Engineless dinghy?

[taildragerdrive]

I have not got a great deal of cruising experience. I do like the flexibility of a hard dink with sailing capabilities.
I have a 3hp 2 cycle gas outboard. I have never used it but I start it before each trip.
The hard dinghy I have is a sailing dinghy with a dagger board and removable rudder, it works great for exploring either sailing or rowing. I really enjoy the sailing.
I have never used it in winds above about 15kts though. It sails just fine in very light winds. So it can seem calm and I can usually sail the dink.
I do think it is a good idea to have the motor but as I say I have not yet had an occasion to use it in 3 years and about 6 trips.
The dink I have fits very securely on my front deck and is lash down well. I have not had any problem with it bouncing or getting loose sailing in up to 30kt winds.
I use a spare halyard to sling it on and off the boat single handed no problem.

[Snowpetrel]

Originally Posted by Benz

One of the reasons people reject rowing dinghies, IMO, is that a lot of them are designed like Dockhead specified, long, narrow and fine at the ends, which makes them unsuitable for cargo or passengers. But the one I designed is rather broad at the bows, so I can stand on the triangular bow seat without mischief, even when it's unloaded. It also has high freeboard to keep us nice and dry, and maybe it's builder's pride, maybe I don't know how easily other dinghies row, but I find it not burdensome to row.

Good point. I guess when I said optimised for rowing, i meant optimised as a tender that is to be rowed, So like yours the ones that work well have lots of bouyancy up clear of the waterline, but are fine and narrower under the waterline. If you look at all the working dinghys before motors became common they shared this shape, with fuller bows and finer sterns than are common today. I have great respect for evolutionary design that has evolved by trail and error over centuries and in this case I think they got it right for low powered boats.

Do you have any pictures of your 9 foot design Ben?

Cheers, oh and by the way the yacht I designed the dingy for was an Atkins Tally ho major. Very similar to your ganymede i think?


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[hpeer]

We have a Porte Bote. I modified the oar locks and oars (threw them out) and strgthened the side where the oars attach with some wood. Now I have traditional oar locks and oars ( need to get better ones).

That makes a big difference in how they row. Still not a traditional rowing boat, but not an inflatable either.

We had a 7'6" pram hard dingy at first. It was just too small for us. One was OK, sorta, but two over loaded the poor thing. Never used an inflatable.

We have not cruised extensively and I probably would carry a small motor. But it surly rows better than an inflatable. For us they are the best compromise.

[lancelot9898]

I'm looking at something called a KaBoat which is a cross between a kayak and a dinghy. I think it may row better than a dinghy and be easier to board from the deck of a sailboat vs a kayak. www.boatstogo.com

[Benz]

Hi Snowpetrel,

I think I just inserted a photo of my dinghy, but I'm not sure. I can't seem to just copy and paste. But if you search around my website, zartmancruising dot com, there's a few pics of the dinghy, and of it on the mothership.
Congrats on having owned an Atkins--unbelievable sea boats. Him and Hess are my favorite designers.
Ben

[Benz]

http://i2.wp.com/www.zartmancruising...size=150%2C112


Here's a couple more, now I figured out how to get pics in.
Ben

[Snowpetrel]

Originally Posted by Benz

I think I just inserted a photo of my dinghy(snip)
Congrats on having owned an Atkins--unbelievable sea boats. Him and Hess are my favorite designers

Hi Ben, thanks for the photo's, looks like a nice roomy dinghy for the family. Nice to be able to fit 3 kids across the back. My friends dinghy would only fit two kids or one adult due to it's narrower stern. I like the Side rails that support the seat, does this enable you to move the seat fore and aft?

Certainly agree about Atkins, he designed IMHO some of the nicest boats, and having sailed both a Eric and the Tally Ho Major they both have impeccable manners. I should point out that I don't have the good taste, it was my friend that built the boat, I get to sail on her occasionally. I have a much more modern IOR design for some unknown reason (like poor taste in boats?).

Some Photos of the Tally Ho Major, Galifrey Here

[Benz]

Hi again Snowpetrel,

Yes, the rail for the thwarts allows them to slide fore and aft as trim and length of rower's arm requires. Sometimes I take them out entirely, fill the dinghy with cargo, and scull it standing up. Great way to carry heavy loads for short distances. Once we tried sleeping on the dinghy sole with the seats out, just for the novelty. Works fine. My only complaint is that in my ignorance of composites at the time, I built it unnecessarily heavy. If I had to do it over, I'd suck up the cost and use carbon fiber/epoxy with epoxy foam for flotation. Maybe one day I still will.
Ben
zartmancruising dot com

[sneuman]

I'm inclined to try it without an outboard. Besides the other considerations already mentioned, the only place I'd have to store said outboard is on the pushpit, and I am not fond of a lot of junk there (and don't get me started on davits!). At a minimum, I'll have a Lifesling mounted there and an Aries windvane right behind.

