More daft cruising-dinghy dreams...

Much recovered, thank you gents, from a touch of hypoglaecemia.

I reckon you're all right, in respect of my curious ambitions; certainly I'm not interested in racing the dinghy, but to my mind, that doesn't exclude boats designed with excitement in mind. I'll be happy to make substantial modifications which allow safe singlehanding in boisterous conditions, and which permit fiery, madly overcanvassed performance in lighter airs. After all, if the class rules don't apply, why be restricted?

At the same time, when time and weather permit, I'll head enthusiastically for destinations all along the Channel coast, with the intention of sleeping aboard at the other end. Part of the fast dinghy's appeal to me (aside from the cost, relative to small cruisers) is the distance that can be covered quickly on a good day.

I know there are some solid alternatives - Leisure 17, Skipper 17, etc, but which of them could whisk across Lyme Bay, or go from Ventnor to Studland Bay between lunch and supper with a breezy southerly, then be pulled up the beach to avoid the seahorses? :D Likewise, winter storage and maintenance in a five-meter garage limits the choice.

I relish the prospect of carefully combining suitable camping equipment, including anchor and rode, basic navigation kit and necessities for living, while observing the weight-consciousness that a dinghy's performance relies upon.

I read several of the Dinghy Cruising Association articles, and didn't find my keenness diminished by their accounts; I was a little surprised though, at their contentedly pedestrian outlook. That's not criticism - I want to join them once I've a suitable boat.

At the same time, a bit of me is keen to increase their average day's passage-planning range...not to turn their relaxed trips into scary, insanely-purposeful pseudo-races, but to use a boat that can fly, not just trudge. I really admire their approach - and how simply one really can cruise - one chap goes in a Mirror dinghy! But, I picture the same ambition, in a sportier vessel.

And, that likewise limits the choice...I want a biggish rig, that can be safely, effectively reefed from on board, and isn't beyond 'souping-up' for progress in calms...I need floorspace I can lie down in...I need lots of dry stowage...and ideally, a hull that's not intrinsically unstable, and which can be rowed and will lie happily at anchor. All a bit contrary, but I won't quit till I've had a go. :D:)
 
Howsabout a Phantom? Big cockpits, fast and good for heavier helms, so probably some capacity for loading.

And no mention of cats yet. Admittedly tedious to sail, being all point'n shoot like a jet ski, but fast and a comfy bed in the middle. Littluns've done big trips too.

And if you preemptively got a contender, you don't want that, no no no, I'll take it off your hands...
 
Seajet said:
Michael,

I've never met you and you may look like a film star, but I used to crew one of those; above force 2-3 you've got more chance of pulling Elle McPherson on a date than singlehanding the thing, not least because it's an non-ergonomic, user-unfriendly, sow-handling bitch !

I was not a fan...:)
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Well - we've got a chap who quite often singlehands his Int14 - complete with kite ...
No where near as fast as when 2 up - but doesn't stop him going out in a F5 ..
 
That's interesting alternativism, Mr Jemm! :D

Is there any dry stowage aboard the Phantom? I love the Finn, in terms of hull form, and sheer aesthetics...but I'm under 13 stone now, and really ought to lose a few pounds, so I'm liable to be overwhelmed by it, or the Phantom.

I like the idea of the two-handers that have a decent roller-genoa; some, I believe, sail well under genoa alone, and most will accept a deep reef in the main, if it's made with care.

The Contender...aaah. I love 'em, but they're the opposite of cruisers, and in spite of determined attempts, I can't see that high floor and low freeboard allowing any shelter. The only example I tried, had the cockpit floor permanently awash even in calms. I mean...where would I put my cigars? :D

Catamarans! Wow. There's a thought. Dart 18 and Hobie 14 Turbo come to mind as rapid one or two-handers...and undoubtedly the trampoline would make a good mattress. I like the freedom from centreboards too. Not so hot on the dry stowage capacity...Is it possible to get a good night's sleep in a drysuit? :D
 
I used to have a Hobie FX one which is designed for single handing.
Can be sailed two up. Comes with a big asymetric too. Good fun, exciting in a relatively small amount of wind (flying a hull with the kite up).

