Dinghy for single handed river or estuary sailing

[bobdoughty]

Never having been a dinghy sailor my apologies in advance if what I'm asking for doesn't exist but I'm looking for affordable suggestions for an alternative to the Drascombe Scaffie which seem to be both rare and expensive.

What I'm looking for is a simple lightish boat (GRP for preference) about 14 feet that I can launch, rig and sail single handed, simple sail plan (preferably lug but could be sloop or gunter), a good stable sheltered sea boat (unlikely to tip me in), capable of drying out fairly flat, something I can sit in rather than on, capable of carrying a small outboard, rowing would be nice....

Which brings me to the Scaffie but there have to be other boats out there that would fit the bill for a day's idling on the water with definitely no racing involved! All suggestions received with thanks...

 

[William_H]

I think you might be wrong in wanting a boat with a very old fashioned sail design. Lug? Modern (I mean in the last 50 years) small boat design has settled on the aluminium mast easily available in full length and the sloop rig with jib.
I think this very ordinary style would suit you best. The jib especially contrary to what you might imagine is easily managed single handed. Use of cleats for jib sheets and main sheet make it easy. Plus a boat IMHO will sail to windward much easier with a small jib. I would be looking for a roomy boat (especially under the boom). I am fairly big tall and heavy and old and very not agile. So recently I got a really rude shock when I tried to sail a 12ft dinghy at our club. Just not enough room for me. You might be smaller more agile.
Anyway I suggest you lurk around yacht clubs on similar water to what you want and observe the type of boats they race. This will mean you can get what they use in an older version quite cheap. Plus the type will be popular because it is good.
You may want to cut down the main sail and mast height for your single handing but this is easily done.
Now if you were around here (Oz) there is a design called the Sabre one person dinghy. http://www.sabre.org.au/
These have taken off as a really popular single person racing dinghy at our club. Good for ages right up to 70s for men and women. Far more docile than a Laser. Now I imagine you are not interested in racing but you may in the future find it very satisfying with lots of funa nd good friends al,doing the same thing. olewill

 

[alant]

Never having been a dinghy sailor my apologies in advance if what I'm asking for doesn't exist but I'm looking for affordable suggestions for an alternative to the Drascombe Scaffie which seem to be both rare and expensive.

What I'm looking for is a simple lightish boat (GRP for preference) about 14 feet that I can launch, rig and sail single handed, simple sail plan (preferably lug but could be sloop or gunter), a good stable sheltered sea boat (unlikely to tip me in), capable of drying out fairly flat, something I can sit in rather than on, capable of carrying a small outboard, rowing would be nice....

Which brings me to the Scaffie but there have to be other boats out there that would fit the bill for a day's idling on the water with definitely no racing involved! All suggestions received with thanks...

Drascombe Dabber.

 

[Seajet]

A Gull or Heron would be ideal - and are popular with dinghy cruisers - the Heron in particular is a gorgeously proportioned boat; BUT they are very heavy to get up a slipway on your own !

How about a Mirror ? They sail well, lots available for small money, gunter rig so the spars stow easily, 60,000+ people can't all be wrong.

GRP versions are / were made, beginning in the 70' s with the frankly rip-off of the design ' West Eleven ', and more recently official grp Mirrors.

Loads of lovely dinghies going for £ peanuts at the moment, I'd suggest you keep flexible as to particular designs and just look around club yards( a lot of unused boats aren't advertised so it pays to ask ) and classifieds / E-Bay in your local area.

Do remember decent condition sail/s are important though as new ones are pricey.

 

[Trickyh]

A 14ft Post boat from Character boats might fit the bill. Light enough to launch single handed and trailerable. Grp construction with keel weights. 4hp in/outboard for pottering with the sails down.

http://www.characterboats.co.uk/post-boat-14-6/

Tidy second hand examples from about 5k ready to sail.

I personally have a 16ft Steve Heard Picarooner, but its GRP is much thicker and heavier than a Character boat which makes it a challenge on some slip ways. Both boats are very versatile though. With just 12'' draught and a lifting keel, you can get into just about anywhere.


Heard Picarooner



Post Boat

 

[ShinyShoe]

A Gull or Heron would be ideal - and are popular with dinghy cruisers - the Heron in particular is a gorgeously proportioned boat; BUT they are very heavy to get up a slipway on your own !

I'm a Heron man and I was thinking - this would meet your requirements. Actually only 11ft but plenty room for an adult. Available in Wood, GRP or FRP. GRP can be found for <£1k but they don't come up often and if they do expect to break all ebay rules and offer a cash deal (they always get de-listed before auction closes).

Its a scaled down GP-14. I've sailed with two adults which is "compact", but also sail it single handed.

Traditionally has a gaff rig which means all the spars fit inside it. Modern ones will have a bermuden rig. That can be obtained in 2 parts so still fits inside the boat.

