Small Sailing Dinghy as a Tender?

[CaptainBob]

I'd love to have a small sailing dinghy instead of an inflatable tender. I sold our outboard and currently row everywhere - which is absolutely fine for 99% of what we do, but now and then we _need_ to bash a tide, or go a couple of miles... plus it would be a lot of fun and great for up-river jaunts. Don't know if such a thing exists that fulfils these criteria:

Very stable. Low chance of capsize.

Small enough not to be a major pain in marinas or AB berths.

Rows well.

Room for at least three adults plus a bit of baggage.

Tows well even in a following wind or strong cross wind.

Doesn't cost too much.

Won't sink if it _does_ capsize.


I saw someone with a small dinghy on the IOW a couple of months ago. They stowed the sail by lashing it to a shroud. Looked perfect - but no idea what kind of boat it was. We've never sailed dinghies so have no clue about what's what.

TY!

 

[ianat182]

The Miracle sailing dinghy might suit your needs,has plenty of buoyancy and would take 3 persons with the outboard(2.2-2.5hp) not a lot of room but a good sailing dinghy and tows pretty well too. They aren't often for sale and I guess about £650 for an average one. Try Ebay or the Mirror Class forums/For Sale ads for better info on prices etc.
About 12 years since I sailed one but SWMBO loved it, but hated my Merlin Rocket!

ianat182

 

[doug748]

I always fancied a Blue Peter, Plastic, snug sailing rig, c8ft long. Of course you would have to tow it or get a bigger boat...
Google it for details, tho it will be a too small for 3 big uns.

 

[Bav34]

This is my 8' foam filled Dabbler. Great fun.

 

[Bajansailor]

Perhaps keep an eye / ear open to windward for an 8' Walker Bay to come for sale?
Here is a link to the manufacturer's site : http://walkerbay.com/products/sailboats/sailboat_8perf_features.html

Or maybe a Selway Fisher Skylark might come up for sale - http://www.selway-fisher.com/Skylarkup13.htm - or build one yourself?

Or a secondhand Oughtred dinghy from Jordan Boats - http://jordanboats.co.uk/JB/iain_oughtred.htm

Or a wheelbarrow boat? http://www.barrowboats.co.uk/
Not too many around second hand though, and they usually seem to be rather dear.

 

[gunman]

I had the same idea, a couple of months back I bought a blue peter sailing dinghy off gumtree:

It needed a bit of grp work, which it got and then a coat of paint, it looks like new now and I picked it up for £120. It rows very well, I have only sailed it once but it's dead easy, there's no jib and you reef the main like a topper (roll around the mast). It cant sink as it is double skinned. You can mount an outboard if you want by fitting a small plank of wood to the transom.

Only issue (and it isnt a biggie) is that when you tow it behind a larger boat some water can splash up through the slot for the daggerboard in rough weather (of course leaving the dagerboard in may cure it). It's not enough to worry about but you may have a bit of bailing out if you dont want wet feet .

You may struggle with 3 adults (no way under sail), we have had 2 adults (one on the large side....Me) and 2 kids in this and rowed out to our mooring.

 

[Lakesailor]

Daggerboard slot problem.
Couple of supermarket carrier bags stuffed in the slot (Bargain Booze ones work well). Also if it's rained and the thwarts are wet you can take one out, unfold it, sit on it and have a dry botty!

I bought an ex-sailing dinghy as a tender (9ft). When I was restoring my Heron I rigged the tender with the Heron's sails. It was great, if a bit over-canvased.

 

[stuey_two]

It's not a good idea to tow a dinghy with the dagger board down, the lift from the dagger as the dinghy yaws can easily cause a capsize.

 

[VicS]

It's not a good idea to tow a dinghy with the dagger board down, the lift from the dagger as the dinghy yaws can easily cause a capsize.

I tried that!
I have a Puffin sailing dinghy, the one with collapsible sides, I tried towing that but it yawed badly. I put the dagger board in and it made it 100x worse!

I put a small skeg on it and now it tows beautifully.

 

[Ex-SolentBoy]

How about one of these?

Nutshell dinghy. Built myself from a kit. Easy job and saves loads of money. Rows well, sails well, has a liftable daggerboard and outboard friendly transom. Spars and sail slip into a little bag on the coachroof.

