So, it’s time to build a new dinghy for some serious cruising and, over the last few days, I’ve been looking for a design that makes sense. Lately, I’ve been using a six-foot dinghy but being over built is way too heavy to be used for serious cruising. Hence the need to build something new. …
I’m currently waiting for a dry day so I can glue up the three boards set to become the new self-steering gear for the Islander. I’ll be upfront and say that I currently have a severe case of workshop envy. Which is not to say you can’t build a self-steering gear or dinghy on a …
I currently have three 1 x 12 planks sitting on the starboard side deck which are slated to become the Islander’s new self-steering gear. While I find the cost of the planks ($37 each) a bit depressing the upside is the entire self-steering gear will only cost somewhere around $300 dollars and a few afternoons …
I just saw that WEST marine is clearing out their Sportyaks and I expect that at $349.88 it’s just about the cheapest dinghy you’re going to find. Granted, a Bolger Tortoise would be both cheaper and better to build but if you’re averse to cobbling your own dinghy together the Sportyak is not a bad …
Sure, I know that there’s a helluva lot of peer pressure to adhere to consumerist dogma but, just for a moment think about what you can afford rather than what you think others will opine on what you need to spend to be accepted. I see a lot of folks selling the idea that “price …
While I know that the overall consensus is that the best cruising dinghy is an eight or ten-foot RIB with a 9.9/15 HP engine but I’ll just have to disagree. For a long time I’ll admit that I thought the best cruising dinghy was Phil Bolger’s Tortoise as it did everything we needed it to …
It just came to my attention that West Marine currently has the Sportyak on sale. You know, this boat… It’s a great design as it’s light, pretty much indestructible, unsinkable, and cheap. It rows well and can carry two people with gear or groceries which is really all most people actually need in a dinghy. …
I know everyone says that when using plywood aboard a boat that one should always use the best marine plywood you can get. So here’s where that advice does not quite add up. Some time back I built a hard dodger with marine ply, saturated it with epoxy and glassed then painted it. I was …
A quick update on the self-steering project. I now have all the various bits on island with the excepting of the needful wood which is just a dinghy row away. So, hopefully, in the next few days I’ll be getting the wood for the project along with a few sheets of plywood for a new …
OK, I get it. “Everyone” says that if you buy a fixer-upper sailboat with the goal of turning it into a cruising boat it will all end in tears. Some will tell you that you’ll wind up with nothing but an expensive disaster that you’ll have to pay someone to dispose of it in some …
On that big hole in the water you throw money into… Read More »
