New toy: 9ft nesting sailing dinghy

[Seaslug Caravan]

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

I used to have a Swanson "Snug" nesting dinghy. It was awful. To allow it to "nest" the seats were positioned very poorly, basically too far forward and aft. It was virtually unusable.


If you towed it over about 4 knots it would flood via the centreboard case.


Very heavy too, I once tore a calf muscle launching it.


Best thing about it was, it was easy to sell. For some reason lots of people (who'd never owned one) thought they were fantastic.

OH DEAR, Mr 44C, you are not meant to tow a dingy without the centerboard case blanked off.

(normally a friction fit plug style arrangement inserted in top of said case)

Live and learn I guess.

Now Speaking of Swanson Snugs, I own one. It was custom made in the snug mould out of DB cloth and epoxy, without any of the extras. ( ie no centreboard case).

It is very light, but a little fragile, so one has to keep that in mind when using. I can easily carry it by myself.

I don't know how many were built this way as I am the second owner.

I love it.

Some people added liquid foaming goop to the seat compartments for "safety". This can absorb water and make the boats heavy. Worth checking out.

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by Seaslug Caravan

OH DEAR, Mr 44C, you are not meant to tow a dingy without the centerboard case blanked off.

The blanking plug that came with the boat leaked. I never towed it much anyway, so never could be bothered to make a new one. We got a better dinghy.

Overall it was a piece of crap. Doesn't surprise me that you'd love it.

[crazyoldboatguy]

Got this nesting dinghy shipped from South Africa by the designer/builder. It is the prototype of the Sinbad ll pram. 11' 4" long with a 5 foot beam. I have oars for it and an old 5.5 hp Johnson outboard.

Wish I could rotate the photos upright. Maybe you could turn the computer on its side.

EDIT-Rotated!

[slowpoker]

It's very beautiful !. I built a sailing nesting one from plywood covered with fiberglass cloth where the construction type for attaching the cut plywood to each other to make the curves is called "stitch and glue" while using copper wire for the stitches and reinforcing with fiberglass cloth there.
It was very light to carry and rowed effortlessly but the wood rotted in time with rainwater. Found the pattern online and modified it from the 14 footer it was designed to be.
Have you gone to see what the damage to the new dinghy is? If it's only cosmetic and they could not fix it to look perfect and they offered to refund the high price or to make you another, there is also a third solution:
Ask them for a good discount, maybe at their cost or less. This way, you don't have to wait to get another built, or have to buy something else somewhere and besides, you will eventually and naturally mark and scratch it with use, even will get deep dings in it with time. The builder will be very glad to discount it and be done with it since he will have to discount it to another buyer and you will be enjoying it soon, at a much better price for the Admiral to accept. Enjoy it!!.

[SoundOfSilence]

Hi all,

To Schooner Chandlery: Maybe I was a bit unclear in my post but I did accept his suggestion to make a completely new boat. Anyway, I took your advise and sent him a nice e-mail 22nd of September asking if he got my answer. I got a reply and it was confirmed he got it and that all is ok for a completely new boat to be produced which will be ready in November. It is now soon November and I am exited to see what will happen :-)

To Slowpoker: I didn't go there to look at the damage, but I trust his words when he informed me he had rejected it himself. I did ask for photos of the areas in question, but he didn't send me any. I prefer to wait until he gets it right instead of getting one with scratches and faults.

To Crazyoldboatguy: Looks nice! Looking forward to your experience after you have tested it for a period. Do you have a link to the webpage where you bought it?

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by crazyoldboatguy

Got this nesting dinghy shipped from South Africa by the designer/builder. It is the prototype of the Sinbad ll pram. 11' 4" long with a 5 foot beam. I have oars for it and an old 5.5 hp Johnson outboard.

Wish I could rotate the photos upright. Maybe you could turn the computer on its side.

EDIT-Rotated!

Absolutely beautiful!