I have done my fair share of cartwheels with it, and it can be recovered righted single handed.

You can open up the hatch on the hull to put stuff inside and keep dry.

Might be too long for your garage though.......
 
Fireball,

but what sort of Int 14 does this chap singlehand ? If one of the latest, I'm impressed.

On the other hand, a chum & I bought an old one for buttons thinking it would be a laugh, and nearly got overtaken by an Enterprise ! we painted it yellow and called it 'Cowards Way', and luckily managed to sell it to a policeman in the pub.

Had a Dart 18, horribly fragile, and I really doubt righting it singlehanded in a breeze; we capsized once, it was rather windy and the thing went so fast on its side we had a job to catch it, then quite a struggle to right it ( know about the stern down move ).

Dan,

sod the garage, - how about a caravan awning as an extension; only half joking...get an Osprey Mk 2 with a reefing main, ( furling jib is fairly standard ) covers all your requirements including stowage, and a seriously fast, seaworthy passage maker, as long as you can keep it upright !

Dare I ask what happened re. the Albacore ? :)
 
Shocked to learn of the Dart's fragility. Particularly since, at best, I could barely afford a thirty year-old example! Actually, a catamaran was never high on my list; though Mr Chapman has opened my eyes to what the latest singlehanded cats can do - some fine Youtube footage of the Hobie FX.

Why would anyone choose a skiff like the RS7 or Musto, if they could afford the FX1 cat instead? None of these boats are exactly beauties, but if one is happy to overlook their angular modernity...well, might as well have the maddest and quickest! :D

My garage space-restriction is more binding than one might suppose. I simply don't have an inch of driveway or hard-standing except within the garage. I'm still very tempted by the Osprey; technically it wouldn't fit in the garage, but conceivably, I could prop the bow up five feet in the air against the back wall...and possibly, thus shortened, the transom would just scrape inside, far enough for the door to close... :rolleyes:

Of course, getting an Osprey would be a plunge in itself; but it'd be a pleasure to spend all winter modifying, and instinct (and the aesthetic reward) says it'd be well worth it, even before she floats again.

Re. the Albacore...I politely emailed the lady in charge there, but I've heard nothing yet...
 
Much as I don't want to pour salty water over Dan's premise, but...
The idea seems to be to use a sporty dinghy to cover large distances of open or coastal passages.
I'm not familiar with the South Coast, but isn't there going to be a marked difference between your speed under dinghy racing conditions (sheltered water) and out in a chop? All the craft under discussion are very lightweight and would be quickly slowed by the waves.

The only time I have sailed my Wayfarer in company with my Vega (yacht), the Vega, which is slower on the PN, easily overtook me on a moderately breezy day*. And most of the boats discussed above are a lot lighter than a Wayfarer so the effect will be more pronounced.

*of course it could be that SWMBO was sailing better than I was that day
 
Very fair comment. I'm always interested by the marked difference between the Portsmouth ratings for what I think of as seriously fast dinghies, as opposed to production cruiser-racers twice their length...clearly it's not necessary to plane, to go fast!

In respect of rough water, I'll freely admit that if I'm surrounded by white horses, in fact if the conditions even get to 'moderate', I'll usually be shortening sail and heading for the nearest safe port. Just the same, I've been miles offshore many times, in flattish water, wishing I had more sail, a taller mast, a sleeker, lighter hull...

...and, I won't mind an occasional blast in the rough stuff. Two minutes watching Youtube footage, shows how impressively rapid, serious race boats can be in waves, during 25 knots+...even if there's a fair bit of bouncing.

I did say occasional, didn't I? And, I'll take some human ballast along on the gusty trips. :D
 
Quote (DOWNWEST):
Ah,
cruising-dinghy, not dinghy cruising. Did all sound a bit extreme for the DCA..

Really?...I'm not convinced that there's a cold, hard, uncrossable line between the leisurely long-distance treks which Wayfarer skippers often tend towards, and the drip-dry, hair-on-fire habits of skiff and 49er crews.

