Pacific Ocean Crossing in a Dinghy

[nonam]

Its already been done in a dugout canoe.Why go to the expense of a sailing dingy?

[eric the viking]

Why not?

[nautical62]

Originally Posted by noway

capsizing worries me and im guessing once they get over 450 pounds they wouldnt be rightable, but what do I know

Many heavier boats are self righting. In fact adding weight correctly can help accomplish this.

I believe all the boat used by the ocean rowing society are self righting. They are row boats, not sailboats, but none the less examples of very small craft used successfully to cross oceans.

[sushirama]

could I eat the kitten, ya know if needed?

[bene505]

A few hundred miles maybe. Not an ocean.

[eric the viking]

13.5 foot
Tinkerbelle, by Robert Manry : from Cleveland Memory

[noway]

I only read at a 7th grade level, this is a tough read for me

[cal40john]

I wouldn't do it, I'm not into testing myself in the most uncomfortable way I can imagine. The OP clarified that the following does not meet his standards, but Web Chiles went most of the way around the world in a dinghy, 18' open deck Drascombe Lugger.

chidiock

Check out the rest of the web site for articles and such.

John

[Pblais]

Jerry Spiess in 1979 sailed Yankee Girl crossed the Atlantic it was a home made boat 9 ft 8 inches. Still the record to beat for the Pacific. In 1983 The new record for the Atlantic was set in a boat 5 ft - 4in. Someone tried but did not make in a boat 3ft - 11 in. in 1998.

He did the Pacific in two legs Long Beach, California stopping in Hawaii then to Sydney Australia. Jerry claims he darn near went crazy crossing the Pacific. This was all record breaking stuff at the time. There wasn't much that could be considered fun about it. What is possible is not always desirable.

[roger.waite]

Would I do it ... no. The older I get, the more I like to mix speed, comfort & safety.

There is a good chance that the right dingy, sailed sensibly, would make it ... but it would be safer in a hull a bit like one of those things trans-ocean rowers use ...
Nonetheless, modern boats and technologies make it much easier than the guys below had it:

Frank Dye sailed the Wayfarer "Wanderer" (15'10", circa 200 kilos) from UK to Iceland and UK to Norway. He had it specially set up, but still (by memory) said its limits were Force 8. So a moderately light, unballasted dingy is a dubious proposition ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayfarer_(dinghy)
Ocean Crossing Wayfarer by Dye, Frank & Margaret Dye

And David Blagden sailed "Willing Griffin", a cabin-topped version of the 19' Squib sailing dingy, completed the (solo) OSTAR Trans Atlantic against prevailing winds.
Hunter Boats History

Both these boats headed straight into pretty serious stuff and got through.

But it gets exciting cruising a Wayfarer when you are overtaking waves (something I survived when the UK PM's 30+' boat "Morning Cloud" went down a few miles away). Some things are best left to the follies and energies of youth.

[roger.waite]

Originally Posted by nonam

Its already been done in a dugout canoe.Why go to the expense of a sailing dingy?

I loved this reply ... will keep me smiling all day.

[eric the viking]

Originally Posted by noway

I only read at a 7th grade level, this is a tough read for me

OK, wouldn't do it because you prefer to be comfortable I understand.
Wouldn't do it because it has already been done, I understand.
But, why would you start a thread that has the possibility of creating some thoughtful discussion around a challenging idea, then try to shoot it down with remarks like that? If you really are that limited, there are videos on the link I provided, so you don't have to read. In addition, the writing on that site is at about a 5th grade level.
If you really are the prolific homosexual you profess in your other thread, please direct that to a more appropriate forum. It adds nothing to this one. I signed up to post in this forum for the intelligent discussion, and the great banter I saw when reading through it for the past few months, but posts like this add nothing to this forum.
noway, you are clearly trolling.

[nonam]

It was in the 90's.I think the guy was an Argentinian.I actually saw him in Samoa.I never heard how far he got or what happened to him.

[Little Otter]

I would just to be an a$$ to people who didn't think I would do it.

[H Romberg]

I'd need more than one kitten though. They don't tend to have a lot of meat on em. :-)