Building a nesting tender for Fayaway

[SVFayaway]

Since I've been laid off for the time being, I'm using the opportunity to get started on building a B&B Two-paw 8 foot nesting dinghy as a tender for Fayaway. I've got most of the plywood parts laid out and cut, and I should be getting a stack of Cypress soon for the gunwales and framing. I chose this particular design because it will, in theory, fit on top of the cabin between my dodger and the mast, eliminating the awkwardness of storing on the foredeck in the way of sail handling and anchoring operations. She will have a sailing rig, oars and occasionally a 2.5 HP Honda for power. The sail kit is on its way from Sailrite and hardware from Viadana and Duckworks will arrive at the end of the week. In the meantime, here are the plywood parts laid out and ready for assembly:

IMG-3792.JPG (90.08 KiB) Viewed 747 times

IMG-3793.JPG (88.96 KiB) Viewed 747 times

The plan was to get the boat done for our DelMarVa trip in June but conversely that now seems both entirely achievable and superfluous. Either way I'll at least get to row it since that counts as exercise in Maryland. Maybe no one will notice if I raise the sail for an hour or two...

[John Stone]

Faraway
Excellent plan. Recommend you consider incorporating chocks to really make it secure when in the cabin top and give it a proper home.

Also, think about the design of the thwart seat as you will want to be able to open the saloon hatch under the dinghy when sailing. Even if you can only open it 4-5” it makes a huge difference to keeping a breeze moving through the boat when underway. It also allows you to have some ventilation when it’s raining.

[Jim Walsh]

http://forums.sailinganarchy.com/index. ... 8-nesting/

The identical dinghy is being built by someone on another forum. I thought you might be interested as different solutions are often exhibited by those constructing from the same plans. Be aware that the forum in the hyperlink above are much more tolerant of crude language. Not all forums are as pleasant as our beloved Cape Dory “family oriented” forum.

[SVFayaway]

Good thoughts John. The center thwart is removable to allow the boat to nest so I should be able to easily open the hatch under the dinghy. Chocks are definitely in the plan as is a cover and some way of stowing the mast/sail/oars with the boat. In theory this will be my lifeboat as well as my dinghy since we are not planning on carrying a life raft for the time being. Not sure how practical this idea is but a lifeboat drill will tell the tale. Dump us and the boat in the water and see if we can get it rigged while wearing life jackets etc. I like to test all my gear when I first get it so I know what I'm up against in a real emergency.

Thanks for that Jim. You're right, it's always very helpful to see how someone else has solved problems. Very inspirational as well.

[John Stone]

Good thoughts John. The center thwart is removable to allow the boat to nest so I should be able to easily open the hatch under the dinghy. Chocks are definitely in the plan as is a cover and some way of stowing the mast/sail/oars with the boat. In theory this will be my lifeboat as well as my dinghy since we are not planning on carrying a life raft for the time being. Not sure how practical this idea is but a lifeboat drill will tell the tale. Dump us and the boat in the water and see if we can get it rigged while wearing life jackets etc. I like to test all my gear when I first get it so I know what I'm up against in a real emergency.

Thanks for that Jim. You're right, it's always very helpful to see how someone else has solved problems. Very inspirational as well.

I bolt the rudder and dagger board together with a bolt and a wing nut. They fit under the dinghy wedged ‘thwartship and from a shelf. I place the bagged dinghy sail on the shelf. I stow the mast and boom vertically along the port and starboard aft lower shrouds secured in place with leathered boot and ring I whipped in place. To employ them I simply lift up and set them straight down into the dinghy. It has worked perfectly in over 8,500 NM of offshore sailing. I also use my hard dinghy as the ship's lift raft and believe it is important everything be kept together and imm accessible.

[wikakaru]

John,

In the photo where you show how your dinghy is stored on deck at sea, I see what looks like a removable spray hood over the companionway. I searched your web site for information on the spray hood, but all I could find was where you installed the bronze supports, with a promise to "write more about the design later".

Did you ever detail the design and construction of the spray hood? If so, where?

I have been thinking about some kind of removable low-profile dodger to keep us dry on our Typhoon when the wind gets up and thought your experience with the spray hood might be instructive. I already started a thread about staying dry on the Typhoon here: http://www.capedory.org/board/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=37125

Maybe you can post there, or start a new thread to keep this one from going off-topic.

Thanks!

Jim

[John Stone]

John,

In the photo where you show how your dinghy is stored on deck at sea, I see what looks like a removable spray hood over the companionway. I searched your web site for information on the spray hood, but all I could find was where you installed the bronze supports, with a promise to "write more about the design later".

Did you ever detail the design and construction of the spray hood? If so, where?

