Rig, rudder and centreboard design for a wooden dinghy

Hi All,

I'm pretty new to this, but relishing the challenge of a new project that over Christmas.

I recently found out a wooden dinghy my father and I built has been sitting in a garage for the last 25 years, now my son is ready to come out sailing and it'd be great to bring it to life for us to sail together. The problem is that we never finished the project and she has no mast, rudder or centre board.

I'll post a photo when I have it and maybe someone can identify the design (I think it was a built from plans that dad bought), but from memory it has a centreboard housing and a mast step built in already, so positioning them shouldn't be a problem.

Given the width of the centre-board and rough location of the mast step, how should I go about calculating the mast height, boom length, centre board length and rudder size / shape?

Cheers
Hugh

 

You can way overthink this stuff. Find the class rules on line for a successful class of essentially similar size, and use their dimensions. Assuming your boat is roughly Mirror sized I'd start there.

http://www.sailing.org/tools/documents/MIR2015CR140715-[19058].pdf

It also gives you the option of finding second hand bits if there are parts you don't fancy constructing or commissioning yourself.

 

Agreed, you're much better off not attempting to redesign the rig, but to figure out what is is and installing the appropriate rig. This said, in your research, you might find the rig received some changes and upgrades over the years, which is often common among class racers. Consider the upgrades as offering better performance and/or addressing/correcting known issues.

 

Thanks Guys, sound advice. I have been checking out a lot of Mirror parts as it is the closest boat looks wise (also has a pram hull type).

The foredeck is pretty small so I assume only a mainsail (perhaps Gunter Rig) was intended. There is a good spot to step the mast that extends just aft of the foredeck where I guess I'll attach a sleeve to slot it in.

My challenge now is finding a sail and / or mast combination for a reasonable price in Sydney (Australia) that will work for it.

Can anyone name the design based on the photo attached? Or suggest a comparable commonly available rig / sail that I could use on it?