Nesting Dinghy DIY plans from Wooden Boat magazine

[Sea Hunt Video]

Is anyone familiar with the plans, photos, etc. for a 7 ft "nesting" dinghy that was (I think) featured in a Wooden Boat magazine a few (possibly several) years ago

It is my understanding that (similar to John Danicic's) it comes in two parts that are "bolted together".

What I am really interested in at this point is photos of this dinghy so I can get some idea of what it looks like.

Also, for those familiar with this 7' nesting dinghy, do you know if it will accept a "horse collar" type floatation device to increase stability

Thanks in advance for any and all information, leads, etc.

[azucha]

Yes, I would like some info on this dinghy also. I'm researching the nesting dinghy option for winter project.

[Paul D.]

I do not know about the Woodenboat Mag nesting dinghy design.

John's dinghy design, of which I have the prototype, is one that he modified for cedarstrip construction. It was based off a Dave Gerr Nester Dinghy design for stich and glue in his great boat nerd book The Nature of Boats. It is 11' long bolted together and about 5' 4" nested.

[Stan W.]

You can turn just about any dinghy into a nesting dinghy by building it with a double bulkhead about 2/5 back from the bow and cutting it in two at that point. For stock designs, I think the Eastport pram is a winner.

http://www.clcboats.com/shop/boats/rowb ... inghy.html

CLC sells both kits and plans.

[azucha]

Yes, I like the looks of the Eastham Pram. Any comments on the Alby Pram?

http://www.duckworksbbs.com/plans/lilli ... /index.htm

[TY375]

Another possibility for you to consider is the Nutshell Pram. Joel White designed it for glued plywood lapstrake construction from standard dimensional plywood - I think I used 2 sheets of 1/4" and 1 of 3/8", plus various bits of cedar, pine & oak for things like seats, corner blocks at the transoms, gunwales, etc. It has a single mid-ship laminated frame and a laminated stem to support the bow transom & join it to the floor & side strakes. I used fir exterior grade plywood, which has proven perfectly adequate in about 5 years' use, so cost of materials is minimal. I think you could easily enough substitute 2 bulkheads for the midship frame & split it in half right there.

Plans are available from Wooden Boat.

Good luck with the project.
John

[Stan W.]

Yes, I like the looks of the Eastham Pram. Any comments on the Alby Pram?

http://www.duckworksbbs.com/plans/lilli ... /index.htm

Yes, looks goofy 'cause it's too wide in the bow.

If I was going to build stitch-and-glue again, I would build Fisher's "Simplicity 8" or Mertens's "PK78" before I would build that. Now that I am about 4/5 done with a modified Mertens D4/D5, however, I would recommend glued lapstrake instead. The extra work getting out the strakes is more than offset by the fact that it uses much less epoxy (and therefore weighs less) and requires much less sanding of epoxy (by far the worst part of building your own boat). Oughtred's "Humble Bee" is nice and some of Fisher's designs have glued lap options too. The Eastport Pram is "lap-stitch" which, as the name implies, is a hybrid of the two techniques intended, I think, to make glued lap a little easier for beginners.

[Oswego John]

I have no second thoughts when substituting W.P. exterior plywood for marine plywood.

I could be wrong in this but I have been told that they both use the same quality of wood and the same glue.

The only major difference is that when cutting WP Ext., a void may show up in one of the interior plys which can be easily filled with thickened epoxy.

....and then we can't ignore the huge cost differential between the two.

101° F and dead calm today in Oz
O J

[Ron M.]

Thats right OJ. The difference between marine and exterior plywood has mainly do do with the voids in laminations with marine having fewer voids -most,(not all) are plugged. The cost difference is significant.
My experience has showed CD used exterior a-1 grade,(good one side) for all interior countertops and bulkheads. Some was sandwiched with teak ply or veenered with a cheap laminate. I don't think the teak veneered ply they used was a marine grade, at least it wasn't on my boat, it all delaminated around the ports.

[Stan W.]

Personally, I would not use water proof exterior plywood for boat building unless it will be sheathed in fiberglass. For reasons of weight, that is not usually the case for small tenders. The grain on unsheathed WPX is known to check.

[Oswego John]

Personally, I would not use water proof exterior plywood for boat building unless it will be sheathed in fiberglass.

Hi Stan, Good point. I can't argue with that. For years, I've been building rudders (some centerboards) with WPX plywood and ALWAYS sheathed them with glass. On top of that, I used multiple layers of glass on the seams of the rudder's sandwich. Chill, O J

[SeaBelle]

Spindrift or Catspaw

http://www.bandbyachtdesigns.com/yachtt3.htm

[Joe Myerson]

Here's another take on a build-it-yourself, nesting dinghy: the ultralight Stasha.

This boat was designed to store on the foredeck of a Dana 24, so I'm assuming it would work on a 25D (perhaps on the coach roof if not on the foredeck).

http://www.duckworksbbs.com/plans/benja ... /index.htm

It's a skin-on-frame dinghy that only weighs about 25 pounds. I've already downloaded the plans, so I hope I can follow through and actually build this thing during the off-season.

Yes, I'm already nervous about it, because my woodworking skills are rudimentary at best.

--Joe

[Neil Gordon]

Yes, I'm already nervous about it, because my woodworking skills are rudimentary at best.

I suggest hand tools, Joe. Avoid anything that you plug in and that makes loud whirring sounds.

[Joe Myerson]

I suggest hand tools, Joe. Avoid anything that you plug in and that makes loud whirring sounds.

Aside from a drill and a jigsaw, these plans call for hand tools.

--Joe