Dinghy fantasy

[Black Panther 659]

Those Townsons are works of art. 

 

 

But I am thinking something a little more "workboat".

[Dtwo 106]

Rowing a sunburst is no fun.  Too beamy and too much wetted surface.  Be heavy to get on board too.  

[Priscilla II 246]

11 hours ago, Black Panther said:

Those Townsons are works of art. 

 

 

But I am thinking something a little more "workboat".

Doesn’t come any more utilitarian than the Parkercraft tinnie. 
Most probably now highly collectible.

[Island Time 776]

Used to have one of those when I was a kid. They were riveted together, and after many years of being trashed, it leaked pretty badly thru the rivets. To use one as a tender, you'd want to have some pretty good gunnel fenders, and have to have a careful think about how to get aboard without trashing the mother ship. The alloy can leave nasty marks, dents and scrapes. But, on the other hand, they are light and tough

[GregW 17]

A few more nesting ideas/links here https://www.christinedemerchant.com/boat-styles-take-apart.html

You may have to build to get exactly what you want. Many of the simple skiff designs could be knocked out in a week or two. maybe rent a garage nearby??

[Tamure 361]

lot to be said for pram dinghies, like a nutshell

[Ptown 6]

I have one very similar if not the same as the delta. Nice sail, nice foils. PM me if your serious and I'll take some pics

[tuffyluffy 72]

Possibly a bit long and heavy, but we have on of these in our boat shed on Stewart Island as an all purpose hack. They row well, and can sail and motor.

 

https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/01/15/own-a-seabird-3-2m-dinghy/

[MuzzaB 11]

3 hours ago, Island Time said:

Used to have one of those when I was a kid. They were riveted together, and after many years of being trashed, it leaked pretty badly thru the rivets. To use one as a tender, you'd want to have some pretty good gunnel fenders, and have to have a careful think about how to get aboard without trashing the mother ship. The alloy can leave nasty marks, dents and scrapes. But, on the other hand, they are light and tough

We used the 8'6" Parkercraft as a tender for a while when I was a kid.  I think my father's thinking at the time was that the boys couldn't do too much damage to it.  We installed a pretty good PVC gunnel strip.  With a 4hp outboard that thing would fly, but it was terrible to tow in a crosswind and did not track well.  It was as ugly as...

The image of the Townson reminded me of the tradition Squadron dinghies: not glued clinker but the old clinker brass-riveted over bent frames.  When I was a wee nipper some family friends had Tawera.  When they sold her they kept her dinghy, which may well have been a Logan like the boat it belonged to.  It was such a piece of art.  I wish I knew what happened to it.

Sorting through some photos the other day I came across a photo taken at Roberton Island during our summer cruise of either '82 or '83.  Almost all of the dinghies on the beach are rigid dinghies.  We had one of the Jim Young dinghies by then (built it from a kit) and it was a sweet dinghy though a little unstable when boarding.  Today the beach would be full of RIBs and inflatables.

BP - I'm glad you are considering a rigid dinghy.  To keep the spars to a length where they can fit inside the boat, how about a lugsail?  I am currently rebuilding an El Toro pram dinghy (very Northern California - but essentially the same as the Sabots that used to sail at Wakatere).  Instead of its original mainsail I am converting it to a lugsail so that the spars can fit inside the hull.  It will be a tender.  The same would work well on a boat of 11 or 12 feet.  But for rowing efficiency in a fixed-seat you would want to stay as close to 4' beam (1.22m) as possible.  The Sunburst is 4'11" which requires longer oars and more effort (as you know).

I'll be happy to build to order - but you have to come to San Francisco to collect it and let me do the return trip.

 

[waikiore 64]

The big Nutshell will do everything you want, I have been involved in building many of the shorter ones and still use one as my only dinghy, has been towed to the BOI and back many times and sailed at all anchorages. You have probably walked over her getting to the dock for tall ships parties each year.