We tow this or lift it onto the foredeck. It even has a little bowsprit and headsail (not shown here).

 

[the_wanderer]

Mirror class very tippy.

I have a Mirror Dinghy as well as my motorboat. Whilst the Mirror is an excellent little boat for sailing I think that it is quite unsuitable as a tender due to it's instability. It was not designed for this task. It is designed for skimming across the water with the sail and the crew providing (hopefully!) the stability.

No doubt I will be shot down in flames on this forum but just try one on the water before you buy it.

Regards.

Alan.

 

[EuanMcKenzie]

How does it tow

I have a Mirror Dinghy as well as my motorboat. Whilst the Mirror is an excellent little boat for sailing I think that it is quite unsuitable as a tender due to it's instability. It was not designed for this task. It is designed for skimming across the water with the sail and the crew providing (hopefully!) the stability.

No doubt I will be shot down in flames on this forum but just try one on the water before you buy it.

Regards.

Alan.

I have sailed them and know the're a bit fragile if you you try to stand straight on the gunnel. All sailing dinghy's are a bit like that but otherwise they can carry load and people and an outboard and sail nicely so i am / was looking for one but how do they tow?

 

[Bunchats]

Brave yotties

When watching yotties making their way to moored yachts, I always think how brave they are. I mean sitting in something not much bigger that your bath and making your way across choppy waters is very brave or just plain s******

We use a 14ft tender, it's dry, we can take 5 people and all luggage and provisions at one hit and nobody gets wet.

Stick a sail on and piece of cake.

Come on guys wake up and think bigger!

More and more are doing it since we led the way.

 

[Malish]

If you are looking for a winter project then have a look at the classic marine site - they have plans (and photos) of a number of sailing dinghies which make excellent tenders (I have an Auk).

 

[gunman]

I have sailed them and know the're a bit fragile if you you try to stand straight on the gunnel. All sailing dinghy's are a bit like that but otherwise they can carry load and people and an outboard and sail nicely so i am / was looking for one but how do they tow?

The blue peter tows well, the hull shape isnt really like a conventional dinghy. Even without the daggerboard there a small long keel like a rowing boat. It tows straight as an arrow. That being said I think it's a bit small for what you're looking for .

 

[Bobobolinsky]

A friend borrowed my dingy, when it came back,it had an old fishing pole as a mast and a lateen rig

 

[aquaplane]

We are using a wood Mirror as a tender at the moment.

It's a bit fragile for a stoney/concrete landing, I would be happier to use it on sand/mud.

It tows well, a longer painter is better than a short one.

We have a dagger board stub, the sort of thing you would end up with if you broke a good one trying to right a capsized boat. It stops water shooting up in a fountain when motoring and the bits of water that find their way up the slot when towing or even rowing. A full daggerboard does cause yawing when towing.

They are a bit fragile and you need to move about carefully.

In a marina environment they are a liability. They are big, and not very fender like, fragile really.

They sail well, even great for a family boat.

They take loads of gear when rowing/motoring, far more than our inflatable, but I wouldn't sail when in tender mode. Row or motor as a tender, sail just fro training or fun.

HTH

 

[Kwik Decision]

Don't know if such a thing exists that fulfils these criteria:

Very stable. Low chance of capsize.

Small enough not to be a major pain in marinas or AB berths.

Rows well.

Room for at least three adults plus a bit of baggage.

Tows well even in a following wind or strong cross wind.

Doesn't cost too much.

Won't sink if it _does_ capsize.

TY!

A Tinker Tramp would seem to meet most if not all of your criteria, and has the added advantages that you can deflate it and lash it down on coachroof if you don't want to tow it. The spars also split down to relativly short sections for easy storage on board. We got one cheap (about £250) on e-bay last year, with the sailing rig, and it has been excellent fun. It sails remarkably well for an inflatable (okay, my expectations weren't high, but it exceeded them by a lot....). They have an active owners club with regular racing etc, which is easy to find via google....

 

[dualin]

My Heron does all these tasks very well row with three in sail and used it with a five hp honda and a two hp honda and have been on a camping trip with two adults and tent etc go for a grp one as they have bouancey tanks have fun

 

[Lakesailor]

Someone up here has a Blue Peter for sale at £195 on the Warden's office Notice Board.
I can PM details if anyone is interested.

(No, it's not me)