Lil' Dinghy

[drwgblanks]

Lmao, i hope you all didn't think i meant an actual little dingy. Anyway, have any of you guys ever built a small dinghy? I have a friend that lives on a 27' sailboat and doesn't have one, though there are times when he could use it. So me and another buddy were thinking about building him one for his B-day. It needs to be small enough to store on top of his boat or on his dock, yet be sturdy enough to pull it behind the sailboat when we go for a sail. Where we sail in our river, the sea's can get fairly rough. Any idea's? I was hoping to find something around 8 or 9 ft that wouldn't easily capsize or take on much water. Something really cheap.

 

[drwgblanks]

Re: Lil' Dinghy

Oh, did I mention i have 2 weeks to do this (at night and weekend only)?

 

[Wimperdink]

Re: Lil' Dinghy

how many people are you planning to put in this dinghy? check this site out... <br /> http://personal.eunet.fi/pp/gsahv/#XX15 <br />or this<br /> http://www.svensons.com/boat/

 

[djzyla1980]

Re: Lil' Dinghy

Follow up on Wimperdinks or CPJ building sites... I think it would be possible... But if you do anything post losts of Pics... we like to see the progress... <wink wink><br /><br />Those svensons plans are detailed, so there should be no probs... plus theres alot of help here

 

[cpj]

Re: Lil' Dinghy

sorry about your little dinghy. Oh you want to build one.Sorry thats all I can think of its late.

 

[djzyla1980]

Re: Lil' Dinghy

LOL pansie princess(cpj)... This looks like a nice little 8' boat... on svensons<br /><br />

 

[CalicoKid]

Re: Lil' Dinghy

That would be a great birthday present wouldn't it? The two links Wimperdink posted have lots of designs and ideas, look them both over well.<br /><br />If you're like me you'll get stuck there not being able to decide which one to build. If you are organized and have some workshop skills two weeks for two guys should be no problem.<br /><br />How cheap is cheap?

 

[drwgblanks]

Re: Lil' Dinghy

Thanks for the links. I think I like that portuguese style dinghy and the one dave put up. We haven't decided for sure whether we are gonna take this on, but I think it would be a great idea. I'll let you know tonight or tomorrow and post pics if we do it. Oh and CalicoKid, Cheap is pretty damn cheap , probably under $100. Think it's possible?

 

[djzyla1980]

Re: Lil' Dinghy

Wood and resin or epoxy... thats about all it takes... The more simple of boat, the cheaper the supplies... <br /><br />I say try it, and if it doesn't get completed, then Show him the progress. I know if someone did that for me I'd be so shocked that it didn't matter when it was done, it is just the fact that someone was taking there time out for me... I'm sure you two buildin it would be enough to cover up the not being done in time. I bet you can do it tho...

 

[Wimperdink]

Re: Lil' Dinghy

Its taken me a bout a week of on off part time work to finish my minimax... i'm betting you could have that finished in a few days from start to finish in just working on it after work... Especially with 2 people. I like the idea of putting the bench down the center for sitting on so you can seat people where every you need for balance when he's by himself or with a couple of people.

 

[CalicoKid]

Re: Lil' Dinghy

Those are neat little boats for sure. If you are REALLY cheap you can build a boat out of just one sheet of plywood!

 

[cpj]

Re: Lil' Dinghy

Originally posted by Dave J Z:<br /> LOL pansie princess(cpj)... This looks like a nice little 8' boat... on svensons<br /><br />

dave: mlm mlm (that would be doubles!)<br />I would prefer to be refered to as "Captain Periwinkle"

 

[djzyla1980]

Re: Lil' Dinghy

I just looked over both of those dingy's <br /><br />I think they could both be easily built in the evening by one person within 5 days... a few with 2.<br /><br />The differences I see is that you wanted a dinghy that would hold up in some choppy water, I think I would choose the jon one from svensons. Only because it has more structual integrity, and should hold up quite well on choppy waters, plus outlive bein towed. If it were my Choice... I'd build the Jon, still easy but more supports and more stable.

 

[djzyla1980]

Re: Lil' Dinghy

Captain Periwinkle Junior?

 

[drwgblanks]

Re: Lil' Dinghy

Dave, I like them both too. But the other one looks like it has a lot more freeboard. I was thinking it would be better. I could add some more support to it. Also, I was going to use some thin matt and glass the entire exterior of the hull. Then just paint the interior with resin. That's the only reason I'm leaning towards the other is because of the freeboard.

 

[Wimperdink]

Re: Lil' Dinghy

I like the portequese better cause it should end up to be lighter weight... and only a life raft so it should be easier to tow. you could also take some boat bumpers and actually bolt them to the sides and it would give you air tight compartments should it sink for any reason ... would be permenant protection.. and wouuld look really redneck just like we like to see. m!m

 

[drwgblanks]

Re: Lil' Dinghy

lmao, boat bumpers. ..nahhhh. I figured I could add a couple small compartments under that long seat, and add flotation. I'm more worried that my buddy will be out drinkin one night and forget to pull the damn thing outta the water, it would rain, and all my work would be at the bottom of our river. Also, this would be more for anchoring a little off shore when we were sailing and using it to get to shore. Oh, and where he's docked, there's a bar there, and one directly across the river at the other marina, would be fun to be able to take dinghy across instead of me having to bring my boat every time we go wetbar hopping.

 

[djzyla1980]

Re: Lil' Dinghy

LOL.... yep... fiberglass the outside and you'd have a strong boat... but is it a fiberglass boat now?

 

[Wimperdink]

Re: Lil' Dinghy

http://www.microcruising.com/ding1.htm <br />build that one... then fold it up and put it in the closet till ya need to use it... and I bet when ya wrap it for his birthday he would never in a million years guess what it was.

 

[drwgblanks]

Re: Lil' Dinghy

Ok guys, i just took on this little project. We started it tonight about 6 pm. I had all the parts sawed out, and the sides and transom put together by 8pm. I'll have to get the camera out tomorrow and show you some pics. I chose the portuguese????SP We had it done far enough for us to bring over my buddy and show him his present. We closed my shop up till he got to my house. Then while he was here, we told him my baby had to go to bed so we had to go to the shop to drink our beer. I swung the doors open and said....happy b-day. He walked around the boat and didn't understand. He said....man this shyt is baaaaaad, but what do you need with a fishing boat? We had to reiterate it to him that it was his. That it was for his b-day. He was speechless. He said it was the most anybody had ever done for him and I swear I thought I saw him get a shimmer of a tear in his eye (though I'll never tell because he's my boy and I need to help him retain his toughness for the next time we end up in a bar brawl ) Thank you guys for your help.