You've built one, while I've just looked hard at building one, so
you're miles ahead. Hands on experience beats analysis any day. With
that said:

1) I don't like left hand threads. I understand what he wants to do
-- put the clamp on with a normal, clockwise, forward motion, but I
think it's easier for the user to recognize that he wants to move the
rod toward himself and turn it accordingly. This is particularly true
if you're leaning over from the other half while doing it.

2) I don't like left hand threads. It cuts down on your choice of off
the shelf materials. Not much, though, as you could use a silicon
bronze acme nut and 18-8 SS rod. (Running 18-8 threads in 18-8 nuts is
a bad idea as it tend to gall, but the 18-8/silicon bronze combination
used to be common in turnbuckles -- now we just put up with the
occasional galling of a modern all SS turnbuckle)

3) I don't think they're beefy enough. 1/2" rod will bend when
someone stands on them. And I would use an acme thread.

4) I don't like the mount of the attaching plate (The plate with the
keyhole). The clamp will tend to pull it away from its hull. It only
has to pull away (or bend) a little and you have a gap between hulls.
I would prefer a longer clamp screw and the attaching plate on the
inside of the other hull. This will complicate watertightness, but
it's worth it.

5) I would through bolt the clamp plate. Never wood screw anything
under load.

6) I'm suspicious of the end of the clamp. You're pulling against the
weld, which is a weak spot. Another reason to go up in size and
switch the clamp screw to 18-8.

7) The 3/16" clamp levers will be bent in no time.

And, finally, nesting dinghys are over-rated for the voyager. We had
an Avon 3.15 rollup and a beautiful 12' rowing/sailing dinghy on our
circumnav. The Avon did all the work -- stable, dry, non marring,
fast (with nine hp) to shore which was as much as a mile away. Easy
to beach and to mount wheels to take it above the tide (1/4 mile in
Darwin). The hard dinghy was a joy to row or sail, but was strictly a
toy. Rubber duckies owned the voyaging market then and, I'm sure,
now.

Jim Woodward
www.mvFintry.com

Glenn Ashmore wrote in message news:wRwnb.106439$sp2.38934@lakeread04...
wrote:
On Tue, 9 Sep 2003 22:24:36 -0500, "Wayne" wrote:
the "chameleon" dinghy by danny green, c/o offshore designs ltd.,
p.o.box ge213, st.george's, bermuda ge bx. it is a brillant design,
we built one and have seen rowed three others in various states of
finish. check our boat building skills out at wwwsailorgirl.com

Can someone explain the advantages of the Danny Green dinghy over the
Gerr dinghy? I will have to admit that the Gerr clamps take a lot of
work to fabricate but they sure make putting the boat together in the
water a lot easier.

Looking at the pictures they apear to be very similar designs but I
would think that those flotation chambers add a lot of pounds. I built
a Gerr dink and it came in at 104 pounds. I am playing with an idea to
build a slightly modified version in cedar strip that should come in
around 75 pounds.