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Daren
1st Mate

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USA
81 Posts

Initially Posted - 12/05/2006 : 12:20:06

Does anyone know of a source of free plans or books to build a 10 - 15 foot dighy capable of sailing?

S/V Prima Donna
1986, 15 HP Universal Inboard Diesel, Fixed keel, Hull # 5362

Edited by - on

djn
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1561 Posts

Response Posted - 12/05/2006 : 12:22:34

Hi Daren, my brother in law and I are thinking about building this for him and his triplets. They are 10 years old and we could kick this bout out in a couple weeks. Other then that, type in "free boat plans" in google and you will get hundreds of hits. Cheers.

http://www.carlsondesign.com/lscooner.html

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dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 12/05/2006 : 20:08:11

One of my coworkers is in the planning stages of building a small wooden sailing dinghy. At first he was going to build a 24 footer, but decided that since this would be his first homebuilt boat he thought it best to start with a dinghy.

Here's a resource for boat plans...

[url="http://www.woodenboatstore.com/departments.asp?dept=12"]Woodenboatstore[/url]

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OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3460 Posts

Response Posted - 12/06/2006 : 05:51:49

I have also been looking into this as well. The woodenboat.com seems to be a good source as mention already. They also have a building forum to ask the same question but a search of the forum would discover that question has been asked many times and it really comes down to personal preferences as to what to build. There are some sailing dinghys easier to build than others, some that are much more a work of art that others that basically are plywood pieces attached to each other. there are different techniques used to join frame members. Weight is another issue; is it toppable on a car, lightweight enough to push on a dolly; does it have built-in floatation (many do not)...and what you may be interested is the average time to build a sailing dinghy.

In regards to average time to build a dinghy, there are also a number of considerations besides complexity of the boat. One of the real nice dinghys I would consider is to search on Arch Davis Dinghys and specifically the Penobscot 14. This a well built Dinghy with excellent lines and characterisitics. But it is a little heavier than some weighing in, I believe, at around 150-175lbs. It has a ...what do you call it...gunwale where some designs have a very thin side to the dinghy that you probably will not rest on top of. many Dinghys whether they have seats or not, those that sail them sail it from sitting in the bottom of the hull...so also bear that in mind when looking over the boats. There are also some dinghys that when sailed and from the most advantageous place to sit, the dinghy seems to have it's bow very high in the air...so that is another important consideration - sailing characterisitics.

Back to the hrs to build: There are many designs that are sold exclusively as Plans and you have to then gather the matls and cut to dimension, etc. that will take a lot more time but opens you up to a lot more dinghys to consider building. There is also the procrastination factor that can be very high with a dinghy that you have to start from "ground zero" and there is risk...you may never finish it. Most dinghys require anywhere's from a very low of 60 hrs to build to ...maybe over 400 hrs or more. But there are other options: Some manyfacturers sell plans and/or kits. The kits have everything or mostly everything needed depending on the mfr on how they pkg the kits. The kits may also have all the wood dimensioned and may also include the starting frame to start the build. There are also some mfrs that offer classes that get you 70% to completion of the project in a one week class. Wooden boat may offer some but one of the best that has such classes that reduces that procrastination factor for getting to the end fo the project is Chesapeake Light Craft (www.clc.com). They also have a building forum to ask you5r questions and have many satisfied builders that have built more than one of their boats either from just plans, kit or taking the 5 day class. They have a calendar of when the courses are offered but the for the new year, they really do not have the dates set. Same goes for Wooden Boat. CLC offers the course for a a couple of sailing dinghys but has many for kayaks. CLC dinghys seem (ie. the prams and the Skerry) seem to have the bow raised up very high in the air unless you do some rebalancing. Anyway...has many satisfied customers and the course gets you to a finished hull with sanding, painting and the sail rig mostly the items still needing attention. I am pondering taking one of these classes but have not decided if I will go forward this next year or not and have not deicded on the design yet.

There is also Shell Boats. They offer plans and kits and seem to have a pretty good flotilla to choose from to build. there website is a bit skimpy with details and there is no building forum. The CLC website not only has a generic building forum but there are so many that have built there boats that there are some spinoff forums by searching the web using some of their boat names like the 15' Skerry.