I have been thinking about some kind of removable low-profile dodger to keep us dry on our Typhoon when the wind gets up and thought your experience with the spray hood might be instructive. I already started a thread about staying dry on the Typhoon here: http://www.capedory.org/board/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=37125

Maybe you can post there, or start a new thread to keep this one from going off-topic.

Thanks!

Jim

I finished the pram hood days before I departed for my first voyage for the Virgin Islands. I had forgotten I never wrote about building the dodger. It has performed very well. I do have in mind a slight modification but it will have to wait. I Can’t imagine not having it. I’ll see if I can put something together and post at the link you provided.

[K Chiswell]

We built a Spindrift 10N for our 330. A couple thoughts that are worth thinking about as you build.

We glassed in t-nuts in the stern section and used captive thumb screws from the bow. I really like not having the loose parts to deal with while I try to assemble the boat on deck.

The other thing to look into, which I have not done yet, is floatation. You can check with B&B but it appears that the nesting dinghies have less built in floatation than their solid hull counterparts. I think this is to make room to nest but our boat does not float high enough to bailout if there are any waves. Using it as a lifeboat I would want additional floatation permanently installed so it might be worth planning before you do the finish work.

[SVFayaway]

John, I like that idea of storing the mast along the shrouds. My initial thought was to make a bag for the rig and figure out some way of securing that to the upside down boat. Having the mast vertical might be a better option for avoiding unnecessary clutter on deck. Those leather details are excellent. I think in an ideal world I'd be able to cut away the dinghy and rig all at once in an emergency but I'm not sure that's practical.

Thanks for the tip about the t-nuts. I've been thinking of something similar, I definitely don't want loose parts floating around and I don't much like the look of the wing nuts either. I was going to get some nylon threaded knobs from McMaster and put t-nuts on the stern half. It sounds a little fussier than using bolts but the simplicity of use will be worth it I think.

You're right the boat doesn't have as much flotation as the non-nesting version. My plan for the time being is to use a flotation bag like those used on Opti's to give me buoyancy in the stern. The boat does have a large watertight tank in the forward section.

[Joey]

Hi Avery,

I have built two - Two-Paw 8s in the past, not including a shortened 7' version for my former South Coast 23 (another Alberg design). Last one was for the cabin top of Last Mango, my 1978 CD28. If I can make one very strong suggestion, it's to skip the screws & knobs for joining the two sections together, and instead use the solution found in this link:

https://www.pbase.com/onceagain/connector_design
also discussed in this thread: https://messing-about.com/forums/topic/ ... my-alberg/

I did this on my current Two Paw, and it is the best decision I could have made. This makes joining or separating the two halves a couple of second operation, just jump in the aft half, get the front half roughly aligned, and give it a push down, and let it's buoyancy pop it back up in correct position, and secure the two Perko clamps. The result is very tight, very secure, and no fumbling with or losing the all-important bits that hold your dink together.

Joey

[SVFayaway]

Thanks for that Joey. I ordered some stainless bar with my mast tubing so I'll give it a shot. Looks to be a lot easier than the standard method.

My Cypress from Chesapeake Light Craft arrived so I've been able to pick up the pace. I screwed and stitched the transoms on yesterday and got the bottom on today. I need some faster hardener because the slow hardener I got early on is taking days to cure in our unseasonably cool basement, which is really slowing me down. That's on its way so hopefully I can get the gunnels on and start taping the inside by the end of the week. Most of the sub assemblies are cut out and ready to glue up and install so I expect it to go pretty quickly from here out.

[John Stone]

Very nice. Time well spent. Nothing like building a boat....

[moctrams]

How much does it weigh?

Got answer that is weighs 70 lbs. Little bit more than the 55lbs my inflatable weighs. It gives you pride it building.

[SVFayaway]

Thanks John. You're absolutely right-it's been very pleasant having the boat outside and it's a nice change of pace from working on systems and canvas for the big boat. I've found I like making things a lot more than fixing them.

Finished she'll weigh about 70 pounds. Fairly light, since she's built mostly of 1/4" marine ply. Right now I'd guess she weighs in at 35-40 pounds without glass or any of the sailing hardware. I'm using Cypress on this build and I have to say I'm impressed. It's very light and easy to work with, and I expect to use it in any future boat builds.

[Ben Miller]

As a point of reference, I'm building a Catspaw 8 (same designer, but not nesting) and right now, sans paint and some minor hardware, she weighs about 55 pounds. I'm guessing she'll wind up somewhere around 60 (minus oars). I'm sure it's easy to have a 10-20 pound variance in these builds, depending on material choices and how heavy-handed you are with the epoxy.