Worst-case scenario is I have second thoughts about the rowing dinghy and as boat_alexandra suggests, someone gives me an outboard out of pity.

[susswein]

One thing I did to minimize the need for an engine in my dinghy is to make it row as well as possible. In my case that entailed lengthening the oars and adding a sliding rowing seat (scavenged off an old home rowing machine), essentially turning the dink into a fat rowing scull. I can easily keep up with kayaks with about the same physical exertion, and rarely pull out the motor if I'm going a mile or less.

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by sneuman

I have a hard dinghy that rows well and I fancy myself a fairly expert rower.

As the admiral and I are getting ready for extended voyaging in the Caribbean and (perhaps) points west, my question is this:

Is it really practical to have a dinghy without an outboard or am I just deluding myself?

If at all possible, I would like to avoid the expense and hassle of carrying a (probably gasoline) outboard in exchange for the Pardyesque simplicity of a pair of oars. I do realize that I will have to battle wind and current with my arms, but if it's doable, I'm strong enough to do it -- besides, I'll be far away from the gym and will need the exercise.

But, if it's potentially dangerous not to have an engine, I'd bite the bullet and change my thinking.

Opinions?

why would rowing a dink ever be considered dange3rous, unless one fails to use nav lites( flashlite).
this wimp of a female rows everywhere and laughs at the fancy stealable gifts the rest of ye give away to thieves. i only have a walker bay, so a decent rowing dink would be awesome to have. yeah i can sleep at night with my dinghy in the water sidetied to my boat.
yes i can sleep at night as i havent a nice attractive outboard hanging off its transom...
and, by the way, i donot need to participate in exerc¡se programs , as all the females hate me due to my not being freeking FAT and formless.... rodlmffao.
yes i can eat all the ice cream and sweets i want and french baguettes and quiches and such fatttening foods and still maintain a decent shape. i do not even worry about that.
and i am over 65...rodlmffao.

row row row yer boat.....

[sneuman]

Originally Posted by zeehag

why would rowing a dink ever be considered dange3rous, unless one fails to use nav lites( flashlite).
this wimp of a female rows everywhere and laughs at the fancy stealable gifts the rest of ye give away to thieves. i only have a walker bay, so a decent rowing dink would be awesome to have. yeah i can sleep at night with my dinghy in the water sidetied to my boat.
yes i can sleep at night as i havent a nice attractive outboard hanging off its transom...
and, by the way, i donot need to participate in exerc¡se programs , as all the females hate me due to my not being freeking FAT and formless.... rodlmffao.
yes i can eat all the ice cream and sweets i want and french baguettes and quiches and such fatttening foods and still maintain a decent shape. i do not even worry about that.
and i am over 65...rodlmffao.

row row row yer boat.....

I was only suggesting a scenario in which one gets pushed out to sea by wind and/or current and doesn't have the muscle power to get back. I have heard of it happening before.

[seandepagnier]

I often see people excert more energy repeatedly failing at pull-starting their outboard than to row 100 meters to where they want to go.

[malbert73]

Yes, and more effort lowering said motor onto dinghy.Don't disagree that RIB with 15 hp gets you there quicker, but wetter. But it is funny to see people on chesapeake spend lots of time and effort wrestling their 15 hp down to rib, to slowly motor 100 yards to beach with their dog.

My likely dinghy to replace current inflatable will be a dyer dhow which I need to fix up. Good oars and I'll rarely use motor. But my existing 3.3 hp 2 stroke is light, and can be stored on rail or in locker for longer trips or where current is a factor.
And far contrary to safety conversation, i think it is far safer to have a dinghy with 100% reliable power. Rowing an inflatable is really slow. Rowing against wind is nearly impossible. So a rowing dinghy with or without small motor sounds much safer to me.




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[sneuman]

Originally Posted by malbert73

Yes, and more effort lowering said motor onto dinghy.Don't disagree that RIB with 15 hp gets you there quicker, but wetter. But it is funny to see people on chesapeake spend lots of time and effort wrestling their 15 hp down to rib, to slowly motor 100 yards to beach with their dog.

My likely dinghy to replace current inflatable will be a dyer dhow which I need to fix up. Good oars and I'll rarely use motor. But my existing 3.3 hp 2 stroke is light, and can be stored on rail or in locker for longer trips or where current is a factor.
And far contrary to safety conversation, i think it is far safer to have a dinghy with 100% reliable power. Rowing an inflatable is really slow. Rowing against wind is nearly impossible. So a rowing dinghy with or without small motor sounds much safer to me.




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I really like the Dyers and the Fatty Knees, but lucked into The Dink (8') - a bit of a fixer-upper that fits exquisitely right where I need it to (upturned under the boom). So, that's what I'm going with.