A beginner, a build and rig questions

[ryanshaw]

Hi, I've been searching the web a few days for info on small dinghies, my idea is to build one.

Now, I've made some drawings to keep me right, although I have no idea how well such a thing would sail, if at all, because I don't know about correct sail sizing to draught and length etc. This is where I need help. I am 16 looking to start and learn sailing, having never done any before. Therefore I don't want to be setting any speed records, just a small, easy to sail boat that I can make without too much hassle.

I am open to suggestions about rigging types for this criteria, as I assume the hull is a fairly universal thing.

Thanky you, I'll post photos of my idea.

[boatman61]

https://www.diy-wood-boat.com/sailboat-plans.html

Dinghies

Sailing Boat Plans - Fyne Boat Kits

Browse through these sites.. should find a good variety to draw inspiration from.

[ryanshaw]

So, the boat was to be 8' and the mast 6'6". How do these look? How would this sail? How best to rig for a beginner boat of this size? Where to get sails?

[ryanshaw]

So the boat is to be 8' and the mast 6'6". How will this sail? How will I rig it for a beginner? Where will I get sails? What should my measurements be? Will I need a centreboard?

Please do excuse my sloppy diagrams and lack of nautical vocabulary

[Steadman Uhlich]

Howdy Ryan, welcome Aboard CF!

I suggest you start with a proven design, and start with a simple design, so you can learn skills and develop confidence and have some attainable results and a finished boat to enjoy. That would be a good foundation for building other designs in the future.

Here is a very simple, fun design, one you could possibly finish in a week.

Puddle Duck Racer
Something like a PDR racer or three would make a great starting point. Build them cheap, with polytarp sails. Puddle Duck Racer - Easiest Sailboat to Build and Race

If I were you, I would get some friends involved, build them together, customize each to taste, then go start racing them.

Do a google search of "puddle duck racer", and look at all of the images to see the variety of designs and rigs, sails, decoration, etc.


Here is some text from the PDR site that makes a good point about this design:

NOTE: this is a VERY low cost boat to build and VERY easy design and the plans are FREE.
"The PDRacer is a developmental one design racing sailboat that is basically a plywood box with a curved bottom and is the easiest boat in the world to build. The rules are aimed at keeping the lower 10" of all hulls the same but the rest is up to the builder. A simple hull can be made from 3 sheets of plywood, titebond II glue and latex house paint. If you work hard for 2 weekends you can go sailing on the 3rd weekend. If you are really in a hurry it is possible to go from lumber to the lake in 5 days.

Our boat is not just for racing, she is great for all sorts of other purposes and in most states a boat this small does not need to be titled or registered. The hull shape carries 630 lbs. One member took 2 adults and 3 kids for an afternoon sail. "
Also, somewhere on the PDR site there is a video that shows KIDS building their own boat. They did it quickly too. I was impressed and thought it was an excellent example of how kids can be involved.

[ryanshaw]

Thanks steady hand, looks great. I love the idea of fiddling around and learning as I go, and would love to make one of these.
However my funds are extremely limited and I'm not sure I can afford to build one of these and a 'proper' boat. It is therefore that I suggest this to myself - https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3H...ew?usp=sharing

It seems easy enough to build, although what I really would like to know from this thread is about easiness of sailing. If someone could have a look with a trained eye over these plans and tell me all about them simply, that would be ideal.

[ryanshaw]

Found this too - looks easier to build and transport and cheaper - could someone double check?

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3H...ew?usp=sharing

My question is though, could this one take another passenger? or could the cockpit be enlarged to the next behind deck beam at the back to fit space for a passenger - I'd like to take friends out day sailing too.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by ryanshaw

So the boat is to be 8' and the mast 6'6". How will this sail? How will I rig it for a beginner? Where will I get sails? What should my measurements be? Will I need a centreboard?

Please do excuse my sloppy diagrams and lack of nautical vocabulary

Ryan.. its standard that the mast is longer than the boat for effective drive.. also placement of said mast.. which depends on the type of sail plan you are opting for.. Junk, Bermudan, Lug, etc
The exception is the Lateen rig which has a short mast with the sail hung from a huge boom secured at the bow when hoisted.. thus compensating for the shorter mast height.
Here's a site that does free boat plans that are simple to build.
https://www.christinedemerchant.com/...oat-plans.html

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Ryan.

