Looking for guidance - want to build a dinghy

[Thule]

get a cheap second hand project dinghy. fix the dings, get it on the water.

Hi VoodooChile

I am planning on doing that too
But interested in making a dinghy as an educational experience as well.
I am looking for a the spot to come up where I can store my dinghy close to water and as soon as that spot opens up, first thing is to buy a beat up dinghy and use it

 

[voodoochile]

Hi VoodooChile

I am planning on doing that too
But interested in making a dinghy as an educational experience as well.
I am looking for a the spot to come up where I can store my dinghy close to water and as soon as that spot opens up, first thing is to buy a beat up dinghy and use it

bulding a hull is the cheap part of it. out fitting it is the expensive one. you say your budget is around 2-3k, correct? well, that alone will be for the fit out, ONLY. and that is being very resourceful.

look into the I550.
18 feet long, stitch and glue method, perfomance dinghy.
there are several cockpit versions to suit your end goal. personally i find this boat to have a huge potential cruising ability, if built a bit heavier, and for adventurous spartan people who like to camp for a couple of nights. it is also very practical and launchable in a few minutes (depending if you can leave the mast on)

the most complicated bit is the lead keel, but thats an education in and of itself and it seems you are looking for it, its not a difficult project just intensive.
there are specific masts for this design, in carbon fibre, but you can also use similar stuff like a mast from a Melges 24 for instance, in the end, look that the scantlings, mast profile and size and work it from there to find something close by and cheaper. same goes for sails. i dont recal the standing rigging numbers, but out of the top of my head, 5 mm would be appropriate: now, will you pay to have it done in SS or will you learn how to splice dyneema? and save serious money there. the dyneema stuff is really easy, YT university will teach you that

you dont need okoume plywood for this, GOOD exterior grade ply is sufficient, given that you laminate over it on the outside and be really carefull on the inside making sure you get every little corner covered in a epoxy based layer, twice.

resell value: there are about 500 boats built or being built in over 40 countries, more to come in the future (i bought the plans about 6 years ago, but ive been involved in a lot of **** and couldnt build yet), depending on how you build it and maintain it you will see some of the cash back (its a boat so.....look at it as "damage control").

it will not cost 3k, probably 10k, again being very resourcefull about spars, sails and fittings.

 

[Milehog]

B&B designs are highly regarded and have a couple that fit your requirement.

B&B Yacht Designs (bandbyachtdesigns.com)

 

[Thule]

bulding a hull is the cheap part of it. out fitting it is the expensive one. you say your budget is around 2-3k, correct? well, that alone will be for the fit out, ONLY. and that is being very resourceful.

look into the I550.
18 feet long, stitch and glue method, perfomance dinghy.
there are several cockpit versions to suit your end goal. personally i find this boat to have a huge potential cruising ability, if built a bit heavier, and for adventurous spartan people who like to camp for a couple of nights. it is also very practical and launchable in a few minutes (depending if you can leave the mast on)

the most complicated bit is the lead keel, but thats an education in and of itself and it seems you are looking for it, its not a difficult project just intensive.
there are specific masts for this design, in carbon fibre, but you can also use similar stuff like a mast from a Melges 24 for instance, in the end, look that the scantlings, mast profile and size and work it from there to find something close by and cheaper. same goes for sails. i dont recal the standing rigging numbers, but out of the top of my head, 5 mm would be appropriate: now, will you pay to have it done in SS or will you learn how to splice dyneema? and save serious money there. the dyneema stuff is really easy, YT university will teach you that

you dont need okoume plywood for this, GOOD exterior grade ply is sufficient, given that you laminate over it on the outside and be really carefull on the inside making sure you get every little corner covered in a epoxy based layer, twice.

resell value: there are about 500 boats built or being built in over 40 countries, more to come in the future (i bought the plans about 6 years ago, but ive been involved in a lot of **** and couldnt build yet), depending on how you build it and maintain it you will see some of the cash back (its a boat so.....look at it as "damage control").

it will not cost 3k, probably 10k, again being very resourcefull about spars, sails and fittings.

That looks very interesting. I can certainly increase the budget - just didn't want to launch in to a big project and waste a lot. However, this looks quite interesting. Also, didn't even think of epoxy/wood construction. Have to look more in to that. I knew it will be a rabbit hole

 

[Thule]

B&B designs are highly regarded and have a couple that fit your requirement.

B&B Yacht Designs (bandbyachtdesigns.com)

Core sound 15 looks good.
Thanks Milehog

 

[jehardiman]

Core sound 15 looks good.
Thanks Milehog

Ooooohhh...here is the slippery slope. Once you get to the point that you need a trailer to transport and launch...there is no longer an argument for not having a cuddy or cabin. From an operational, cost, or building time this is where a 14 footer becomes barely distinguishable from a 22 footer except in safety on the water. This is when you need your written SoR to keep you on track.

 

[voodoochile]

Ooooohhh...here is the slippery slope. Once you get to the point that you need a trailer to transport and launch...there is no longer an argument for not having a cuddy or cabin. From an operational, cost, or building time this is where a 14 footer becomes barely distinguishable from a 22 footer except in safety on the water. This is when you need your written SoR to keep you on track.

good reasoning there imo.
for some reason i was under the impression OP had a place near the water to store the boat. he might counter the trailer sit by having an adequate craddle on a few casters, something that he can put together with a simple interlocking plywood pieces and a few feet of 2x4 glassed in strategic load points, nothing too fancy just slap some poly , cloth and done.

