Trying to pick my dinghy poison

[slug]

A problem with foredeck tenders is that they cover the forward hatch and they block sunlight .. sail handing becomes a problem and the boat turns into a cave down below

Tenders on deck are always a compromise

Hung off the stern on Davits is goofy when at sea

Don’t go there

I still prefer the old style folder, floorboards or an inflatable bottom

They do take up interior space , are fragile and are a hassle to assemble on deck

All tenders on small craft are a compromise

There is no perfect solution

[Buzzman]

I think you'll find that most if not all nesters are capable of being fitted together in the water, so no need to do it on deck. Hence, no need for deck space to do that.

Obviously, more desirable to do it on deck if that floats your boat! (Pun intended) But it's not essential.

From what I've seen on builders and makers own vids and on YT both halves float separately with one person in them.

Some are even specced such that you kneel in one and lean on the gunwales of the other half and they clip together at waterline (interlocking pin/socket, notches, cleats or fittings) and then only the two gunwale locks need to be clipped/screwed in.

Personally I'd build it with cleats designed to lock together such that the more buoyant half (the one you're not kneeling in) once 'clipped' in place, the buoyancy helps hold it there while you're fitting clips or locking screws.

For my money, a simply cleat system, in which the cleats 'lock' together by way of 'V-notches' would be ideal. IOW, the cleat is horizontal, parallel with water surface, one has a V-down, the other a V-up. Ideally, the V-down would be on the stern half, and the V-up in the bow half, so as you 'lean' on the bow section, the V would 'lock' up into the V-groove on the stern half.

Inherent buoyancy of the bow would then hold that in place.

Ideally, clips would be pin/socket (that, with the V-groove cleats now 'locked', would be in "ideal position" to simply slot together), and then have over-centre-cam locks to 'lock' the gunwhales together, with the clasps retained by R-clips tied to the stern half so you can't lose them.

Undoing and bringing aboard is then super simple: pull R-clip; release over-centre catches, push forward half away slightly so pin/sockets disengage; then lean downwards on the bow section gunwales to 'pop' the V-groove apart. Bingo, in tow pieces, almost small enough to lift aboard without any major tackle. Maybe just the main halyard. Connect the stern half to it, climb aboard, winch it up and swing onto foredeck, then clim back into bow half, connect that, step back aboard, winch that up and swing around and drop onto the stern half. Lash together with a strap then flip upside down and chock and lash down if heading offshore, or leave as is for use the next day if staying in harbour. In fact, if the deck is large enough, or if you have some sort of davit system, no need to do any of the above *except* just before you leave harbour.

Obviously, you need to remember to have a painter on both halves, so the other half doesn't float away, but it would be easy to haul aboard as the halves are lighter than the whole.

And maybe you need to undo and wind aboard the outboard, so it doesn't off-weight the stern half when you unclip it....

But in the vids I've seen it's a one minute job to connect or disconnect the halves of a nester. Add 3 mins to load the outboard, and you're heading for the beach.

No worries about rocks, shells, barnacles (or inflatable-dinghy-thieves) as your (deliberately) scruffy-looking hard dink will be A) too distinctive (being a nester) and B) not desirable for resale by thieves, as who wants to buy one...???

Apart from me, maybe....

YMMV

[picklesandjesse]

Originally Posted by Buzzman

No worries about rocks, shells, barnacles (or inflatable-dinghy-thieves) as your (deliberately) scruffy-looking hard dink will be A) too distinctive (being a nester) and B) not desirable for resale by thieves, as who wants to buy one...???

Apart from me, maybe....

YMMV

And me....... if someone steals my Chameleon. In the process of repainting her now, although I'd build another I guess if it was stolen.

[Matt Johnson]

I built a Spindrift 9N over the winter in 2009 and spent one season with it before switching back to a RIB. We tried a few times to put it together in the water and unless it is glass calm, it was way more of a challenge- at time dangerous- then just dealing with putting it together on the side deck.

If you do build one, focus all your energy on making it light weight. We went with the heavier Hydrocore marine plywood, faired the hull and interior to perfection, and added a bunch of chromed bronze accessories. In the end, it weighted something like 130lbs which made it even more difficult to manhandle when we transported it or put it together on deck.

I do agree that it could use a bit more freeboard. Even with just my wife and I- we are not heavy people- the ride was wet since there isn't a lot of height between you and the waves.

Matt

[merrydolphin]

All I can say is, any way possible for the kind of trip that you are planning, a rigid bottom inflatable is the way to go if there is any way that you can do it. And they may have some new materials out there but the proven tried and true is Hypalon.

I have met so many cruisers out there trying to change to a RIB because the dingy that they chose just didn’t meet the needs. It is the “gold standard”. They make some light weight ones these days. The ability to plane out literally changes the cruising experience. Look on YouTube and follow SV Uma. They have an older 36 ft Pearson. They got tired of fighting it and went with a RIB. Watch the episodes of there dingy solutions. They finally settled with a RIB. Most people do. And for good reason.

[Mike OReilly]

That's one of the benefits of portabote; I assemble and launch/retrieve it my 10-footer from my foredeck. Takes about 10-15 minutes to (dis)assemble and launch, moving at a leisurely pace.

[Bill O]

Originally Posted by funjohnson

I built a Spindrift 9N over the winter in 2009 and spent one season with it before switching back to a RIB. We tried a few times to put it together in the water and unless it is glass calm, it was way more of a challenge- at time dangerous- then just dealing with putting it together on the side deck.

