building a 9' wood dinghy.. best model?

[Bruce Beard]

Have you seen the designs offered at Woodenboat? I once built one of Joel Whites Nutshell Prams. It was a great little dinghy.
My advice is to push the size to the largest size you think you can manage as they simply become bette/more capable with size.
The Shellback is too large based on your original criteria but it is simply an awesome design. They used to sell kits that made it all that much easier.
Take a look...
Bruce

https://www.woodenboatstore.com/cate...-_boatbuilding

[Ken Z]

google portugese dingy. The standard is a little over 7’ but can easily be stretched out to 81/2’ its a stitch and glue and 1/4 marine ply bottom and sides I beef up the transoms fora motor, epoxy and glass. The el torro is a 8 pram could be stretched out ,heavier. both are easy to build.

[PDelay]

Chesapeake LightCraft offers a nice 9' Eastport Pram, that weighs about 50lbs, as compared to the standard inflatable at 100lbs


http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/members/167175-albums4182-picture29164.html[/IMG]

[iota27]

Google: "danny green nesting dinghy"...he sells plans for an easily build one. I built two over the years and was pleased with both.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by centerline

I am looking at building a dinghy that suits us better than what we can afford otherwise...
we currently have an 8ft WalkerBay, and it works for our basic need, but isnt quite big enough for my wife and I to find any comfort in when using it to sight see from....

I DONT want, and WONT have an inflatable, so there is no need to try and convince me they are the best, as they are NOT the best for every usage, but only another option.... they are too heavy and bulky for my liking.

I would like opinions on the hard shell dinghys/tenders others may have, and the pros and cons you see with the model you have..

there are plans for simple pram designs, and more complex multihull designs, and the conventional monohull types to choose from, but I cant decide without more information.

I want somerthing in the 8.5 to 9.5 ft range, with a bit more beam (stability) than the walker bay, and light enough for 1 person to handle (100lbs or less)... if you have any suggestions for a simple built, wood dinghy that may fit my needs, I would like to hear from you or see a link showing the model you refer to.... Thanks

Build a simple pram.

[HopCar]

Take a look at this, 10 foot long, 57” beam, 95 pounds, stitch and glue plywood. Plans only or CNC cut plywood kit. https://bateau.com/proddetail.php?prod=GV10

Click on Study Plans for more information.

[picklesandjesse]

There is a really lovely looking nesting dinghy called a PT 11 from Port Townsend. It will come up if you Google PT 11.These things sail like crazy and look very beautiful. I might build one in the next year or so. I also have a Danny Greene Chameleon nesting dinghy that is a great boat.

[HopCar]

Originally Posted by picklesandjesse

There is a really lovely looking nesting dinghy called a PT 11 from Port Townsend. It will come up if you Google PT 11.These things sail like crazy and look very beautiful. I might build one in the next year or so. I also have a Danny Greene Chameleon nesting dinghy that is a great boat.

Those are really pretty boats. Even if the OP decides to build a different boat, he should buy the books that PT Watercraft sells. Best book on working with Epoxy and Stitch/Glue Plywood I’ve ever read. The books are a real bargain if you download them. Here is a link to the website.
Welcome

[waterman46]

In your design you may want to consider personal safety and not losing the dinghy to sinking, if you swamp or capsize while an outboard is mounted. For flotation and comfort, how about lining the inside bottom and sides with an inch or so of hard closed cell foam? And put a large hunk of foam under a seat at the transom and midships.

[Mediator]

Originally Posted by waterman46

In your design you may want to consider personal safety and not losing the dinghy to sinking, if you swamp or capsize while an outboard is mounted. For flotation and comfort, how about lining the inside bottom and sides with an inch or so of hard closed cell foam? And put a large hunk of foam under a seat at the transom and midships.

Both of the CLC prams (the 8' and the 12') have airtight compartments in the bow and stern that make them unsinkable.

Furthermore, both of the above prams can be build as nesting versions. Is the 9'3" limitation due to your davits or deck space? If it's the latter, a nesting dinghy might be worth looking into. They are not much harder to build. The 12' Passagemaker pram is a big boat though...

[centerline]

Originally Posted by Chalifour

Consider the Optimist. An international one-design and a very active racing class among transfers.

I kinda like the look of the optimist, but it has a very low weight carrying capacity, as its designed for youths, its considered fully loaded with a 150lb person.

[centerline]

Originally Posted by Mediator

Is the 9'3" limitation due to your davits or deck space? If it's the latter, a nesting dinghy might be worth looking into..

I want light weight and the length limitation is because, when its stowed on the transom, I dont want it sticking out wider than the boat.... an 8'6" broad beam boat would be great, and it doesnt need to sail, as its going to used with a motor most of the time.... but sometimes on those slow days, its fun to sail the dinghy..

a nesting dinghy is heavier and is not as convenient for our usage, but i agree it would be a great option for those who need a bigger dinghy or when storing the dinghy on deck.
it will be on davits on my powerboat... not my sailboat.

[Sailorbob8599]

Originally Posted by jkleins

I think CLC has a larger one that comes nested as well maybe the “Passagemaker”?

I have plans for the Passage Maker ... a great little dinghy. I bought them a couple years ago from CLC with the intention of building one as a tender.
I chose this model because it is so very similar to the British 10ft. Mirror Dinghy which I built for my kids many years ago. In fact I built two of them side by side which sped up the building process quite handily. To build only one would take approx. 100 hrs. and I suspect that would be about the same for the Passage maker.
The Passage Maker plans also allow for the 'take-apart' version, so you can build either one.
I paid a U$100 bucks for the plans, but will probably never build it as I am giving up the sailing life due to old age & deteriorating health.
Please make me a decent offer and I will ship them pretty much anywhere, providing you are willing to cover cost of shipping/postage.
Send me a PM if interested.

[Snowpetrel]

https://www.woodenboatstore.com/prod..._Nutshell_Pram

This is a very nice dinghy. Rows well and is stable. Looks nice too!

[Sailorbob8599]

Well Centreline, there's all the options. Only you can decide which is best for yourself, so what have you decided? We are all anxious to know? Or were you just trolling?