 

[jehardiman]

for some reason i was under the impression OP had a place near the water to store the boat. he might counter the trailer sit by having an adequate craddle on a few casters, something that he can put together with a simple interlocking plywood pieces and a few feet of 2x4 glassed in strategic load points, nothing too fancy just slap some poly , cloth and done.

Yeah, this is one of those things....what is "me and the wife"?....I'm 63....I assume it is much less than when I first took her sailing...39 years ago...

 

[voodoochile]

Yeah, this is one of those things....what is "me and the wife"?....I'm 63....I assume it is much less than when I first took her sailing...39 years ago...

i guess only OP can really have a say on that specific. but even so, are you refering to the building stage, sailing only phase, or age related?

 

[jehardiman]

i guess only OP can really have a say on that specific. but even so, are you refering to the building stage, sailing only phase, or age related?

All of those....as many married men know...there are no "exact" concepts...

 

[Milehog]

... you need your written SoR to keep you on track.

Cannot agree strongly enough.
A couple years ago a brutally honest SOR took me in an unexpected direction. I questioned the result a couple times but fortunately stayed on track.

 

[Thule]

Morning all

After a hiatus filled with moving and furnishing, I am thankfully back to sailing. That brought me back to where I left off with wanting to build my dinghy. I also wanted to try and design it myself but realized how much I don't know, courtesy of many a learned netizens here. So, I decided firmly to borrow someone else's brain and buy a design for home build.

I also read through the advise of having a good SOR. I have been searching for plans from Australian moths to William Jackson plans from 70s to Europe dinghy and many others. Following is my SOR.
So far, I like the Europe dinghy, Australian moth mark II, Richard Woods Zest and a few others.

Zest: Sailing Catamarans - 14ft Zest singlehanded racing dinghy http://sailingcatamarans.com/index.php/designs-2/46-beach-cats-and-dinghies/436-zest
Radosław Werszko: 3.8m dinghy - Radosław Werszko http://www.dinghy.pl/38m_dinghy.htm
Goat Island Skiff: Goat Island Skiff Plans PDF https://duckworks.com/goat-island-skiff-plans/
Moth 11 from BCADemco: https://duckworks.com/moth-11-plans/
Len Morris Aussie Scow: Earwigoagin: Scow Moth Plans: Australian Len Morris's MkII http://earwigoagin.blogspot.com/2014/04/scow-moth-plans-australian-len-morris.html
Duflos Moth-Pop: Earwigoagin: Benoit Duflos' Moth-Pop, Moth Classique Plans, Part 1 http://earwigoagin.blogspot.com/2016/09/benoit-duflos-moth-pop-moth-classique.html
OK dinghy: http://okdia.org/boat/manual/tm4_buil.php
Woobo: Woobo Plans PDF https://duckworks.com/woobo/
Veloceruss: Velocette : a nesting dinghy for fun sailing https://www.boatdesign.net/threads/velocette-a-nesting-dinghy-for-fun-sailing.67078/
Europe: https://www.europeclass.org/files/2015_class_rules.pdf


I am in Florida, US. I have access to marine plywood, cedar and also some new plywood from Lowes called Plytanium - not sure how good that is!


SOR
For use of one sailor
Between 10-14ft LOA
Preferably under 60lb weight
Will be kept out of water when not being sailed
Will be sailed in the intercostal waters of Central Florida with fair amount of tidal movement, choppy waters both from wind and motor boats
Some club racing but not serious racing
Preferably reasonably stable and not too tippy like the modern moths
Preferably reasonaly fast
Boomless will be a bonus
Preferably one main sail
Strip built or Plywood is ok - I have never done either - so have to learn
OK with a double ender type raised transom or flat transom or some other design
OK with skiff or scow or some other design I didn't think of or know

I was given suggestions of Alexa Rocket https://www.boatbuildercentral.com/product/alexas-rocket-15-boat-plans-ar15/ but it comes at hull weight of 140lb.

Out of the ones I listed above, I like the look of Veloceruss, Europe, Len Morris and Moth 11.
I like the look of strip built but if ply is easier I am happy with that too.
However, as a first time builder, I am not sure if some of them are above my skill. I have built wooden furniture like coffee tables before but I bet this is a different beast altogether.


Hope I didn't miss anything.
Any advise, suggestions, links to plans [paid or free] are all greatly appreciated.
Thanks

 

[Milehog]

A couple points to consider.
Plans from a currently active designer that take into account modern methods and available materials will make the build much more likely to succeed.
Double enders or dories with long, fine sterns greatly reduce the usable size and capacity of the boat. For example, my 15' double ended Skerry is crowded with two adults and a child. My 17' Salish Voyager with a transom is comfortable with four adults.

 

[Thule]

Hi Milehog
Makes sense. I am looking to build this particular adventure for 1 person. I have a capri 14.2 at the club that we sail together.

 

[Skip Johnson]

I've lost count of the strippers I've built and done a couple of plywood proas. Current foam core proa is taking far more time to build.

Safest bet is to go with a kit from someone like CLC they probably have something that fits your criteria. For a plans approach Mik Storer (plans at Duckworks) is great at small light relatively inexpensive craft with surprising performance. A Goat Island Skiff is probably just outside your envelope and is a complicated build but damn it's fast.