A Dinghy For Our 19

[Greene]

We have started to build a little dinghy for our CP19.  We enjoy spending long weekends on the boat on our local lakes.  Unfortunately there are very few places to dock at on our lakes that are public.  There are great places to throw the hook out for the evening which are within rowing distance with a little dinghy.  The plan is to make an inexpensive and lightweight rowing dinghy which would allow us to go onto shore for breakfast/dinner/drinks on occasion.

A while back, Newt mentioned a web site with free plans for several styles of easy to build dinghies.  I really liked the Portuguese Dinghy  on this site and decided to add it to my to-do list.  http://koti.kapsi.fi/hvartial/

I started on the project this weekend and this is what I have accomplished so far.







Next comes the gunwale, fiberglass the bottom, oarlocks, small skeg and finally paint.

It has been a fun little project which should give us a couple years of fun and exercise.
B has already informed me that she will not be rowing.  She did volunteer to hold the umbrella though.

Mike

[kickingbug1]

 hey mike can you make me a custom camper for my 52?  just kidding----as usual a great job and im sure the finished produce will really be something. by the way some of the 52 is now red.

[Bob23]

MG:
   Thanks for turning us onto that site...I'm inspired to build something from there; don't know what yet. I bought Dynamite Payson's book "How to build the Gliusester Light Dory" which is a Phil Bolger design. But it's nowhere as simple as your dingy. btw... how do you get so much done?
Bob23

[skip1930]

Perfect. A miniature Mrs. Paul's Fishing smack.

I like it. The wood is?  how thick and the type is and where did such finery come from?

Can you tell I'm thinking about building something?

skip.

[Greene]

The plans are online and Newt was the one who brought it to our attention.  He posted the link here last June I believe.  I'm a sucker for projects and all it took was one peek at the website to get my wheels turning. 

Skip - The wood is limited to 1/4" plywood because of the tight bends required to form the hull.  I had to soak the plywood for a while just to get it soft enough to survive the bending.  The author recommended using marine or CDX plywood, but as you saw in the website, several have been successfully made with just about any kind of 1/4" ply.  The idea behind these little buggers is to keep them simple, light and inexpensive.  Proper exterior surface treatment is probably the most important step.  Quite a few of the testimonials indicated that they just used a waterproofing sealant followed by a good grade of common household exterior enamel.  These won't last for more than a few seasons of sailing, but for a $200 dinghy it seems like a deal.   I have used epoxy resin and fiberglass tape on all the joints.  I then plan on covering the bottom and sides up to the water line with the same epoxy resin and cloth.  Hopefully it will give us a few years of service.

Go to the website and check out the GALLERY for pics of several completed dinghies.  Even if you don't plan on making one, it is fun to check out how they turned out.  I really like the idea of the lengthwise slat seating.  It makes a lot of sense for balancing the weight with 1 or 2 people aboard. 

Kick - When we gonna see some pics of this red beast?

Mike

[Salty19]

Mike-  Once again, another very nice project.  Can't wait to see the finished product. Keep it the good work! 

[Greene]

Installed the gunwale and the front/rear seat plank supports.  The little triangle box up front is supposed to give me a place to mount the bow end seat support, but it looks like it will be a neat little storage box as well.  Hmmmmm, maybe if I glass it up on the inside it would make a really good beverage and ice holder.







Mike

[skip1930]

Errrrrr excuse me Mr. Greene, but you spook, "it would make a really good beverage and ice holder."
Just how far do you think you anchored off shore. Or are you thinking of scouting up the next creek?

skip.

[Billy]

did you mitre the two pieces at the bow? Can you post a close up of the bow? You got me thinking I should build one of these bad boys!

[Greene]

Billy,  I'll take a couple close ups tonight when I go out to work on the dinghy.  This boat is really designed to be EASY to build.  The front or leading edges bow are simply attached to a 1" x 1" (approximately) square piece of wood to form the bow.  The small V gap that will remain is filled in with thickened epoxy resin.  Once that hardens you lay fiberglass cloth over the joint and resin it up.  It is nice to have a sliding compound mitre saw to make some of the braces, etc., but the plans just say to cut the parts square and fill them with epoxy.  I have been trying to get most of the pieces cut to the angles of the hull and bottom, but it really isn't necessary.  Check out the "Insructables" example.  It explains a few more of the building details and has several nice pics.  (One of the pics shows the bow set-up.)

http://www.instructables.com/id/Construction-of-Two-Portuguese-Style-Dinghies-Sma/

Mike

Added Pics;

[Greene]

A couple of questions for you dinghy-ettes.

Where on the bow should I mount the painter hardware?   Midway between the water line and the top of the bow? 

Stainless steel U-Bolt with backing plate?

Do the oarlocks have to be mounted dead vertical or can they follow the angle of the hull sides?

Mike

We have liquid lakes again!! I need to get moving on my to-do list.

[Billy]

Mike,
Thanks for the pix! You have inspired me (and I'll also be working on a cup (beer) /VHF / Binocular holder as well)!
As far as the painter line... Here is my 2cents (and that is probably all it is worth)
You want it up as far as possible so you can reach it from inside the boat. And to keep water out.
At the same time you want it as low as possible so when you are towing you get the most lift to reduce drag and increase speed and if you ever anchor the dingy (or leave it at a mooring) you want it as low as possible to increase the scope of the rode.

I would go about 1/3 of the way up b/w the waterline and the top of the bow. And use a good sealant. If you are only thinking this boat will last 2 or 3 years I wouldn't bother w/ SS backing. maybe just some SS washers. It seems the boat will be light enough and not necessary. Our 19s only have a very small ss plate and wood blocking. I wouldn't think it would be worth it.

And as far as the oarlocks go, seems you would want the angle of the locks to be perpendicular to the angle of the oars or the angle of the sides (which are probably close to the same). I would not mount them vertical.

And one more thing to consider....a drain plug.

[Billy]

Hey Mike,
Check out this dink......
http://seaweed.thebilge.com/spindrift.htm

I found it on sailfar.net. there is a long discussion on there about dingys.

guy cut his in half to save room.

[Greene]

Billy - Wow!  That guy built a real beauty.  I'm not looking to make anything that fancy (or expensive) just to use as a simple dinghy.  If you were a coastal sailor that nesting feature would certainly help when stowing it aboard.

Finished fiberglassing this weekend.  Man I hate working with that stuff.  Ready to start painting her this week.  Now, what to do about oars?



Mike

[skip1930]

Hey! She has no skeg. I hope rowing with those West Marine oars is a well learned art in your Navy.

Check the wake to see if she's rowed straight.  skip.