A minto. This photo I found online and is the inspiration for our Minto which is meerly a fiberglass shell at the moment. But it is outside of the temporary technology center (my art show canopy set up in the driveway) and on deck to move inside to get completed. I’ll be chronicling that here as well. The Minto will live in davits off the stern for coastal and island hoping and live in chocks on the poop deck for blue water.
Our “go-fast” Hot-rod dinghy is a West Marine high pressure “v” floor inflatable. She is big and fast with even a 15 HP but we will probably put a new 4 stroke yamaha 25 on her. The new 25s are the same weight as the older 20’s. With a one ton capacity she will also double as the station wagon. The Hot-Rod will live in her bag, probably lashed to the deck most of the time. When at anchor I may build a bridal to lift her clear of the water from one of the booms just to discourage theft and marine growth.
Rounding out our little fleet will be the inflatable canoe by Sevylor. I just purchased this boat today at our local West Marine. I have the advantage of being in the business and was making a pretty large purchase so I tacked this on and the store manager helped me get a good deal on it. Nice thing about West Marine is that if this boat has a problem, they just take it back and that’s that.
While I’m at it I’ll post this picture. It’s the best solution to putting registration onto an inflatable boat that I’ve found to date.
I have no interest in this company but I’m a happy customer.
Clicking the above window will take you to their web site. I purchased a “kit” at West Marine and then completed the order online. If you don’t wish to navigate away from the forum then you can right click links and select “open in new tab” option or we can beat up Geoff until he changes the settings so that PHPBB does that anyway… hint hint. Shoot for all I know it’s a user option… better do my homework.
As shown below, we use a 12 ft Caribe dinghy with a 20 HP 4-stroke Yamaha - shown tied to our dock (with our 1986 36/38 Freedom moored just beyond in Soper’s Hole, BVI. But my love will someday be transferred (I hope) to a classic, ten foot, Herreshoff lapstrake pram I am building. This winter, I plan to form, cut and add the Northern White Cedar strakes (5/16" thick, 10 on each side) and, just perhaps, also get the oak ribs steam-bent and in place - all held with copper rivets! I could use any positive forces that people can send my way as this is my first wood-working effort. And, do stop by if you are in the area - and want to help!
A friend is in another dinghy off the dock and the blue pram dinghy he built from a kit is in between.
What a great looking spot… makes me want to go hiking.
I recently read of Desolation Sound in a paddling adventure book… can’t remember which one although it might have been one of Jon Turks. PNW is for sure on our list.
For the past 15 years I’ve used a stitch-and-tape seamed plywood dinghy that’s the best rowing and towing dink I’ve encountered. It’s based on a 2/3-scale Phil Bolger “Bobcat” plan, which is reinterpretation of the iconic Beetle Cat by the designer. When I first built it, I submitted its picture to Woodenboat Magazine. They never published the picture. I assume because I admitted to have corrupted the Pete Bolger plan to suit my needs. It has two chines with a narrow flat bottom that lets it plane behind my F-28 (Mull) at as little as 5 knots. It has a lot of spare bouyancy, with a real bow, and is 8’3" overall with a 54" beam. As a bonus it only weighs about 55-60 pounds, and has a skeg with a lawn-mower wheel embedded at its very rear, permitting me to pick up its bow, and simply walk it where it needs to be.
Pictures will follow.
Herm SV Impulse (28’ Mull)
Here is the only stich and glue dink I ever made. It’s also an altered design that started as an Ira Einstein’s skiff. The skiff was 12 feet long but I made mine just over 9. I kept the original beam though. Also the transom is the same. I introduced quite a bit of rocker vs the flat bottom of the skiff. She just found a new home via craigslist. I hope she does good service.
I’m very pleased with our Walker Bay 8. I bought it second hand and it’s light, relatively soft material and has a nice sailing rig. On the F33, I could lift it from the water without tackle or help. On the F44 with it’s higher freeboard I use a halyard and the main wishbone boom. WB8 Stanley is on the mid deck in the summer and on the port side deck when we need the smoke flue on the diesel heater.
It looks like a tiny dink, but I can comfortably sail it with my 14 yr old son.
The fore-and-aft oriented seat is appropriate with a dinghy that has two sets of oarlocks. I think all dinghys should have this capability, because most of them have insufficient stern bouyancy when you have someone sitting there when the person rowing is sitting in a position which is optimized for single-handed rowing. I balance the boat off by using the front oarlocks, when rear seat is occupied, and the rear-most oarlocks when alone in the boat. The dinghy is so light that I once got awfully close to a rear-wise capsize when a guy got in and threw himself aft onto the seat. Such a near accident shouldn’t happen if the dinghy weighs a lot, but then it wouldn’t plane at low speed, and I couldn’t easily roll the thing down my 200’+ walkway to my dock. Herm
Great to see the small stuff here. In addition to my Beetle Cat, Hobie 14 Turbo, 13’ Boston Whaler, Sunfish, alum canoe, three plastic kayaks, paddle boat, and dinghy, I have built a strip plank canoe, rowing shell, plywood sea kayak, and am currently working on a new strip plank kayak that still has a long ways to go. If I figure out how to add photos, then you will see these projects below.
Mark Edwards
The strip plankers are gorgeous. Kerri and I have a fiberglass Selki and a plastic Prijon Kodiak. They are both in the 17 foot range sea kayaks. Unfortunately they are on the roof of our RV at the moment at the Florida place…
The in-flat-able canoe arrived last week I just haven’t had the time or weather to inflate it and play with it.
The Hot-Rod will live in her bag, probably lashed to the deck most of the time. When at anchor I may build a bridal to lift her clear of the water from one of the booms just to discourage theft and marine growth.