Jib can be a small jib (the original) or a Genoa - most people recommend the 79% Genoa as the 100% is stupidly large and unless you are carrying a small truck on board serves no great purpose. If you were fitting new sails you'd install a loose footed main.
If you want to get adventurous it can take a spinny (People who are good at Spinny Sailing manage all 3 single handed - not me!) Jib very doable single handed. Class association can provide instructions for a fly away jib stick if you find you are doing lots of down wind... works well. Costs about £30 to make.

While you aren't interested in racing so sticking to rules doesn't matter, its class legal to fit a furler to the jib. Very useful when single handing and you are coming ashore - you can ditch the jib in 1 pull and then only have 1 sail to worry about.

In **theory** its car topable. I honestly have no idea what muscles people had in the 1950's!! They seem to have put all sorts on their roofs. But it should be about 65kg. Its not light but not as heavy as a GP14 etc.

How about a Mirror ? They sail well, lots available for small money, gunter rig so the spars stow easily, 60,000+ people can't all be wrong.

Mostly the Mirror is a copy of the Heron with a flat front and designed to be made from 2 sheets of plywood in your garage. Speed wise the two are very similar.

I don't think there is much difference in weight.

If you do need to sit out to balance - I find the mirror's gunwale is very narrow and hurts my legs if sitting out for a long time. The modern Heron has ergonomically designed side decks. I was hiking on it for most of 90 minutes sailing yesterday in a shortie wetsuit. Wonderful!

Do remember decent condition sail/s are important though as new ones are pricey.

A set of Heron sails will cost £550 last time I checked.

 

[ShinyShoe]

BUT they are very heavy to get up a slipway on your own !

Its all going to be relative. I doubt you'll get a 14ft drsacombe size boat that is lighter.

I have a nose wheel on my launch trolley - it makes a massive difference. But single handed if its a public slip - I'd pop it on the car and tow it up, which wouldn't be a choice for a drsacombe it would be a must

 

[Champagne Murphy]

I knew a lady who did the single handed cruising in a Wayfarer. She used to kip in it although I don't know how she arranged it. IIRC there was a chap who sailed to Iceland in one, solo.

 

[Seajet]

Its all going to be relative. I doubt you'll get a 14ft drsacombe size boat that is lighter.

I have a nose wheel on my launch trolley - it makes a massive difference. But single handed if its a public slip - I'd pop it on the car and tow it up, which wouldn't be a choice for a drsacombe it would be a must

Yes a Drascombe style boat will be at least as heavy, and the Heron sails a lot better !

But both will be a right pain to get up a slipway solo, and maybe impossible solo on shingle without reverting to cars and long towropes etc.

I agree on larger / heavier dinghies a jockey wheel on the trolley is essential, as are pneumatic not solid ' Sandhopper ' tyres; it makes all the difference between a couple of chums able to push / pull it from the shroud chainplates relatively easily or being a back-breaking effort even for two fairly fit middle aged blokes.

The classic looking boats Trickyh mentions are truly lovely, but it depends what the OP meant by ' inexpensive and light ' ?!

Another inexpensive dinghy by my terms might be a 12'9" Miracle, very cheap now but wooden & bermudan rig so a long mast for trailing.

There are loads of other designs, such as the Pacer ( grp but another - modest - Bermudan rig ) as I say I think the OP should have a look around local club yards.

- Edit - just remembered the Otter; 11' but seaworthy as much as required, grp and the bermudan mast was in two sections for towing / storage, easily singlehandle-able but a lovely fun boat to sail, well able of taking chums for a picnic too.

 

[Poignard]

I knew a lady who did the single handed cruising in a Wayfarer. She used to kip in it although I don't know how Esther arranged it. IIRC there was a chap who sailed to Iceland in one solo.

Frank Dye?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Dye

 

[Seajet]

I thought Frank and Margaret Dye sailed their Wayfarer to Iceland together, they had a relatively handy quick mast lowering arrangement & used to drop the rig in gales - IIRC from a tv programme they also used this to ' dip the rig & shoot bridges ' on the Norfolk Broads.

Thing about a Wayfarer is though, it takes half a rugby team to get one up even a smooth concrete slip, and on shingle you may need a Chinook !

 

[Boathook]

As per a few others the Mirror would seem to fit the bill. There are many more other types so it is just a case of keeping an eye on adverts, etc.

 

[Kelpie]

My two penneth worth:

Frank Dye sailed his Wayfarer to St Kilda with his wife. It was their honeymoon, and she had requested a holiday involving boats, having hoped this would mean a trip to Venice. She became so seasick that she passed out and fell out of the boat. They remained happily married for many decades though,
Frank later sailed the same boat to Norway, via Faeroe, becoming dismasted in a F9, and then most famously to Iceland over 11 days.