[crazyoldboatguy]

Originally Posted by SoundOfSilence

Hi all,

To Schooner Chandlery: Maybe I was a bit unclear in my post but I did accept his suggestion to make a completely new boat. Anyway, I took your advise and sent him a nice e-mail 22nd of September asking if he got my answer. I got a reply and it was confirmed he got it and that all is ok for a completely new boat to be produced which will be ready in November. It is now soon November and I am exited to see what will happen :-)

To Slowpoker: I didn't go there to look at the damage, but I trust his words when he informed me he had rejected it himself. I did ask for photos of the areas in question, but he didn't send me any. I prefer to wait until he gets it right instead of getting one with scratches and faults.

To Crazyoldboatguy: Looks nice! Looking forward to your experience after you have tested it for a period. Do you have a link to the webpage where you bought it?

Here's the link (Wave Dancer Yacht Design - wholesale plan sales). Winfried is a great guy and is very interesting. He recently worked out details for some of his designs to be made into kits and sold @ Chesepeake Light Craft (Chesapeake Light Craft | Boat Plans, Boat Kits, Boatbuilding Supplies, Boat Kit, Kayak Kit, Canoe Kit, Sailboat Kit). For me the dinghy is very handsome and handy.

BTW - thanks to whoever turned by photos right side up. I couldn't figure how -
I need to learn where the rotate button is!

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by crazyoldboatguy

BTW - thanks to whoever turned by photos right side up. I couldn't figure how -
I need to learn where the rotate button is!

Last edited by HappyMdRSailor; Today at 06:31.

[crazyoldboatguy]

Originally Posted by HappyMdRSailor

Last edited by HappyMdRSailor; Today at 06:31.

[JPA Cate]

vjm, 148 cm is 48 inches.

A.

[SoundOfSilence]

Hi all,

Latest update is that the 2nd new dinghy will be finished about 25th this month, Sofia (daughter) and me are so exited

They say they will send me pictures Thursday this week.

[SoundOfSilence]

My new dinghy arrived 16th of December. It was very securily packed and all pieces were there. All good so far.

[SoundOfSilence]

I test mounted the dinghy in the garden and left it there over night. During the night it rained a little. Next morning when I wanted to move the dinghy, I noticed it was extraordinary heavy (after taking away the apparent water in the bilges of course). It turned out that both forward and aft watertight compartment were now partly filled with water.

The forward compartment has a hatch, so it was easy to get the water out of it there. In the aft compartment, the water had entered through a whole in the bilge into the watertight apartment. Water can get into this area, but if you turn the dinghy in all directions, water will not get out again as it will be the highest area.



To drain the water out I found the easiest way was to drill one hole on each side and put the section upright. In this picture you can see the water draining. After draining, I sealed the two holes with two small bolts. The hole in the bilge I sealed with epoxy.

[SoundOfSilence]

As there is a hatch in the forward part, I could look at the inside and noticed the epoxy work was rather rough so there were some small holes there also. I epoxied the inside to seal this section as well.

[Hasbeen]

That looks like a lovely dingy, & worth the few little teething problems you are having. It is a pity though that some builders don't understand the importance of buoyancy compartments being really watertight.

I have a Swanson Snug, & it has been a great dingy, ever since I got it in 1976. It is fun to sail, is a really good boat to row, & is a satisfactory outboard boat. I did add a 20 inch extension to the bottom of the mast, so I could comfortably sit on the oars, lashed for & aft down the centre line of the boat, & had a decently shaped sail made for it. It has covered about 12,000 miles as deck cargo on the yacht, & probably 500 miles on it's own bottom.


My kids learnt to sail in it, & it has taken a bashing very well. Being a Swanson, it is overbuilt of course, which makes it very tough. It was a much better solution on my 40 footer than an 8Ft glass dingy, or a 10Ft planning rubber duckie.


Oh, & for anyone who knows them & wants one, sorry, it is not for sale.