Anyone want to design a folding sailing dinghy with me?

bluey01

bluey01

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Hey everyone

I live on the UK south coast and spend alot of time walking my dog along the seawalls / beaches / hidden gems to be found locally.

I'd love to explore the shallows with a small dinghy I can sail or row with said dog for a few hours, eat a kit kat, pee in a bucket and return home.

I've done some research and can't find anything that meets my exact needs, some lovely boats Tiwal 3, Seahopper etc etc but i've specific requirements, so does anyone fancy joining forces to design a solution?

Brief:
- 10ft LOA, prefer a pointed bow as opposed flat.
- Sail with Unstayed mast, daggerboard, rudder.
- Solid construction, prefer the idea of fold out as opposed inflate, plus dogs paws! Maybe inflatable elements?
- I'm heavy, as is the dog, so two adults capacity min.
- Needs to fit in a car or car roof. Maybe even tow behind bike??
- Needs to fit through footpath gate (no interest in launching fee's) just soft touch launch/ recover similar to a SUP, "leave only foot prints" type vibe.
- A rear wheel(s) so I can drag this for say a mile from car, through gates, across various terrain.

So a small low draft dinghy that can be launched anywhere and sailed or rowed similar to the SUP explosion, Sailing for all, it will be for sale in the middle aisle of Lidl before you know it! (maybe not).

Anyway, interested to hear from any similar souls who might like to be involved in this fun project, or others that might suggest this already exists?

BTW, if it does take off, any profits would not go to Lidl but to Rowntrees to buy the rights to the Texan bar, reintroduce it and make the world a better place.

thanks

Ade
 
You want to drag a 10ft folding dinghy a mile, over rough paths etc.

Good luck with that

I have a sit on top kayak and it's 26kg. I wouldn't be carrying it very far at all.

A SUP is likely your best bet at 15kg or so, But that's not a dinghy.
 
Weight seems to be the limiting factor was my first thought too.

Even the midsized Avon inflatable ‘becomes heavy’ after 300 yards.
 
You might want to look at a Portabote sort of idea, which folds down in to a long and narrow package. Quite heavy, and not suitable for sailing given the hull shape. But food for thought.

FWIW, I have a nesting ply/epoxy sailing dinghy which I really like. But it doesn't sound like that's a viable option for you.
 
PabloPicasso said:
You want to drag a 10ft folding dinghy a mile, over rough paths etc.

Good luck with that

I have a sit on top kayak and it's 26kg. I wouldn't be carrying it very far at all.

A SUP is likely your best bet at 15kg or so, But that's not a dinghy.
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Thanks for your response, yep, weight will be an issue depending on material used, the size and location of the wheel(s) but all part of the challenge I guess :)
 
Sea Change said:
You might want to look at a Portabote sort of idea, which folds down in to a long and narrow package. Quite heavy, and not suitable for sailing given the hull shape. But food for thought.

FWIW, I have a nesting ply/epoxy sailing dinghy which I really like. But it doesn't sound like that's a viable option for you.
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Portabote defo along the lines I was thinking of, thanks for your response and help
 
dunedin said:
Or just get a Mirror dinghy, a lightweight launching trolley and a roof rack, and go exploring.
Can be rowed or sailed with practical gunter rig.
Your choice - dreaming vs boating :-)
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Yep had a few of those over the years! You are right, but now time to dream I guess :) plus needs to fit through a standard single gate, thanks for your input (y)
 
I used to have a clone of a Prouts Folding dinghy, and it weighted about 15kg for a 6 ft boat. A 10ft boat would weigh much more, maybe £25kg +. without sail mast and rudder.

Too heavy to lift or drag far but only wanted to get it from slipway to clubyard and roofracl, though it did sail nicely in full rig. There is an original on ebay for £99.

I have pretty well given up on my plastimo solid dinghy as club causeway abut 100m long and lumpy. Inflatable is the way to go
 
oldmanofthehills said:
I used to have a clone of a Prouts Folding dinghy, and it weighted about 15kg for a 6 ft boat. A 10ft boat would weigh much more, maybe £25kg +. without sail mast and rudder.