As to singlehanded dinghies:
Two approaches to dinghy sailing. Ones where you are resigned to getting wet, and suit up accordingly; and ones where the boat serves its purpose as a means of keeping you and the sea apart from one another,
Most of my dinghy sailing has been the second kind. Wrestling yourself into a wetsuit, rinsing and drying it afterwards, sitting on a damp towel in the car on the way home, are not really my idea of fun. But you need a relatively big, heavy, slow old fashioned dinghy that you sit in, and that leads to more work at launch and recovery.

Launching/recovering a big heavy dinghy is not that hard, even solo, *if* you pay enough attention to the trailer etc. Guide bars, winches, long tow ropes or poles, etc, all help.

Roller furling jibs are great- I've got one on my Wanderer. At 125kg it's about as heavy as I like to sail solo. I find the Wayfarer is hard to power up properly because I can't keep it flat enough. Still fun, though, and a much drier boat in a chop.

 

[ShinyShoe]

I knew a lady who did the single handed cruising in a Wayfarer. She used to kip in it although I don't know how she arranged it. IIRC there was a chap who sailed to Iceland in one, solo.

There are quite a few who sleep aboard wayfarers. The arrangement is generally to have a boom tent. If you are thinking of this then Margaret Dye's Book is worth a read. Margaret was the "slightly" more sensible of the two.

Also look at www.dinghycruising.org.uk

I think they adapt the floor board to be able to lift up and sleep on them and the bench.

I hate camping. I remain tempted... ...maybe just once!

Remember you'd need to think about things like anchors etc that probably aren't standard on a dinghy race boat.

(There is a a GRP Heron on fleabay right now!)

 

[lw395]

It depends what the OP wants.
For mostly sailing on a river with seaside jaunts on nice days, there is much to be said for a light boat which will perform fairly well.
If you are sailing against the current on a river, on a sunny day with light wind, I would view anything much slower than an Enterprise as masochism. I would caution against the 11ft boats on this basis.
OTOH, smart passage makers go with the current.....
If you are going to visit different launching sites, they won't all be conducive to singlehanded with a heavy boat.
Beach launching anything over roughly 200lb all up including trolley is strongman stuff. A laser can be serious graft if the sand is a little soft, and an Ent can be the limit of what I can pull up our slip, just not enough friction between shoes and slimy concrete or even blown sand on concrete.

However, if you want to sail to Norway or something, then different issues prevail.

Some idea of budget and venues would get more useful answers?
No boat does everything, so your first dinghy might tick a few boxes, when you've done what it's good at, sell it and buy something different?

 

[Topcat47]

Keyhaven scow? In fact almoat any of the IoW Scows would do.

 

[bobdoughty]

Many thanks for your views and you may well be right that a standard cut-down aluminium mast and sloop rig could be easier and cheaper to find. As I am on the big, tall, heavy, old side I take your point about 12 footers - perhaps 14-15 overall would be better. I would love a Sabre if only for the symmetry as I own a 1978 Marcon Sabre 27 http://sabre27.org.uk/index.php/yacht/sapphire/

 

[alant]

Yes a Drascombe style boat will be at least as heavy, and the Heron sails a lot better !

But both will be a right pain to get up a slipway solo, and maybe impossible solo on shingle without reverting to cars and long towropes etc.

I agree on larger / heavier dinghies a jockey wheel on the trolley is essential, as are pneumatic not solid ' Sandhopper ' tyres; it makes all the difference between a couple of chums able to push / pull it from the shroud chainplates relatively easily or being a back-breaking effort even for two fairly fit middle aged blokes.

The classic looking boats Trickyh mentions are truly lovely, but it depends what the OP meant by ' inexpensive and light ' ?!

Another inexpensive dinghy by my terms might be a 12'9" Miracle, very cheap now but wooden & bermudan rig so a long mast for trailing.

There are loads of other designs, such as the Pacer ( grp but another - modest - Bermudan rig ) as I say I think the OP should have a look around local club yards.

- Edit - just remembered the Otter; 11' but seaworthy as much as required, grp and the bermudan mast was in two sections for towing / storage, easily singlehandle-able but a lovely fun boat to sail, well able of taking chums for a picnic too.

But a Drascombe Dabber will suit an estuary better than a Heron, particularly considering the OP's lack of dinghy experience.

 

[Seajet]

But a Drascombe Dabber will suit an estuary better than a Heron, particularly considering the OP's lack of dinghy experience.

Not if the wind and tide are against him !

I'd love to arrange a trial ( not exactly a race ) sail comparing a Mirror, Heron and a Drascombe, and if & when the Drascombe arrived, getting the boats up a slipway.

Not sure why you think a 3/4 decked Heron with self bailing or easily draining & righted Mirror should be less capable in estuaries than a Drascombe which is basically a slow romantic looking open bucket, with swamping or capsizes not something one could laugh off and sail away from unlike the other boats; you could put tan sails on the Heron if that's a priority.

As for the OP's lack of experience, well he should not go out of a harbour anyway without a couple of years under his belt.

 

[Kelpie]

I'm glad nobody told Shane Acton to stay in harbour for two years Would have made for a very dull book.