[ryanshaw]

Boatman it appears I've been mistaken. I looked at my diagram wrongly and saw 6'6", the measurement from the boom to the top of the mast, and assumed it was the height of the whole mast.

My mistake, actual height is 10', boat is 8' long.

[hamburking]

1) You might consider building an OPTI. The original design was intended to be home built by teenage boys using less than $50 in materials. It requires 2 sheets of plywood, a mop handle for the mast, and a bedsheet for the sail. Of course more modern versions have been mass produced, but the fundamentals of the design remain the same, making the OPTI the largest sailboat class in the entire world.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Opti...ailboat-build/

2) While I admire your spunk at wanting to design and build you own boat, I also see no point in reinventing the wheel. In my area, like most, you can find small sailboats for free, or almost free. Often they require not much more than a good cleaning and minor repair. If you are looking for the experience of designing a boat yourself, then go right ahead. But if your actual goal is to go sailing, then you might explore free boats in your area.

Free - Free-Boat.com

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-sailboat/owe...ationFlag=true

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-cars-other/b...ationFlag=true

[JeffH]

Boatman61, the resolution of the picture you posted is too coarse to read the caption. Would you please find & post a (much) higher resolution version? adTHANKSvance

[Tayana42]

You might like the Sunfish type boat with a lateen rig. Here is one that is meant for amateur builders.
https://bateau.com/proddetail.php?prod=MF14

Also, look up the book Instant Boats by Herb Payson. And Phil Bolger designs.

[TrentePieds]

Hello Ryan, and welcome :-)

You are absolutely on the right track! I would encourage you to continue to design your own boat, not so much because you'll design a good boat the first time you try it, but because it will sharpen your understanding of how boats are designed, and what the critical considerations are.

You have had good advice from Boatman and from Hamburking. Both are people who are acknowledged in this forum as men who know what they are talking about.

I support Hamburking in his recommendation of the OPTI. It's a wonderful little boat for teaching young people to sail, and is in fact the "standard" in many, many sailing clubs for their junior programmes. But you say you are sixteen, so you may find the OPTI a tad small for you at 8 feet LOA. Sailing clubs in my area tend to use another "class-boat" (meaning a boat built to tight specifications and used for racing), the "420", for young people your age.

Years and years ago I started the sailing club at my Alma Mater. We bought one boat of a class called "Enterprise". That boat was fibreglass. Then, in my basement, we built two Enterprises from plywood. We even made out own sails! On those boats I taught a coupla hundred university students the basics of sailing and the rudiments of sailboat racing.l

Both the "Falcon" and the "Dart" you posted drawings of are just about the same measurements as the "Enterprise", i.e. they will require the same amount of materials, and they are of the same complexity of construction. On the basis of what we spent on the Enterprises fifty years ago, I would say that you couldn't build either of your choices for less than $3K in materials, at current dollars. You would also have to be really, really good at woodworking to make a satisfactory job of such an antique method of dinghy construction. You may also find that the tools you already have are not right for this type of work, and that you would have to buy more tools.

Now the OPTI - known by its full name as the "Optimist" - has a rival for popularity called the "Sabot". Both of them are proven designs and really easy to build because they use something called "stitch and glue" construction. Really, really easy! I have a little grandaughter for whom I intend to knock up an OPTI in a coupla years time when she'll be old enuff. I'm obviously perfectly capable of building a dinghy the old-fashioned way, but why would I, when "stitch'n'glue" is so much easier and more durable? :-)

Anyway, Ryan - keep up your good work and don't hesitate to ask questions here. You'll be sure to generate a good debate ;-)! You are also welcome to send me a private message if you would like to talk about the building of the Enterprises or about more academic aspects of boat design.

All the best!

TrentePieds

[Cadence]

Buy a proven design. I'd suggest a sailing pram, plywood and some West system or System Three.