Some questions

[Dinghy_Sailor]

Hello. This is my first post, and I would be grateful for the answers to a couple of questions (sorry if they sound a bit basic, but I am not too experienced with this sailing lark).

I am thinking of buying a Merlin Rocket dinghy to pot about with over the summer with my two girls (aged 3) - not racing! Although I've done a bit of dinghy sailing a couple of years ago, I don't think I'd feel too confident taking my girls out straight away, but was thinking if I could fit an outboard motor things would be easier (and less traumatic for them - I don't want to put them off sailing for life!). Can I fit an outboard easily to a Merlin, and would it go OK? Also can I fit some oars to it?

Also, can I just turn up and start sailing in any river, canal, reservoir or are there restrictions? Do I need to pay anyone or get any kind of licence?

I really just want to be able to go out for the day maybe up and down a canal or river for a mile or so - nothing too adventurous. The reason I was thinking of the Merlin is that I've seen one for sale with trailer for about 500 pounds and this is about my limit cashwise.

Any advice would be welcome! Thanks

 

[sarabande]

Hi D_S and welcome to the Forum.


The Rocket is not a good idea for a family, not enough room for the children to sit down with an icecream and a teddy bear. And it's a very unforgiving boat to use an outboard - if indeed you could fit one.

A good starter boat is an Enterprise. A lot of room, easy to sail, lots of storage, and will defintiely take an small o/b. If you PM me , I know of a really beautiful example for sale for just a bit more than you have in mind. It will serve you well until the children are more ambitious and refuse to sail with parents !

 

[byron]

I agree with Sarabande. The Enterprise is a smashing little dinghy which is very stable too. The design has been around for something like 50 years and is well proven. Look on www.boatsandoutboards.co.uk and on Ebay.
Yes! You will need a licence to use it on the Thames or any other river managed by the EA. There's an excellent sailing club at Goring on Thames which is recruiting new members and they have storage facilities too.

 

[Doolittle]

Hello Dinghy_Sailor, you don't say where you are but if you are anywhere near London NW, or Heathrow area, there are more reservoirs and lakes for sailing than you can shake a centre board at. Queen Mary, Wraysbury lakes to name a couple.

I agree with the others about the Merlin. A lovely boat but a lively one and not really suited to the sprogs. A Wayfairer is worth considering too being a wide beam but still a good sailer.

 

[Dinghy_Sailor]

Thank you all for your replies.

I will put my plans for the Rocket on hold, and definitely take a look at the Enterprise. Sometimes it is quite difficult from pictures to get an idea of the actual size of some craft, and although the Rocket looked OK I will take your seasoned advice!

I live in Croydon so would be looking to sail mainly on the Thames or Medway upper reaches. I think there's also a canal somewhere near Godalming that looks quite nice. Somehow rivers and canals appeal more than circling round a reservoir or lake.

Sarabande - I will PM you about the Enterprise for sale.

Also can anyone recommend a good book that gives detailed information on possible inland sailing areas in the SE? Ideally I'd like something that gives all the technical info - eg. depth of water, tides, launching places, etc. but also has details of local amenities and some pretty pictures!

Thanks for your help.

 

[boatone]

[ QUOTE ]
I live in Croydon so would be looking to sail mainly on the Thames or Medway upper reaches. I think there's also a canal somewhere near Godalming that looks quite nice. Somehow rivers and canals appeal more than circling round a reservoir or lake.

[/ QUOTE ]

Lots of bridges on rivers and particularly on canals as they are usually very low so no chance of getting far with mast up! Also canals such as the Wey Navigation at Godalming are very narrow so not much chance of sailing anyway although you can spend many pleasant hours with mast down and a small outboard engine.

Theres a very active sailing club at Weirwood, East Sussex which is not that far and well worth taking a look at.

 

[TrueBlue]

I have my doubts whether "adapting" a racing dinghy for powered use is really a good idea and most definitely NOT if you have two very small children. You just can't sail and keep an eye on such tiny ones at the same time.

You might be OK with a more solid non competitive dinghy, but the Thames is not hugely suitable for sailing - too much traffic. A boat such as a Wayfarer is quite heavy to manhandle


If your reason is only one of cost, then try eBay. There's a chap who will build you a NEW 12ft. dinghy for £375, but there are loads of other s/h craft for sale as well.

Examples:-
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Sailing-Dinghy-Row...1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/dinghy-boat-rowing...1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/dinghy-fibreglass-...1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[Cliveshep]

The "canal nr Godalming" is the River Wey and Godalming Navigations, not actually suitable for sailing on, great for trundling restfully up & down and stopping for picnics and just below St Kathrine's (Guildford) my kids favourite place. There is a bit of a beach, a "sandy hill" as they call it, (old clothes only as the sand stains clothes) and good fun for children. You need a licence, insurance to get the licence, and a Boat Safety Scheme certificate for anything larger than a dinghy or with cooking/toilet aboard.

 

[Dinghy_Sailor]

Maybe I should explain a bit more what I want to do.....

I don't want to actually sail - as TrueBlue says I don't think I can do that safely with two small children, but I couldn't think of any other way to get a reasonably sized boat that would fit an adult (possibly two) and two small kids.

All I want to do is potter about and spend some sunny days with the kids on a river or canal. I'd like to introduce them to the water in a friendly non-threatening way with the hope that we can move up to something more adventurous when they get a bit bigger. (The advantage of a sailboat is that we already have something that we could use in the future if the kids did decide they liked the idea.) Ideally a boat that can take an outboard - but that I can also row (for those quiet moments) and that can fit the three of us comfortably (possibly four if I can persuade my wife to come along). And maybe somewhere to put a tent if we're feeling really keen and want to sleep out somewhere overnight.

