Rigging a little dinghy

[Grehan]

We've just bought this little 2.4m polyprop dinghy very cheaply, to row and maybe fit a small electric outboard to - just for fun and as our tender.
We'd also like to try rigging a simple Optimist type mast, gaff and sail. Obviously, it won't sail very well (but these are just quiet inland waters), but might provide a bit of fun, which is all we want.

Any suggestions as to the best way to do it?

 

[TQA]

Rudder is easy pintles on the ply pad for the ply rudder.

Fit an eyebolt for the mainsheet

Mast might be more tricky as the loads need spreading but a couple of ply pads glued and screwed should do it.

Key to success windward sailing will be leeboard fixed on the centreline which can be dropped over the side when needed.

 

[davidaprice]

There's a guy in Finland who sells kits for converting rowing boats to sailing boats: a bolt-on rudder in place of the outboard and a bolt-on frame (attaches to forward rowlock sockets) with mast socket and lee-boards:

You can see more pictures here.

Rather expensive at 740 euros plus shipping, but I hope the pictures give you inspiration!

 

[Seajet]

I'd have thought something akin to a broom handle lashed athwartships would be fine for pivoting leeboards from, may need to be tight friction to hold the boards down in the fearsome speeds likely, or have the boards fixed to the 'shaft' and rotate that for up-down, maybe incorporating a handle one could lash in position...

 

[William_H]

Fitting sails

Probelms are a ruddder Ok fit pintles to O/b transom.
Side ways resistance either more keel or lee boards as said.
Mast . I would think a stayed mast much easier engineering wise than self supporting. I also advocate a small jib to make windward beating so much easier.
In the end you might as well buya sailing dinghy for sailing. Old ones can be very cheap.
PS forget the electric o/b idea a battery will be too heavy. good luck olewill

 

[OldBawley]

This is our sailing dingy.
Bought a kit from Barrow, build it, made it 8 inches less wide, It looked better that way to me. It survived for 13 years, being used every day. Pulled onto beaches, bumped onto quays, towed 10.000 miles of coastal waters, laying fishing nets, transporting tons of drinking water and other fluids. Being thrown hundreds of times onto the stern of the “ big “ boat by waves or passing mobo`s
Then, under the killing Med sun, the epoxy glue started to go. Two times I fell in stumbling over a rock or a branch, one time dived in head first from 1,5 meter high. One of these accidents did it for the epoxy glue. After painfully crawling head up, our bonker was sinking.
Together with some Turkish Glassfiber “entrepreneur” we used the hull to make a mould. Left away the dagger board case, instead came a long keel. Had to change quite a bit to make the mould loosening.
The first boat to come out of the mould was mine. For free of course. 35 kg instead of the original 18 kg of the ply dingy. He used to much layers of glassfiber but it was meant to be a working boat so why complayne. Wood for the seats and some paint, 17 Euro.
Polyester Ali restored my old dingy with lots of work end epoxy, a small teak deck and woodcarvings on the stern. Probably made a lot of money with it. Made four sisters of our bonker, than went bankrupt.
Sailing upwind with a dingy is hard and long work. Now sailing is done from down to a little higher than half wind. Upwind I use the oars or the Seagull. No room for a rudder, Steering is done with one of the oars in an offset sculling lock.
Changed the rig, bigger sail, old surf mast. Bigger sail, one sails with light winds, needs power with even less than light wind. Rigged with the small Seagull I did many miles of coastal exploration, sailing one way on just yards from the rocks, rowing or puffing the other way.
Used it a lot to go troll line fishing, best is rowing. In Turkey always came back with lots of baracuda and cornet fish.
The rig is simple, hoist with one line, drop instantly if having a bait. In strong gusts the top yarn is blown away thus creating automatic reefing. Still, sailing the dingy is hard work, constantly moving your body as on a surf board.
Cost of the rig : zero. Old surf mast, a piece of a shredded sail, some rope and three small pulleys. Oh, and a stick.