I believe that a bigger dinghy will usually be more versatile, freer in possible applications, than a tiddler. The venerable Osprey is very quick when rigged to race, but under reduced sail, has sensible space for three, even four, and dry corners for their dunnage, and (back me up, Seajet?) she won't necessarily pitch them into the drink as they're picnicking.

A littler boat can do fewer things well - the Cornish Cormorant is a great 12' cruiser, and the Laser's popularity speaks for its rewarding performance and ease of maintenance. But neither design competes in the other's speciality. Above about fifteen feet, a non-extreme design (e.g. not a Fireball!) can accommodate, and still perform.

I reckon our competitive tendencies restrict the versatility of the classes we choose; make any change that broadens a racing boat's non-racing practicality, and often as not you've contravened a class rule. So, the racers stick fast to the rules, and those boats' use is mostly likewise limited.

I'll really enjoy joining the Dinghy Cruising Association, but not if their approach is as defiant of performance, as the racing classes' rules are towards the relaxed use of their boats.

And, if it all goes horribly pear-shaped, don't worry, I'll tell every ghastly word... :D
 
Back up

Dan,

I did indeed take self, chum & 2 girlies for a picnic on East head in the Osprey, apart from me the rest had only been in dinghies a few times; as I recall about F3-4, no problem.

And the aft locker holds plenty of beer; it is therefore vital you get a Mk2. Must say when I did sail it to Cowes I was glad of that aft deck, and the sweeping long tiller just puts the icing on.

We ( self & experienced crew ) sailed the Osprey across to Bembridge another time; a trip done every year from our club by dinghies like Wayfarers escorted by cruisers - 'Royalist', which we'd both been given a lift on before ( another story ) was anchored off, and we planed past, getting a cheer, they were probably wondering why we just kept on going offshore on a bee-line for Chichester.

The more I remember the Osprey I can't help thinking 'forget the rest' !

The Scorpion would be a close second and possibly more practical one-up, and the Albacore great at the right price, but if I were to specify the ideal boat for your needs - modified - the Osprey gets it every time.

Ospreyatslip-1.jpg
 
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|Any of the most suitable 'cruising' dinghies with any kind of performance vs stability are also quite heavy boats for you to manhandle ashore. The Wayfarer,GP14, and the Osprey even are all of the 300lbs plus school and you'd need some of those inflatable type rollers to get them up on a beach of sand to avoid damaging the hull,so a weight loss regime for you is possibly unnecessary- you'd need the beef and muscle!

If you could locate a Fairey Falcon I think you'd have the perfect vehicle for your needs ,they are about 16-17 ft loa have high freeboard and a stable platform for up to 4 adults, and can be singlehanded.
Like her predecessors of Firefly, Albacore ,and Jollyboat she is of moulded diagonal laminated timber construction, adequate beam and a PY of about the old 90-91 yardstick; her centreplate is of steel ,and normal sloop rig.
I haven't seen one with a spinnaker but I'm sure she'd carry one easily.

The Falcon looked to me as if she could make a perfectly good cruiser with a nice cabin or cuddy added, to reduce the high freeboard appearance, and also has a large capacity to stow the necessities of sleeping and camping gear for two adults and children, perhaps adding an awning at night. She would lie very well on a mooring or anchor overnight.

The ones I know of were the small Sailing School training boats at Warsash, but I never saw one doing a capsize ever.
Due to their rarity the price may be fairly high as a classic of the late 40-50's.

ianat182
 
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I agree about handling onshore, Dan & I have discussed this before; I found I really needed a jockey wheel for the Osprey trolley as we have quite a steep slip, though it's nowhere near as heavy as a Wayfarer ( I know weight could be a good thing solo but don't think it's Dan's ethos ).

So it would be a case of pulling the boat up as far as possible and bringing an anchor ashore ?

Padlocks & security things apply here...

I remember there used to be inflatable rollers to put under boats, Crewsaver as in buoyancy bags & later lifejackets ?