If you do build one, focus all your energy on making it light weight. We went with the heavier Hydrocore marine plywood, faired the hull and interior to perfection, and added a bunch of chromed bronze accessories. In the end, it weighted something like 130lbs which made it even more difficult to manhandle when we transported it or put it together on deck.

I do agree that it could use a bit more freeboard. Even with just my wife and I- we are not heavy people- the ride was wet since there isn't a lot of height between you and the waves.

Matt

Even though we added some quick fasteners, never tried to assemble our nester in the water as I expected the same results as Matt's experience. Luckily we have room on deck to assemble/disassemble on the aft cabin top and it takes ~15 min once on deck.

Our 10' is ~75-80lbs and if I make a new one (11'), it would probably make it out of Coosa to reduce the weight even more.

Again agree w/Matt's observations it can be a wet ride, but will be experimenting soon w/the strake placement to reduce the splashing. A 5hp 2 stroke (44lb) is probably the max OB it can take and plenty fast for 2 people.

[sanibel sailor]

I thought Coosa was pretty heavy. Hard to beat wood for strength and resilience.

[Bill O]

Originally Posted by sanibel sailor

I thought Coosa was pretty heavy. Hard to beat wood for strength and resilience.

Typically lighter than wood (40-60% depending on density), similar strength and will not absorb water, but more expensive than wood.

[rslifkin]

Coosa is heavier than balsa or some other core materials, but it's lighter than good plywood. And it comes in a few different weights as well.

[Bill O]

Yes, I should have specified plywood (wouldn't be building a stitch/glue dinghy kit w/balsa or other core materials).

The 1/4" Coosa bluewater would be strong enough to make the hull, except it tends to be more expensive than the 1/2" (go figure).

That said, our wood nester (ply) has lasted 10 years and still going strong. The coosa build would save quite a bit of time by not needing to fully glass both sides of the boat and will never rot like ply. (would glass the outside for added abrasion resistance).

[MicHughV]

if you are going to build your own plywood dinghy....
I have only one word for you...
West System Epoxy...ok, three words
slather that on your plywood and it's sealed forever....fantastic glue too, besides used as a sealer...

[sanibel sailor]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

if you are going to build your own plywood dinghy....
I have only one word for you...
West System Epoxy...ok, three words
slather that on your plywood and it's sealed forever....fantastic glue too, besides used as a sealer...

Theoretically.
Having had an WEST dinghy, epoxy is great stuff but not miraculous. Entropy still wins, UV light, dings, neglect...
A little bump on an exposed plywood edge, encapsulation breeched, water gets in, epoxy keeps it from drying normally, wood swells, plies delaminate, epoxy coating breaks down further and rot ensues. If it was that perfect, we'd all be sailing wood/epoxy boats instead of FG.

For a quick and dirty utilitarian job, I have come to the opinion that polyester resin has significant advantages of cost, rapid cure, quick to sand and easy to paint. Tape seams. Leave panels unsheathed unless in high wear areas. Good oil based house paint. Doesn't look artisan, but workboat finish is suitable for me for the dink.
The epoxy can be the biggest line item on a small boat.

[MicHughV]

My first introduction to sailing was rather unique....

Where I spent a lot of my youth, there were watering holes for area wild game. How deep they were, I could not say as they were filled by a nearby windmill.

around the watering hole were spread 40 gallon drums cut lengthwise in half and filled with various animal feed. These, I thought, would make a good boat.

at around age 10 or thereabouts, I went to back to my mothers house and purloined a sheet, a broomstick and odds and ends of string.

back at the water hole, I somehow managed to erect the broomstick inside one of these drum sections (boat) and other odds and ends of sticks, string, etc, and draped the bedsheet over it.

this I pushed into the watering hole, and being careful not to cut myself on the jagged edges and not flipping the thing over, I jumped in.
I had the good fortune to have the wind at my back and thus drifted across to the other side.

Had my mother witnessed any of this, she would have walloped my butt around the waterhole at least 10 times...maybe 20...

Nonetheless, I had accomplished my first " sail". In later years, myself and friends welded several of these drums together to make a catamaran of sorts...which we took to a local river and sailed it.

My dad, much amused by the whole sailing thing, was on hand to video the entire project as well as our first sailing experience.

A video I treasure to this day and if I knew how to post it here, I would.

Talk of wood and fiberglass dinks, should also include " steel"...

[mikedefieslife]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

let's talk about those damned aluminum dinghy oars strapped to the top of the tube...take them off and stow 'em along the bottom of the dink somewhere where they belong, out of the way........I'm trying to think here...have I ever seen an inflatable being rowed...hmmmm....?????...anyone on this thread ever tried to row an inflatable ??...I mean more than about 50'...???....I think I may done it once, when I ran out of gas...luckily only 50' from the gas dock. Felt like I was rowing a cardboard box....

Yep. I could row my old inflatable floor dinghy at 4.5 tops, around 3-3.5knts sustained.

The difficulty was if you added a second person. There is no-where to put them in a 2.60m dinghy that isn't in the way of rowing, or makes rowing more difficult due to weight distribution.

As for the oars. The ones my latest 2.6m aluminium rib, did not fit anywhere other than on top. Then they both snapped when rowing.