I really like the penobscot 14 but it weighs a bit more than my liking...maybe still doable. the construction is more difficult that some of the other designs but is has good build quality and nice lines, very sturdy. There seems to perhaps be a kit available but no real details unless you call. It would take a looong time to buold this one. The CLC boats go together much faster , much lighter, no flotation built in that i can tell , though most do not have it anyway, no gunwale to speak of...that's the tradeoff with the weight issue and it has a lot of technical support.

Good luck with your searching !

Edited by - on

bmelchionda
1st Mate

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63 Posts

Response Posted - 12/06/2006 : 06:21:15

FYI - The correct address for Chesapeake Light Craft is http://www.clcboats.com/

Thanks for all the info!

Edited by - on

sweetcraft
Admiral

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USA
816 Posts

Response Posted - 12/06/2006 : 09:36:17

There's a SF Pelican. Had one for my daughter which she could sail alone or with 2 crew. It use to come with a kit but haven't checked lately. It is a large pram made of plywood with a simple sail plan. It did have to have a trailer but two of us could carry it. Good hunting for sailing.

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Leon Sisson
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1893 Posts

Response Posted - 12/06/2006 : 11:22:25

Daren,

I've built and reconditioned a few small wooden boats. I suggest you get the concept of "free" out of your mind right now.

A good set of dinghy plans sells for $25 to $75. That's less than you'll waste on discarded materials before the project is done. Even the most optimistically frugal estimates I'm aware of call for spending several hundred dollars on an 8' plywood dink. Cost is proportional to weight, which is sort of proportional to length cubed.

For performance and capacity, obviously longer is better. Equally obvious, the lighter the better for transporting. If I were selecting a sailing dinghy/tender design to build right now, I'd take a close look at what's called a nesting dinghy such as an 11' Spindrift. These are started in one piece, then cut in two part way through the building process. The bow half 'nests' inside the stern half for storage. This way, a 12' tender could be carried (stacked) on the foredeck of a 25' sailboat.

As for easy building methods, I suggest stitch&glue. I wouldn't place any emphasis at all on kits of pre-cut parts. If you can't build your own frames, etc. then you're probably going to have a lot of trouble with the rest of the fabrication as well. Built quality and finish are important considerations. I suggest setting realistic goals there, and following them consistantly. (Painted workboat vs. varnished wood sculpture sort of choices.) The devil is in the details. Stitching together a bare hull goes quickly. Fitting the fiddly bits and achieving a surface smooth enough for finishing can take far more than half the total time spend on the project.

Same goes for cost. A couple sheets of plywood (use the best you can find, don't cut costs on that), a gallon of resin, a few yards of cloth, and a quart of paint may seem like an attractive, and fairly complete, cost estimate. Final cost will be far more. Keeping a detailed list of actual expendatures is not for the faint of heart.

Building space -- at least the amount of space required to park a car indoors.

Power tools -- part of the cost or not? If you need them and don't have them... yes. A 3/8" variable reversable drill. At least a jigsaw (and a circular saw is very helpful). A 7" multi-speed disk sander is essential. A vacuum cleaner. Also really good lighting.

And finally, here's a link to a few photos of an
[url="http://home.mpinet.net/%7Esissonl/boating/photos/D4_pics.htm"]8' stitch&glue D4 dinghy[/url] I built a few years ago.

-- Leon Sisson

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John Russell
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3444 Posts

Response Posted - 12/06/2006 : 12:13:11

She's lovely Leon. A great place to store a cat, too!

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Chris Z
Captain

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452 Posts

Response Posted - 12/06/2006 : 12:45:59

Can you give me some insight as to what would be a good dinghy plan for getting out to my mooring and towing behind the C25 with minimal concern of it capsizing while in tow. Two other things I would like to consider is optional sail and small motor. I am guessing not every dinghy would stay upright while in tow in some amount of waves. Any suggestions would be helpful.

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Nautiduck
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3704 Posts

Response Posted - 12/06/2006 : 14:13:12

Buy one of these and spend your time sailing.

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product/10001/-1/10001/33644/10001/854/613/10

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