I also need this with a trailer, and if possible around £500 (excluding outboard).

Any suggestions?

 

[BSSOffice]

For wider advice and links to the various navigation authorities covering the different canals and rivers, try www.waterscape.com and click on the boating link although you might find the other links of interest with your family too.
Regards
Rob@ Boat Safety Scheme Office

 

[Cliveshep]

Bearing in mind what you want to use it for I'd not worry too much about the future as any here will tell you that once you've got the bug the "first" boat is merely the first in a long line of boats.

So, I strongly suggest you look in Boats and Outboards.co.uk, look under "Projects", scroll down and you'll see several "speed boats" (possibly meaning "runabouts" for a couple of hundred pounds, at least one of which has a cover, trailer etc. You can buy a s/h smallish engine for a couple of hundred or less and you have a boat designed for engines, with beam and stability, all necessary if you are getting in & out at locks or with children. That is how many of us started, it is how I started, and it was ideal for river/canal day cruising. To be fair, after a year I saved up for a "project" cruiser as I wanted to go further and stop out, now look at me!

 

[alistairedw]

The previous owner of my Enterprise used it with an outboard. Apparently it went quite well. Being fairly light the dinghy does not need much power to get it moving and the hull will plane nicely at higher speeds.

You will not be able to fit a very powerful o/board as the transom would not be strong enough. You will need to fit blocks over the transom flap openings as with the weight of the outboard the stern will tend to sit fairly low.

Many Enterprises come with a Combi trailer comprising a road trailer and a launch trolley. If you are reasonably strong you will be able to retrieve an Ent up a slipway single handed. You would not be able to do this with a Wayfarer.

Fitting temporary rowlocks is fairly easy and Ents are good fun to row.

Best place to look for an old Ent is the Enterprise Association website www.sailenterprise.org.uk

 

[oldgit]

If you do decide to sail/boat on the Medway there are several boaters on the MoBo chat forum who can give advice.For actual sailing the bit of the river near where I live in Upnor has many dinghy clubs who could get you sailing using their own club boats.
The upper reaches above Allington lock would be ideal for dinghy plus outboard easy adventures as very sheltered with shallowish waters and river banks within easy reach.Not much boat traffic either.
Several private and public slips along the river.What ever you decide to do LIFEJACKETS for the kids.Day ticket about £10.00 from EA and of course much cheaper for week/month etc.

 

[byron]

it seems you aren't going to sail at all, you just want a runabout. In which abandon all ideas and search for a second hand Dory. You will get a nice 11'6" one with outboard and trailer very cheap. A good 13'6" one will cost a bit more but would be well worth the extra. With a Dory you have speed coupled to stability and versatility. Ebay & boatsandoutboards are the places to look. A straight speedboat will run you less money in fact there are some crazy bargains out there. A speedboat is the easiest thing in the world to buy and the hardest to sell. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[trev]

Do not get a Merlin Rocket for pottering about ! - they are an out and out racing dinghy and totally unsuited.
You need a Wayfarer, or Skipper which are excellent familly pottering boats.

 

[BillyBloater]

Hi Dinghy Sailor.

I had a similar idea to you around this time last year. We got hold of a Mirror dinghy which has been fantastic. I have two young kids now aged six and four. We did not sail the Mirror more than a hand full of times but we did spend an huge amount of time pottering up and down between Pangbourne and South stoke with a small four stroke outboard on the back.

The Mirror was small enough to keep in the Garage and easy to launch from one of the many slipways on the Thames.

Even Mrs Bloater enjoyed spending time on the boat - so much so that I have just spent fairly serious money (for me) on a new boat and outboard.

It was definatley worth buying the Mirror. You can easily get hold of one for the sort of money you want to spend (or Less).

Have fun !!

Billy

 

[Dinghy_Sailor]

Thanks everyone for all your help.

I will have to do some more looking around to see what's out there. It's nice to know that what I want to do can be done with a dinghy - but a dory may give us more space.

I do not want a speedboat. Yes, I could get something for the price, but it's not what I want to do. The idea is to get some peace and quiet -sails and oars would do that (with the outboard as an option to get us back home if all else fails), but with a speedboat there's no 'peaceful' option!

I'll post some pics and info when I finally decide what to get!

 

[Cliveshep]

I didn't mean "speed-boat" as use it at speed, the runabout does just that, can be used with any engine size and at any speed. What I meant was, it's cheap, complete, a good starter boat, and has seats which keep everybody properly aboard without having to worry too much about trim. The dory hull is of course more stable albeit beamier, but like the man says might cost more. Cheapest is definitely the "speed-boat" which usually comes with a trailer and will go quite happily on 3hp upwards on the river. It would be difficult to row, needing two to manage that and long oars with the higher freeboard,, but paddling with paddles is definitely an option.

 

[BillyBloater]

After lots of thought I made the decision to buy an inflatable with an alluminium floor - 14ft long so lots of room for the kids and maybe some camping equipment - very stable - light enough to easily launch on my own - able to dismantle / deflate out of season to help with storage. Can easily be rowed / paddled, but I chose a new four stroke outboard - very quiet and economical.

Before you make a final decision it might be worth taking a look at the YAM website and I would seriously consider seaeagle sports boats from the states as the exchange rate is so good at the moment.

Good Luck.

 

[Cliveshep]

Motorised inflatables are not permitted on the River Wey and Godalming navigations so if you were to buy an inflatable it would effectively rule out this scenic waterway unless you paddled it. And as anyone will tell you, they are the pits to paddle.