family dinghy to 'play' on the lake

[Fascadale]

Over 50 years ago I learnt to sail, row and use a small outboard on a wooden Mk1 Gull, a boat designed by Ian Proctor to be sailed, rowed and used with a small outboard. The original Gull was designed and built for Ian's own children.

50 years later I am about to launch my next (refurbished over the winter) Gull Mk1 for my grandchildren to learn to sail, row and use a small outboard. The Gull will be very pleasant for me to sail by myself at other times.

The 11ft hard chine dinghy is (just) light enough for me to be able to launch and retrieve by myself. Its a very safe and stable little boat, exciting enough to sail but with such weather helm it's difficult to capsize (suits me!)

I fully expect (and hope) that the grandchildren eventually get bored with the Gull and move onto either Oppies or Toppers (also an Ian Proctor design) The Gull will still be there for just "messing about in boats", a bit of fishing, some exploring..................

Wayfarer to big, GP14 and Enterprise a bit too "exciting" for small children, Mirror, not as spacious or stable as a Gull, never sailed a Heron.

Later fibreglass Gulls are available and raced in a variety of clubs. Have a look at "Gull Dinghy Enthusiasts" on Facebook. The early gunter rigged Gulls had two mast stepping positions so were designed to be sailed with one or two sails

Photos from the Sixties!







The "new" boat

 

[dunedin]

The Gull does look like another good option.

It’s the OPs call, but based upon the comment in an earlier post ........

I am not so sure about my strength ...................I have found my strength disappearing rapidly, I can build up my upper body strength but loose it very rapidly if I don't exercise !!

I would definitely recommend checking the actual weight of each boat being considered as some other options suggested can be very heavy (and some types can absorb water and be much heavier than listed weight when new - eg our old West Eleven).
Keeping some budget for a new launching trolley with good inflatable tyres can be a good investment (much cheaper than physio bills).
Enjoy the sailing, should be fun

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Over 50 years ago I learnt to sail, row and use a small outboard on a wooden Mk1 Gull, a boat designed by Ian Proctor to be sailed, rowed and used with a small outboard. The original Gull was designed and built for Ian's own children.

50 years later I am about to launch my next (refurbished over the winter) Gull Mk1 for my grandchildren to learn to sail, row and use a small outboard. The Gull will be very pleasant for me to sail by myself at other times.

The 11ft hard chine dinghy is (just) light enough for me to be able to launch and retrieve by myself. Its a very safe and stable little boat, exciting enough to sail but with such weather helm it's difficult to capsize (suits me!)

I fully expect (and hope) that the grandchildren eventually get bored with the Gull and move onto either Oppies or Toppers (also an Ian Proctor design) The Gull will still be there for just "messing about in boats", a bit of fishing, some exploring..................

Wayfarer to big, GP14 and Enterprise a bit too "exciting" for small children, Mirror, not as spacious or stable as a Gull, never sailed a Heron.

Later fibreglass Gulls are available and raced in a variety of clubs. Have a look at "Gull Dinghy Enthusiasts" on Facebook. The early gunter rigged Gulls had two mast stepping positions so were designed to be sailed with one or two sails

Photos from the Sixties!

View attachment 90808



View attachment 90802

The "new" boat


View attachment 90810

The Gull and the Heron look very similar, with the side thwarts and the decked over bow. The Heron has side decks that give them an extra margin of safety when hard pressed, but you'd have to be trying to get the lee gunwhae under!

 

[jac]

What about a wanderer - Anpther ian Procter - sits between the Gull and the Wayfarer , lighter but IIRC designed for exactly what you want to do.

 

[ltcom]

Mirror too small. Enterprise too tender (sneeze and she'll capsize). Wayfarer much too heavy to pull even on a trolley with a jocky wheel on flat ground let alone up a slip. Haven't sailed the other recommendations. Have fun.

 

[jwilson]

I've sailed all sorts of dinghies, Wayfarers excellent except uphill on slipways, Enterprises a lot lighter than them. I also briefy used a fleet of Wanderers with which I was not impressed, to be honest I preferred the Enterprises which I also used for a long time as training boats. Gulls and Herons are fine, but very cramped for two adults and two children, if you actually want to sail.

Lots of more modern boats around but few are any use for rowing or outboard, except for heavy "character" stuff, which I'm not a fan of. If it's a dinghy it should plane, though you don't have to if you don't want to.

Re Enterprise comment - sneeze and she'll capsize. The old wooden Enterprise I owned had two sets of sails, racing and cruising - to the original design spec. The cruising main was about 30% smaller, as was the jib. Being a bit gung ho I wouldn't use the cruising main unless about F5 and singlehanded. It's remarkable how much faster boats are offwind one-up, though you often have to half raise centreboard and feather the main to get back to windward. Using Enterprises for training though I had a set of smaller mainsails from 12-footers I regularly used instead of the full size ones. only let new trainees out on full sized mains in very light conditions.

 

[wombat88]

Another for the Gull, the older ones are excellent all rounders. Heron too for that matter. Both can be found gunter rigged which is excellent for storage. The depth of pocket dictates the age.

 

[pcatterall]

Thanks all for your wise suggestions. I plan to adopt none of them!! Well in fact jwilson did mention the Skipper 14 and I am actively searching one out! Yes they do look like 1950s bathtubs and no doubt I will be the joke of the club but for size, simplicity and weight they look ideal. just got to find one now!

 

[[159032]]

Thanks all for your wise suggestions. I plan to adopt none of them!! Well in fact jwilson did mention the Skipper 14 and I am actively searching one out! Yes they do look like 1950s bathtubs and no doubt I will be the joke of the club but for size, simplicity and weight they look ideal. just got to find one now!

First thing to do is try to lift the bow. These boats do look very practical, but are built of very thin skins with foam infill. If they have cracks in the skin the foam absorbs lots of water and the boat can become incredibly heavy.
I know this to be true.