Too heavy to lift or drag far but only wanted to get it from slipway to clubyard and roofracl, though it did sail nicely in full rig. There is an original on ebay for £99.

I have pretty well given up on my plastimo solid dinghy as club causeway abut 100m long and lumpy. Inflatable is the way to go
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Thats great intel thanks, yes weight seems to be one of the biggest problems to solve, I like a challenge :D
Yep inflatable elements maybe the answer? ....maybe Elon wants to donate some spacex offcuts and top secret bonding info, he can contact me via the forum :sneaky:
 
bluey01 said:
Yep had a few of those over the years! You are right, but now time to dream I guess :) plus needs to fit through a standard single gate, thanks for your input (y)
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Where is your sense of adventure? We used to lift Mirror dinghies (and Enterprises) over two high gates and across the twin track railway line in between, leaving balanced on gate overhanging track whilst went round to lift.

PS Also used to regularly lift Mirror dinghy into a basement through door much narrower than a standard house one, on its side of course.

Only dinghy that might fit through a single gate would be a Moth with the wings removed. Ideal for you needs as all carbon fibre so super light to pull on narrow trolley - seen one towed over a mile by a man on a monocycle.
 
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dunedin said:
Where is your sense of adventure? We used to lift Mirror dinghies (and Enterprises) over two high gates and across the twin track railway line in between, leaving balanced on gate overhanging track whilst went round to lift.

Only dinghy that might fit through a single gate would be a Moth with the wings removed. Ideal for you needs as all carbon fibre so super light to pull on narrow trolley - seen one towed over a mile by a man on a monocycle.
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:D
 
I’d suggest a walker bay, as a non folder that might meet your needs. I can’t imagine you’re hailing any option a mile!
 
.....this sketch shows the kind of thing, maybe? maybe not? lightweight composite floor folds in half, inflatable sides holds beam for central support for windsurfer style main? Fabric transom or slotted in for rudder? left hand of sketch shows how offset dagger board slot could take large wheel (BMX mag wheel?) to counterbalance weight issues? just thoughts obvs......

Sketch.jpg
 
What makes the Fliptail special?

"Modern" perhaps lighter DIY take on the Prout Coracle, I suppose. though if you can get a Prout for 100 quid you'd save time, money, and own a classic, all good things to do.

Other similar designs available on't site.

Prouts did an actual 10 foot pointy-bowed gunter rigged daggerboard folding sailing dinghy, (50 quid new to you squire,) called the Seabird which would sail a lot better than a Coracle, but I dunno if there's a modern take on that available.

For a long time I had plans for a Percy W Blandford folding kayak which had a sailing rig drawn, but I never did anything with them and eventually lost them. That would probably have been fairly fast in flat water but maybe a bit crowded and tippy with a dog on board. I thought of maybe adding outriggers to make a trimaran.

Edit: PWB plans still available apparently from www.clarkcraft.com, including a double folding kayak and a folding pram dinghy, though the latter is pretty heavy at 60 pounds. I suppose you could maybe get that down a bit with different materials.

There used to be a very good site with detailed free plans and instructions for building a range of aluminium tube framed PVC skinned kayaks (and some inflatables) at www.yostwerks.com, but its disappeared. The Internyet, y'know?

URL seems to have been hijacked by a porn site. Should have archived it. (The kayak plans, not the porn)

Some fragments remain here, not enough to be vey useful but perhaps enough to get an idea of the techniques used.

DIY Kayak Building

Oh wait, heres a much better mirror site

Folding Kayak Builders Manual - Homebuilt Folding Kayaks by Thomas Yost

There was originally a beamier semi-inflatable with home-made air sponsons prototype on the site which would have been closer to what the OP is after, but apparently latterly he went to a more greenland kayak style using commercial Folboat air sponsons
 
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bluey01 said:
.....this sketch shows the kind of thing, maybe? maybe not? lightweight composite floor folds in half, inflatable sides holds beam for central support for windsurfer style main? Fabric transom or slotted in for rudder? left hand of sketch shows how offset dagger board slot could take large wheel (BMX mag wheel?) to counterbalance weight issues? just thoughts obvs......

View attachment 202686
Click to expand...
That's looking an awful lot like a Tinker...
 
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