Strength of Walker Bay dinghy

[All_at_Sea]

Thanks all. I think l would buy a 10 with the collar as l like rowing and would have to ferry a few people about (not all at once). The published pictures do show then fairly low in the water with two up in the 8 version so a 10 it will have to be. Is the hull single skinned, so l can put my own lift bolts in?

 

[gregcope]

Thanks all. I think l would buy a 10 with the collar as l like rowing and would have to ferry a few people about (not all at once). The published pictures do show then fairly low in the water with two up in the 8 version so a 10 it will have to be. Is the hull single skinned, so l can put my own lift bolts in?

Yes. Single skinned.

 

[FullCircle]

We love our WB8 with collar, and after 5 years, no apparent UV damage to the tubes, but I have put a repair patch where I managed to give it a puncture.
We have the 4 lifting eyes, but rarely use them, as we lift the boat from the water and onto the foredeck using the single bow eye, hauling it up on the spinnaker halyard. As it usually has some water in it where the transom dips in on starting to haul out, I would say the hull is more than capable of lifting, even on a single eye.

Without the collar, it is tippy, but with it, I can stand on the gunwale (14 stone) and it will not capsize. Sailing performance is largely affected if you have the standard rig or the performance rig. Leave you to guess which one works better.
To get a bit more upwind performance, I have got my rigger to apply shrouds and a forestay on a short bowsprit, and bought a Laser Pico jib new for 35 quid off ebay. It works downwind also, naturally.
So, expensive, but it is what we want.

Fact is, Mrs FC loves the WB8, and dislikes any of the other rubbadubbas we have owned over the years. We would have a WB10, but it wont fit on FC's foredeck unless I lose the babystay, which means running checkstays. Not really viable.

Anyway, always happy to gainsay and counterbalance an argument from the worlds most informed expert.

 

[[3889]]

Got to ask...what are WBs considered tippy against? Primary stability may not be top league, less than an inflatible, certainly, but no bad thing to give directional contol; secondary is excellent. Compared to other hard dink's they're pretty stiff- on a par with my catamaranesque Tabur Yak which rows like a dog. And why would you stand on the gunnel of any 10' boat?

 

[Seajet]

The Walker jobs I know are more like 8' at best.

No-one in their right mind would step on the gunwhale of any tender !

As Giblets mentions, I tried stepping near the side of my 8'6" tender after a cold sleepless slightly stressful day & night, and ended up with the dinghy on top of me,.

I certainly didn't step on the gunwhale, just too far off centre in my befuddled state.

When I mentioned it on the club website it turned out I was the 4th experienced member to do so, I've been there for 38 years.

As I mentoned re trendy Walker Bay jobs, my tender had buoyancy tanks but was impossible to ' simply right & carry on about one's business ' like proper sailing dinghies.

This is the reason why I paint the bottom of my tenders yellow, to show up to the rescue services I might well need if I turn the thing over !

The chap who bought my old tender benefitted from this - soon after I sold it to him, he turned it over in quite a wide, desolate part of the harbour and was bloody lucky a racing safety boat spotted the yellow bit.

 

[Otter]

Thanks all. I think l would buy a 10 with the collar as l like rowing and would have to ferry a few people about (not all at once). The published pictures do show then fairly low in the water with two up in the 8 version so a 10 it will have to be. Is the hull single skinned, so l can put my own lift bolts in?

You don't put the bolts in the hull! They go through the pre formed holes in the gunwale.

 

[FullCircle]

The Walker jobs I know are more like 8' at best.

No-one in their right mind would step on the gunwhale of any tender !

As Giblets mentions, I tried stepping near the side of my 8'6" tender after a cold sleepless slightly stressful day & night, and ended up with the dinghy on top of me,.

I certainly didn't step on the gunwhale, just too far off centre in my befuddled state.

When I mentioned it on the club website it turned out I was the 4th experienced member to do so, I've been there for 38 years.

As I mentoned re trendy Walker Bay jobs, my tender had buoyancy tanks but was impossible to ' simply right & carry on about one's business ' like proper sailing dinghies.

This is the reason why I paint the bottom of my tenders yellow, to show up to the rescue services I might well need if I turn the thing over !

The chap who bought my old tender benefitted from this - soon after I sold it to him, he turned it over in quite a wide, desolate part of the harbour and was bloody lucky a racing safety boat spotted the yellow bit.

You obviously have no clue of which you speak. It won't stop you espousing your theories however.

I have buoyancy bags which fit inside the boat, which I have removed. The inflatable collar allows me to step on the gunwale without capsizing the boat. Quite a feat. It also is very good at keeping the boat semi upright in gusts.

Here is me endangering the life of my grandson in this eminently dangerous design, before the jib conversion.

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and me frantically searching for him after he had capsized the dinghy

 

[Giblets]

To get a bit more upwind performance, I have got my rigger to apply shrouds and a forestay on a short bowsprit, and bought a Laser Pico jib new for 35 quid off ebay.

Do you have any pics of said arrangement? Sound like it could be interesting.

 

[FullCircle]

Do you have any pics of said arrangement? Sound like it could be interesting.

I cant remember if we have a photo, I will check.

I can't find one. We are going on holiday in 2 weeks, I will start a new thread then with the various updates on my dinghy