To be honest I'm a reasonably fit 49, and it's a grind pulling a lightweight tender up a steep slippery seaweed covered slip, so I think Dan's boat on a cruise will have to stay at the shoreline, or even anchored off in a whip and use a small beach type inflatable to get to the pub !

Edit; just to say my mistake, I thought we were talking about hot-shot day sailing now, but back on to actual travelling places as well.
 
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Yes ,there's one that has a cabin and bilge keels fitted at Oxford for £1450 on Boatshop24, looks like a flush deck cabin cut away at the cockpit. sounds a bargain for a starter boat anyway.

Alec Stock modified his with extra ballast and a topsail rig,interesting and worth the Google search for comment on his outstanding cruising mileage in 'Shoal Waters'!!

ianat182
 
DownWest said:
Isn't Charles Stock's Shoal Waters based on a Falcon hull? Must consult my friend Mr G.
A
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Yes, I believe she is. It is several decades since these moulded plywood boats were produced and I should think a serviceable Falcon hull would be hard to find. There is however a GRP hull still available which is very similar in shape and size to the Falcon. It was used as the basis for a very serviceable cruising dinghy by a firm in the Channel Islands whose name I've forgotten but I remember a magazine test of the boat which was very complimentary. They fitted a steel centreplate. This hull is the Plymouth Pilot 16, it is marketed as a launch hull and normally fitted out as such but also makes a good sailing dayboat or mini cruiser. NB this applies to the 16 only, the PP 18 & 24 are pure launch hulls with immersed transoms.
 
Cruise-Camping Sweden's Blue Coast


CatapultIsland.jpg


Pagan Outpost

It was the gunboats which woke us. Their supercharged diesels roared out of the early mist, sweeping past us close inshore not 100 yards from where we lay asleep on the trampoline net of our little "Catapult" cruising catamaran, pulled half up onto the tiny boulder beach. First one, then four, huge breaking waves surged towards us as we struggled out of our sleeping bags.

We had pulled our boat ashore just after midnight at the only landing place on the remote rocky island of Bla Jungfrun - the Blue Maiden - a hump on the eastern horizon a dozen miles off Sweden's east coast. Eleanor and I were dinghy-camping up through the Eastern Archipelago towards Stockholm, and were about to be wrecked on the beach by the Swedish navy. One by one the waves surged in, steepened and collapsed onto our little boat, washing all our gear off the trampoline and into a soggy heap among the boulders.

"Eina!" yelped Eli in her mother' tongue as we scrabbled barefoot in the shallows to hold down our leaping boat, "This is no way to wake a lady!" Somehow the hulls survived - although showing some fresh scrapes and scratches - and we passed the rest of the day exploring this uninhabited, little-visited isle and its ancient rock labyrinth, tracing the many carvings in the stone with our fingertips and wondering about the lingering tales of pagan practice, while our cuts and clothes dried in the sun.

Baltic Islands

Our way lay on further north, deep into the vast archipelago guarding the length of Sweden's Baltic coast. Huddled against the bitter east winds of winter onto the few islands with water is a handful of tiny communities of fisher-folk, each family smoking their uncertain catch on oak chippings and a secret mix of special herbs during the brief Baltic summer. There is little enough to set aside - a couple of scrawny chickens, dried fish and some berries, some poor root vegetables from the tiny fields patched here and there among the bare rocks - for their only winter food, before the long hard, dark months when the northern Baltic freezes over and the winter gales sweep down again out of Arctic Russia.

Here is one hundred thousand islands - some a score of miles long, many just a score of yards - home to a million seabirds in protected refuges.... and just a few hundred seals, sad remnants of the huge colonies once hunted to near-extinction on the ice by Swedes, Finns, Estonians, Latvians, Poles, Russians - even the old Viking sea-traders who took the furs on to the doors of Asia.

Day on day the steady sea breeze blew, carrying the warm summer smells of fresh hay and flowers from the Baltic isles of Oland and Gotland just over the horizon. Deeper into the maze of isles and skerries we roamed....Snuggo and Vino, Kroko and Haradskar.....each gold dawn a flurry of seabirds and a bright new promise, each island evening still and quiet in the glow of our driftwood fire, grebes calling, and the moon glinting and gleaming on the quiet waters.

