Hey, here's a thought...

A good run, a good observation, and a very good/apt point being made...

I need to build another dinghy in the not-too-distant-future and perusing all of the dinghy plan pimpage out there no one portrays their dinghies actually being used in normal dinghy situations.

What I see instead are one-occupant dinghies being rowed or motored in flat calm conditions with no passengers and no load. Seems to me, if you wanted to give a real cruising perspective to the mix, what I should be seeing is a guy rowing against a two-foot chop with ten knots of wind. Oh yeah, there should also be one or two passengers, a couple of full jerry cans, and forty pounds of groceries...

Listening to some Rolling Stones covers

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an interesting dinghy...

In the "not very good news" department, some stuff you need to be aware of, and on the absurdity of pursuing limitless growth on a finite and fragile planet...

Here is an interesting take on the dinghy conundrum...



More information about it here.

Listening to Two White Cranes

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A couple of easy to build and inexpensive dinghies...

The old healthy babies or profits conundrum (but hey, profits are profits right?), hopefully a positive development, and some news from the real world...

This is a very cool dinghy from Atom Voyages...



Plus, there's a newish book "Building the Uqbar Dinghy" on dinghy building of the same ilk I'm looking forward to reading.

So many great dinghy designs and so little time...

Listening to Sons of Bill

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just the same old same conundrum...

Something well worth your time, another side of drought, and giving a whole new meaning to the phrase "Throws like a girl..."

I'm currently jumping through a bunch of mental hoops trying to sort out which dinghy to build. The fact is there are any number of great dinghies out there but the problem is finding a design that will stow in the allotted space as well as being the sort of workhorse that can put up with the loads and abuse I regularly subject it to.

Nesting dinghies make a lot of sense and I have plans for Danny Greene's Chameleon, the B&B Spindrift, and Wood's new Duo but when nested they all seem to seriously impair the view forward while sailing...

The Wooden Widget folding designs make a lot of sense but, being skin boats, they are less than perfect for throwing 75' of chain, 100' of warp, and a forty-pound anchor in the bottom when needing to row out and set extra anchors to windward when a big storm threatens. That said, stowed in front of my hard dodger you'd have great view forward while sailing...

Fact is, any hard dinghy on the coachroof is going to be problematic and there is no other space aboard to place a dinghy that makes any sense so just about anything you do is a bigger compromise than I actually care to make.

Bummer.

Tad Roberts has the right idea in his Future Cruiser series where he designs in proper dinghy stowage..

"The cockpit is huge by modern standards as it's the place you spend the most time. Options for protection are considered, dodger and higher coamings forward. Transom door and outboard rudder/tiller simplify access and self steering. No holes in the boat's bottom. I have a idea the solid pram dinghy will sit in the cockpit (becoming the cockpit footwell) in these boats, perhaps under a solid flush cover in the larger boats."

Which would sort out the problem finestkind.

Listening to Guy Clark

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searching high and low...

A bit of heroism in Colorado, a quickie must read, and what the homeless children of Dade County know...

I'm right at the point of buying some plywood for a new dinghy and, as usual, I'm casting my net far and wide to see if there is a new design that whispers...

Build me.

Sadly, when you sift through the available designs floating around there is a whole lot of the same old same and not much in the way of innovation. Which would seem that the dinghy has evolved to its ultimate level or we're just not looking at the problem with new eyes.

My thought is that dinghies still have a fair amount of evolution left to go before we reach perfection.

So, still looking...

Listening to the Carolina Chocolate Drops

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The best dinghy deal around...

Some serious dumbass, my least favorite person of the week, and I can hear the sound of our founding fathers spinning like tops from my anchorage in the Caribbean...

Not everyone wants to build their own dinghy... I get that.

That said, inflatables that will hold up for the long haul are seriously expensive and good hard rowable dinghies that will fit on a deck are both hard to find and when found most often quite expensive.

Then there's the Walker Bay...

I was thinking about the Walker Bay dinghies the last couple of days because there's a used one for sale nearby for $300. You may or not remember that for a while we had an 8-foot Walker Bay and really liked it except for the fact that it did not quite fit into the space available on the deck. The other problem is, at the time, the longevity of the rotomolded hull was something of an unknown factor.

Of course, some years later having seen any number of Walker Bays used, misused, and (in some cases) seriously abused it's obvious that like an old Timex the rotomolded construction holds up extremely well.

While they might not be as sexy (or expensive) as a Trinka or Fatty Knees they do their thing as well or better. We used to have a Trinka and while it was a pleasure to row it was also extremely tender and not a very good load carrier when mega shops and ferrying water was the order of the day. Then again, not everyone rows but they power well with a low horsepower outboard (anything over 3HP is overkill) making it a frugal ride for the cruiser on a budget.

The fact that the Walker Bays also have an inflatable collar (at an admittedly higher price than I'm comfortable with) and a reasonably good sail rig available makes them even more attractive.

The only downside I can recall is the oarlocks are plastic and anyone who wants to row regularly will want to replace them with something better...

Listening to Emily Portman

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a couple of projects...

This makes a lot of sense, this doesn't, and a pretty interesting interview...

We've been meaning to sell our Hobie Mirage as we're getting back into cruising mode and there is simply no place to put it on a 34-foot boat... Kind of a bummer as the mirage drive is truly awesome and it's a great fishing and diving platform. I'll certainly be keeping my eye out for one on sale or anyone selling the inflatable version used because I think it would make for an incredible full-time tender.

That said, it does mean I have a requirement for a diving/fishing vehicle and it has me jumping through some hoops looking at various inflatable, folding and nesting options that would be more 34-foot boat friendly...

Speaking of such things Wooden Widget has a new folding canoe called the Foldak that looks very interesting and might just do the trick if set up with an ama or two to make it an outrigger...

 

The other project is a new dinghy and I'm currently considering a Danny Greene Chameleon or a new stretched Tortoise which would incorporate some ideas/hindsight.

Listening to Guy Clark

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