawton tender 10' designed in 1932, a classic now being built in strip plank. Just started the build it will cost about $700 in materials. An easy build.

Can hold 600 lbs it weights 70 lbs 45" beam

It is one of the best towing dinks ever designed, it will take a 3 hp but I have a 5 so that's what I'm going to use.

My 9' 6" Achilles will go up for sale.

Oh it rows super easy with 7 1/2' oars.

[clockwork orange]

Ive always used hard dinghies and would consider an inflatable a downgrade, 30yrs ago i used to manufacture a line of fiberglass lapstrake dinghies and built hundreds of them but to be honest its hard to beat a good plywood boat for low build and repair/maintainance cost plus light weight.One of the best features of a LIGHTWEIGHT hard tender is the ease of portaging up the beach upside down on your shoulders just like a canoe,most glass ones are simply too heavy which leads people to drag them which causes damage. When i was building the fiberglass boats i built my own lightweight version of the large volume 8ft 6" model with bungee loops on the thwarts to stow the oars and coiled painters for portaging and the 12lb outboard stowed nicely under the center thwart,the entire thing with motor was under 70lbs and i could walk for miles with it,and of course theres the pleasure of rowing.
Steve.

[off-the-grid]

In the end I decided to go with a Walker Bay 10. Finally got the stickers on it yesterday, and got it in the water this morning. After a fight with NJ DMV...long story!

So far the only thing I'm not entirely happy with is the oars. Or at least the storage of them. If Walker Bay had made them even just 4-5" shorter, they'd store in the bilge with the blades removed, but their just a little too long.

[hummingway]

Originally Posted by Jimbo2010

This is a Lawton tender 10' designed in 1932, a classic now being built in strip plank. Just started the build it will cost about $700 in materials. An easy build

That certainly is a beautiful craft. The picture shows it dragged up on a lovely mud shore. I built a cedar strip canoe and expoxied (I used West System) they are extremely tough but the inevitable dragging onto a shore line does leave unsitely scratches.

This looks like a design worth considering for my own needs. Thanks for posting it. Did you buy one of the kits or are doing your own?