Penguin - two large holes in stern

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FourSheets

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Hi-

recently got a penguin, it has two large rectangular cutouts in the stern. I was told it was for flaps rigged with shock cord to allow for drainage. Does anyone have some familiarity with these? I’m thinking some plywood glassed-over with some gasket around the edges? Any advice appreciated.

I am also just thinking about glassing them over and calling it a day.
Thanks!
 
Transom flaps were/are often clear acrylic and hinged near the rudder pintles. They would be drilled to take a shock cord that would hold them closed under most conditions. After a capsize, once you get moving again, the water runs to the stern and has sufficient pressure to push the flaps open and escape. Well that's the theory anyway.

They should be high enough to be clear of the water, I'd be tempted to re-instate if the boat feels quite original. Up to you otherwise.
 
I know little about Penguin dinghies, but an online search shows none with transom flaps - so closing/sealing the apertures seems a reasonable thing to do. They are a standard fit on many other dinghies.
Might it not be easier to get some hinges and ply or perspex and make new flaps? Unless you do a very good repair it might look odd.
You can get perspex in that well known chandler - B&Q!
 
Not your boat but this will give you the idea..

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Transom flaps really only work if you can get the dinghy onto the plane on a reach when near full of water after capsize, in which case they can work spectacularly well. At low speeds they do nothing. I doubt a Penguin is fast enough to make them work properly, which may be why other boats of the class don't have them. The other time they are useful is if bringing the boat ashore up a slipway you have a lot of water in the hull, they will empty most of it in seconds rather than slowly through a drain bung hole.
 
Huh- wierd. I wonder why they were put in. I’m thinking of doing the rubber flap/ shock cord this year and maybe filling them in next year if it doesn’t work.
 
Inevitably there's more than one Penguin dinghy. Google mostly shows the American "international" penguin, which would be unlikely to benefit from transom flaps. But there is a South African Penguin which I think has trapeze and spinnaker which would certainly make transom flaps work.
Toestrap webbing works well as a hinge.Or a single piece of the flexible clear plastic (polycarbonate) fixed in the midline and held with thin elastic can work as a self tending flap as long as the transom is mostly out of the water
 
Mine were hinged with what looked like small white plastic piano hinge...but then the boat was built by Jack Chippendale...
 
Mine were 1.5mm or so polycarbonate sheet.
You don't have to get the dinghy going that fast for them to work, just move you weight back and sail the boat out from under the water. It works on most dinghies like Enterprise, Scorpion, Kestrel etc
No use at all if you should manage to fill the boat with water in lighter winds though!

They only need to seal well enough to get the boat launched, the transom should never be in the water. Having clear plastic flaps allows you to see that you are not dragging the transom.

An alternative is to use clear self-adhesive plastic film. If you are unlucky enough to capsize you just tear them off, being careful not to litter the lake or sea of course! People like this option as the boat will stay dry when launching on a pond with steep slipway. It's also least weight in the end of the boat.
 
jwilson said:
Transom flaps really only work if you can get the dinghy onto the plane on a reach when near full of water after capsize, in which case they can work spectacularly well. At low speeds they do nothing. I doubt a Penguin is fast enough to make them work properly, which may be why other boats of the class don't have them. The other time they are useful is if bringing the boat ashore up a slipway you have a lot of water in the hull, they will empty most of it in seconds rather than slowly through a drain bung hole.
Click to expand...

Utter nonsense IMHO. Transom flaps worked well both on my Enterprise and Merlin-Rocket. A dinghy ain't never going to plane when full of water ....
 
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