Looking for good rowing skiff for dinghy

[jen1722terry]

Hey CDers!

Well, we just left Glissade at Webers Cove yard in Blue Hill, ME for the winter. Still some debate about weather we properly winterized to batteries, but we're looking into that with the manufacturer.

We would like to get a small, fairly fast small skiff to use as a hard dink on occasion and for exercise. We want one that two people can row comfortably and with positive floatation. Used would be fine.

If any of you have hard dinks that you like, could you recommend the boat manufacturer so we can look for one used?

All ideas appreciated.

Jenn and Terry

[Jim Cornwell]

Doodle.JPG

See if you can find a Puffin, a no frills, no nonsense tender. Ours performs well with a good pair of oars and looks just right with Yankee!

[Hutch_north]

I completely agree with Jim - Puffins are great!

Bouyant, rugged, positive flotation, and ours has a rubber or somewhat soft built-in rub rail with an embedded rope - great detail, which prevents scuffing when the dinghy bumps up against the hull. It tows very well to, no hunting.

We hae had ours for 10 years, and I'm guessing it's 10 years older than that.

http://www.puffinboats.com/

Hutch

[pete faga]

Puffin......great rowing/looking and tracked great in a blow.
Look for a used one since they are made in Maine.

[John Stone]

I could never part with our 9' Fatty Knees. They make them in 7' and 8' lengths as well. Ours is a tank and is fast and carries an incredible load. She is also pretty graceful for such a beamy little craft. She rows easily. She sails well too. We carry her inverted on the cabin top and secured into bronze and teak chocks. She is simple to launch and recover.

I also have a top of the line inflatable with a 9.8 two stroke that easily planes and has a top speed of more than 20 mph. I like it a lot. I carried it aboard the Far Reach, along with the Fatty Knees, to the West Indies. But I am selling it and keeping the Fatty Knees.

[pdougburgess]

I love the Puffin that others have suggested. I bought a Cape Dory 10 (similar to the Puffin) to use as a dinghy and am very happy with it. It rows well, is nice looking and can carry three of us comfortably. It came with a mast and sail and I thought that it would be fun when cruising to sail it while at anchor but I have never figured out a way to carry the mast (which is longer than the CD 10 and therefore has to be carried on top (rather than in) the boat when not rigged). I am not comfortable with this and have never taken the sailing rig cruising.

Doug

[John Stone]

Hi Doug
I carry the 15’ long dinghy mast along the aft port lower shroud in a simple to make two part leather wrapped bracket. I made a boot (about 6” long) from a short length of pvc pipe and wrapped it in leather. I glued a teak plug in the bottom and drilled holes for water drainage. I seized the leather wrapped boot to the shroud just above the turn buckle. I then cut a small ring of pvc pipe and wrapped it in leather and seized it to the port shroud just below the top end of the dinghy mast. The bottom of the mast sits in the boot. The top end is contained by the upper ring. It takes 10 seconds to take the mast out of the bracket. Then with the dinghy along side the boat, just drop the mast right into the mast step from your side deck. Reverse the process when taking the mast out.

I have kept the dinghy mast rigged that way for two years without issue. No problem carrying it that way to and from the West Indies via the offshore route.

In the attached picture you can see the dinghy mast stowed along side the port lower aft shroud. You can pick it up visually by looking where it crosses the whisker pole at almost a right angle.

John

[John Ring]

Tiara & Dinghy Scituate cropped.jpg

These 8' glass dinghies were made in South Boston in the early '70s, beautiful lines. They turn up on Craigslist once in a while.

John Ring

[Paul D.]

Femme has a cedar strip version of Dave Gerr's Nester Dinghy and we've loved it for 15 years. Stows nested aft the mast or before if needed too. Here is a link for info on the plywood version and a photo of Femme's dinghy, built by my brother who built his own for his CD36 too.

http://www.gerrmarine.com/NESTER_DINGHY.html

[John Stone]

What a great looking transom John R. Very nice. Has a little whitehall look there doesn't it?

Paul what an awesome dinghy. Nesting seems like a great option. I've often thought about having one designed that would handle our 9.8 two stroke.

[John Ring]

Less,-Cropped.gif

What a great looking transom John R. Very nice. Has a little whitehall look there doesn't it?...

It does! I like to think of her as Ms Whitehall's "burdensome" little sister.

John Ring

[Paul D.]

John,

I think a 9.8 would be a bit much for this dinghy although you could check with Gear about the largest size for a stitch & glue build. The largest we've had on ours was a 5 hp and I think feel more comfortable with 3.2. It really shines as a rowing pram and shuttle bus. I had many experiences same as Chuck Paine who used and wrote about the Nester, I've totally overloaded it with people and stuff and she's pulled through many times.

[John Stone]

I feel the same way about our Fatty Knees. If I put an outboard on it it was just be a 2hp. It rows and sails great even when loaded down. But I also enjoyed our inflatable with the 9.8 when we were sailing in the eastern Caribbean. Not required but nice to have.

It would take a specially designed nesting dink to handle a 9.8. It would be nice to have a hard dink that could be carried on a 30-36’ Boat, plane at 20 knots and be rowed or sailed (maybe with a lee-board). But I have too many projects lined up at the moment to even do much more than imagine it. No question if I had to chose an inflatable with the 9.8 or the Fatty Knees, the Fatty Knees would win every time.

[Vincent]

I have been thinking of a Spindrift nesting dinghy, kits and design from B and B yacht design in North Carolina. They have a 9,10,11 and 12 foot design, all but the 12 come either nesting or not. There is a Brit couple with this dinghy. you can check out their videos on youtube, Sailing Yacht Florence. They have the 9 foot nesting version, and several of the videos you can get a pretty good look at the dinghy both rowing and sailing.
I have also thought of the Chesapeake light craft nesting dink, but they only have one size for their kit build.
I would have started the Spindrift kit but I have no good place to build it in the cold weather. That may be a summer project down at the marina.

[John Danicic]

Lots of room on top of the cabin aft of the mast on CD33's and CD36's for nesting dinghies. Out of the way, secure and accessible.

Rowing a hard dinghy is a true joy and keeps you fit to boot. Outboard motors if used, should be small and light. The new electric outboards like the Torqeedo would be very compatible.