Few leisure boats come this far into the archipelago. The Swedes like their boats heavy-built and deep-keeled, with more than a passing nod in their design to the harsh ice-bound winters where they will lie, beset month after month in thick ice, within their marinas. Exploring the rocky islands and skerries demands shoal-draft craft, light enough to be pushed and hauled where boulder fields - laid down when the glaciers retreated from Europe - almost block the many channels between ice-scoured islets. Our Catapult would float on a wet meadow, and could easily be hauled ashore or across most obstructions by just the two of us, much as the Viking raiding boats were hauled over a thousand years ago.

All we saw, from time to time, was a coloured sail or two tracking along the narrow and now well-marked deep-water channel some miles to the west which runs close inshore the whole length of this archipelago, affectionately called by the Swedes 'The E5 Highway'. Their sea-safety culture today keeps them from venturing at all far into this reef-strewn wilderness, preferring to gather in droves at night - stern anchors out in deep water, bow-lines ashore to trees or pitons driven into the rock - in natural anchorages featured prominently all winter in their lavish coffee-table books and sailing magazines.. We - with the sea birds and seals - had the maze of islands almost to ourselves.

Secret Anchorage

Here, deep in the heart of the outer isles, we stumbled into one of Sweden's closest secrets....Threading a chain of passages, the reefs now jagged where before they had been scoured round, we spotted a small boat slip behind a rock and disappear into the trees. We followed, and found ourselves in a hidden lagoon half-filled with heavy moorings. Alongside the cluster of huts ashore were a handful of powerful launches - most in the grey and black paint of the Coastal Marine Guard - while moored in the deeper water were three of the navy gunboats encountered a week before.

"Hoi!...Hoi!" came the shouts from ashore, "Come here!" .... We'd been spotted! What had we stumbled on, flying our British red ensign and MOCRA/DCA club pennants?... A special forces training camp?... A secret defence base?....Would we foreigners be arrested...?

We quickly discovered this was Thures Udde's famous "fisk rokeri" - the source of the finest smoked fish in the Baltic and home to an old buccaneer whose exploits against the Germans - and others - are still legend to the Swedes. We had just gate-crashed a highly informal naval drinks party, celebrating some old battles or new promotions, in one of the few places in Sweden where the bar don't close and the drink flows free! And I do mean free, for it had recently been impounded from smugglers, so when we produced some hip flasks of duty-free Glenlivet from our sacs, we were invited to participate in an old Viking custom.........."Skal!.....Slainthe!.....Prosit!.....Cheers!"

All-night Party

The illicit aquavit and vodka passed swiftly from hand to hand. Old Thure's sitting room was the packed centre of the party, his green enamel log stove glowing far into the night. The bastu/sauna behind the store held the overflow, while a continual stream of glowing, beaming swedes - men, women, even some children - swirled to and fro, first in tracksuits, then in towels, then not.....from boats to sitting room to sauna.... "Strewth! You don't see this at the Catapult Nationals!" hissed Eleanor.

As faintly exotic visitors, we were quizzed on our eccentric boat and recent travels. Our visit to 'The Blue Maiden' raised a few discreet eyebrows, and it was much later we learned that the Ancient Swedes' pagan rituals there were mostly of the procreative kind…. Our multiple hosts insisted we visit the bastu/sauna, and we did, but it was rather dark in there, there was a lot of giggling and wriggling, and my Presbyterian fears would not be stilled. After a decent interval, we made our excuses and crept away, not quite at dawn, to find another little island on which to crawl into our 'bags and nurse our pounding heads. The answer was, of course, to return to the sauna, but we feared for our souls....

