Being almost finished with Minicup #2 has me wondering what to do next
(besides work) in evenings. I would like to eventually build a large
trailerable trimaran but maybe I need another project sooner.
Yesterday, I was on my big boat (28' S2) and was using the jib halyard
to hoist the dinghy (8' nautilus) from the water and onto the deck and
realized how absurd this was. m This damn dinghy is frggin heavy
although it rows well. I'll never buy an inflatable cuz I just dont
want another engine in my life. What I need is a seriously
lightweight collapsible dinghy. I have seen the designs for very
lightweight ones but they do not collapse to save room.
SO, am considering building a collapsing very lightweight dinghy
designed to row well. My concept is dacron sheets, maybe even
waterproof UV resistant Tyvek, held in tension with fibreglass poles
like an inverted freestanding tent. I want a squarish bow for maximum
room, about 8-9'lenght and squarish stern. I am thinking of the
fiberglas poles or battens running lengthwise in pockets in the dacron
and going into notches in the plywood bow and stern pieces.
Stiffeners (thwarts?) would go across to keep it from collapsing
inward and to hold a seat and oarlocks. Ttranverse fibreglass pieces
would run across the sides and bottom in pockets from side to side.
The "keel" would be formed from flexible closed cell foam with a
rubberized coating cemented to the bottom. (Sorry but my small boat
terminology is lacking). It would roll up around the long fibreglass
poles or maybe the poles would be collapsible.
Any thoughts?

Parallax wrote:
Being almost finished with Minicup #2 has me wondering what to do next
(besides work) in evenings. ....What I need is a seriously
lightweight collapsible dinghy.

Why reinvent the wheel?

http://geodesicairoliteboats.com/

I don't see why you need to make a collapsible one, but you could do it
by cutting any conventional boat in half and transoming the two halves.
Exercise a little cleverness and you could have a nice Whitehall that
would still fit on your foredeck, and each section could be lifted with
one hand.

Personally I don't want a folding or collapsible dink, and so am
seriously considering carbon fiber. It's expesnive, but there's really
no substitute if strong & light are the design goals.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

On 25 Jun 2004 10:13:23 -0700, (Parallax)
wrote:
snip
What I need is a seriously
lightweight collapsible dinghy. I have seen the designs for very
lightweight ones but they do not collapse to save room.
snip

You might get some inspiration from this old Boy Scout project
favorite: http://www.vhcbsa.org/camping/kayak.pdf.

- Rick Tyler

--
"Ignorant voracity -- a wingless vulture -- can soar only into the
depths of ignominy." Patrick O'Brian

DSK ) writes:
Parallax wrote:
Being almost finished with Minicup #2 has me wondering what to do next
(besides work) in evenings. ....What I need is a seriously
lightweight collapsible dinghy.

Why reinvent the wheel?

http://geodesicairoliteboats.com/

Platt Monfort doesn't recommend his geodesic boats as yacht tenders
because they're too fragile.

You can make a light folding dingly out of thin plywood.
TF Jones has one he calls the Dandy Dingy (his catamaran is called Dandy)
in his book "New Plywood Boats". Ottawa public library has a copy.

For ideas try a search of the Internet on "nesting dingy".

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(Parallax) wrote in message . com...
Being almost finished with Minicup #2 has me wondering what to do next
(besides work) in evenings. I would like to eventually build a large
trailerable trimaran but maybe I need another project sooner.
Yesterday, I was on my big boat (28' S2) and was using the jib halyard
to hoist the dinghy (8' nautilus) from the water and onto the deck and
realized how absurd this was. m This damn dinghy is frggin heavy
although it rows well. I'll never buy an inflatable cuz I just dont
want another engine in my life. What I need is a seriously
lightweight collapsible dinghy.


Try this:
http://www.microcruising.com/ding1.htm
Scotty from SmallBoats.com