Storm

The storm caught us working our way up the lee of a chain of islets at the mouth of the Braviken Gulf, a 25 kilometer open passage on our route to the north. From 3-sail reaching and running free - the pattern of the previous two weeks - we were down in minutes to deep-reefed main, luffing hard as each new squall howled down at us between the islands. We battled to windward, for there was nothing down to lee except rising wind and waves. Each time we were forced out round the end of a long gill net or outlying rock, I fought to recover the lost ground and make up towards a little wooded islet on which we could shelter. At last, one squall veered enough to give us the slant we needed, and we dove into a cleft in the rocks, Eli scrambling ashore with our mooring line. In no time we had our little dome-tent up, deep among the twisted trees, mainsail tied over as a flysheet, our boat and everything else hauled on land and lashed down. The spray flew right over us in sheets, and even in the lee of the trees our boat's rigging hummed and moaned all night....but we were warm and dry, and ashore.

Next morning, as we left in a cold westerly breeze, the seas still running high, a large black shape soared out from behind our island. We had shared our shelter with a rare solitary sea eagle - well over two metres in span - which escorted us, circling, along the chain of rocks and skerries for a couple of miles or so until only the the open gulf lay ahead.

Bowling along smartly as the sun climbed and the day warmed, we fetched the little town of Oxelosund - a planned staging post - by midday. The local dinghy club took charge of boat and gear, hauled up on their slip, while we went in search of a shave, shower, shampoo, hot meal, cold beer and a bank....not necessarily in that order! During the third cold beer, and while writing up our notes for the past 150 miles, we realised we had passed out of the Bla Kust archipelago, the coastline now running away east towards Stockholm.




End of Part I......
 
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Part II


Stockholm Summer

Now, there are two sea routes to Stockholm. One runs round the coastline in a 130-mile arc, approaching from the east. This passes through a chain of seriously sensitive military areas - and we had been warned! The other takes a shortcut up the 40-mile Himmerfjarden, through a lock into the Malaren inland sea, then a right turn takes one another 40 miles down into the heart of Stockholm - by the backdoor. "Let's leave the Stockholm Archipelago for another time," offered the first mate, "The wind's fair for the direct route and Sodertaljie. we could deep-reach all the way.... and I can work on my suntan!"

This is one of Sweden's loveliest areas - the waters' edge lined with weekend cottages of characteristic brown-stained wood, the national flag on a pole, green lawns and little jetties....and a different kind of seal.

Whereas the whiskered grey/brown variety in the archipelago had been shy, slipping away as we passed, this species basked in the sun from mid-morning right through the afternoon, stretched out on little jetties or on the rocks to one side, their golden pelts and long blonde hair gleaming in the sun. Hiding behind their sunglasses, uttering their calls of "Hi...Hi" at our approach , these most prolific of Sweden's marine mammals preened and oiled themselves while awaiting their mates' return at days' end from the city. But the wind was fair, and I could find no excuse to linger.....

And so we sailed into the heart of Stockholm - spinnaker, club pennants and courtesy flags flying in the sun - between the parks, past the embassy lawns, under the motorway bridges, to find ourselves in front of the Parliament and the towers of the Royal Palace, rounding up finally alongside Barbara Hutton's fabled steam yacht "Malardrottningen", where the aristocracy and royalty of Old Europe once danced, gambled and loved. Now a luxury hotel, this elegant old ship was host to us - little Catapult moored alongside - as we dined on the afterdeck under the stars, savouring our first evening in Royal Stockholm and the end of our 250 mile voyage of exploration.


StockLake1B.jpg


The boat is a much-modified 5 metre Catapult catamaran. Her light weight of 90 kilos and car-top portability aids exploration of distant areas, "backpacking by boat". Shelter is assured, for the tough Hypalon inflatable hulls permit beaching virtually anywhere.

Her rig is a 10 sq/m battened main on a wish'boom, a 4 sq/m jib and an 18 sq/m spi on a jib'boom....reefing and furling....hauls out onshore at night.

Hiking-out wings slung on wires, for relaxed sitting-out....gear stowed in waterproof bags on the tramp. Top-range warm clothing, drysuits, good sleeping bags, and a four-seasons tent. Boil-in-bag suppers, Glenlivet Malt miniatures, one-burner gas stove and Wine of the Month.

She's cruise-camped Scotland and Solent, Corsica, Cornwall, Norway and Baltic - she's tough as old boots.


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QED​





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