Fitting The Dink

We?would like?to stow our future dink on the cabintop. The length of the dink will be between 7’ and 7’8", beam 4’ to 4’6". The challenge is to stow the dink on the cabin top and still have enough room for a dodger.
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Has any BCC owner found a solution to this challenge?? I can understand why the Pardey’s build the 30’ version of the BCC after trying to solve this challenge.
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We are interested?in finding out?where BCC owners stow the dink on the boat and the type of hard dink other BCC owners use…?
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Thanks,
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Rod

I have a Fatty Knees dink on my cabin top. Also have a small dodger.

I’ve got a Montgomery 6’ 8" hard dink stored over the cabin top. It came with the boat and works well but I would have rather had a Fatty Knees. I believe that the Pardey’s had a Montgomery 6" 8" on Seraffyn. The dink had the transom cut down a few inches to accommodate the hatch on the BCC.
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Doug
s/v Fritha

John Churchill designed and built an elegant little two-part
bolted-together, 9’-or-thereabouts sailing dink that fits between
companionway and butterfly hatch with bow section nested underneath. Fits
in front of the dodger. I bought it after he sold Bucephalus to Peter Pike .
I have not used it on Itchen yet because the dink is still at our place in
Venice FL and Itchen is still on the Chesapeake. I hope to get them
together as soon as we manage to get Itchen down to Florida, for it is too
big for my Outback’s roof rack. I may have some fun fitting it to Itchen,
because Bucephalus has no companionway hood, and Itchen does, so there may
be “some assembly required”. If I can manage that, I will keep it and maybe
name it “Itchen’s Ferry”.

As a dinghy it really does work as designed - I know, because I assembled it
& took it out for a trial row and sail around Venice inlet. I think there
is some discussion of this dinghy waaay back in the bcc archives.

Scott

Rod,
West Marine’s RIB 310 is a 10’ 2" by 4’ 11" rigid inflatable that measures about 7.5 ’ by 3’ deflated and in the bag. If you are interested I will put a tape on mine?and?get you exact deflated measurements as?I could not find them on West Marine’s website.???It weighs 88 lbs and just fits between my dodger and the mast on the cabin top. The height is only 17 inches so the boom clears nicely.??Here is a link to the data and photo in the West Marine Catalogue.
http://mastercatalog04.westmarine.com/0232.asp?LinkBackProdId=65399
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Regards,
David Kent
Seastar

David:
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I appreciate the offer. We want a hard dink and plan not to consider an inflatable.
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The response to my question is appreciated and the photo from Steven Osborne is a real plus in my quest for the “holy grail” of dinks.
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Scott, I remember Churchill posted several photo’s of his dink at this forum - very nice.
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Doug, we looked at the Montgomery 6’8" pram. I think the pram is a possible solution. Lenora does not like prams, hence base on a married democratic vote, the pram was place on the “far back burner.”?
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We like the Fatty Knees but thought the price tag was too high.
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Thanks,
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Rod

I build a bunch of the Montgomery dinghies…the thickness is 19 inches
and we can cut it lower for those who need it. (no charge) She is a pram.
Lin and Larry did use one on their first circumnavigation.

Here is a new Montgomery 6’ 8" in the foreground.

I also build the 8 footer ( called the 7’ 11" for those States that have a 8 foot licensing
rule.) She has a pointed bow. She rows very well.

Fair winds
Bob

Aloha,

Oh…the dinghy challenge on a BCC. Such a beautiful boat demands no less from her dinghy.

You must have a dinghy that works! And one that is beautiful. I like the dinghy under the boom. We have seven feet to work with, unless you are hard core and forego the dodger! The beautiful Lyle Hess-designed Fatty Kness is worthy and perfect if pricey. She tows like a dream boat and is so beautiful ! I have a great picture to post. Aloha’s Fatty Knees is shown Rod’s gallery site. The Sam L. Morse Cherub is grand.

If you can’t get one of these nice choices, go get a high quality inflatable and squeeze it into the quarter berth out of site. Or, build something like John Churchill’s two piece dinghy which is amazingly large and it works, if in two pieces.

Happy New Year!

Kate
Kate Christensen
RogueWave Yacht Sales & Services, LLC.
1806 Dreams Landing Way
Annapolis, MD 21401 USA
410 571-2955 Office
410 703-5008 Cell
801 681-9741 Fax
kate@roguewaveyachtsales.com
www.roguewaveyachtsales.com

could you build the 7’11" without the centerboard box? I would like to place the dinghy over my scuttle hatch and need the full depth. Maybe the box could be
removable? I like the centerboard rather than leeboards.

Nate Berkowitz

=====
nathaniel berkowitz, sausalito california
tel: 415 331 3314 fax: 415 331 1854

Nate

The 7’ 11" in the photo has just the seat, no centerboard. That middle
seat is where you sit while rowing. Then again, a centerboard has
to have a box with a trunk inside as well. The disadvantage of
a centerboard is water spurting up and getting your seat (pants)
wet. Leeboards do have the advantage of a dryer boat; no holes
or slots in the hull, etc.
I could probably make the center seat removable with a nice teak board
that pins onto
some structural tabs on the hull, like we do for the mast support cross
member.
That would be a simple solution. You would lose the floatation that the
normal
seat would give you; but the hull would be hollow enough to fit over the
hatch.

Fair winds
Bob

Scott- I live in Venice - why don’t you write me quick note off the list so as not to flood,
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Bill Schroedter

John Churchill’s design has the “centerboard trunk” offset to one side,
alongside the gunwale. Not equally efficient on both tacks, but it does the
job and unless you plan to enter dinghy racing competitions I doubt the
difference would be significant.

Scott

Scott

Another yacht tender I like is a SPINDRIFT 11 footer, nesting dinghy.
I know a couple of people who built these over the winter
(a good fun project) and they are practical for motoring and sailing.
The 11 footer breaks down to an overall lenght of 5 feet 7 inchs.
See it here:

http://www.bandbyachtdesigns.com/spin.htm

Fair winds
Bob

Bob:
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Both dinks look great and I love the names GO and GONE. The regular dink (standard bow) is beautiful and in my opinion, in the same catagory as the Fatty Knees. The 7’ 11" length is a bit of a problem for us, if the dink is stowed on the cabin top. On the BCC, the distance from the the mast to the aft edge of the sea hood (turtle) is 7’8". I know?your?dink will fit on the foredeck but this is not an option for us because we work the halyards at the mast from the foredeck. Lenora does not favor prams but at this point in our research, I am open to all options except for a nesting dink.
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I suspect there is no “holy grail” when it comes to dinks and stowing them on a small boat. We have considered the following dinks: Fatty Knees, Montgomery pram, Portland Pudge, Cherub and a Canadian built dink, as well as designing and building our own dink.??Designing and building a dink is?the very last option. At present we are researching the Portland Pudge because it is designed as a lifeboat. This is a good option for us because we do not plan to carry a liferaft aboard IDUNA.?David Hulbert, who designed the Pudgy, sent us detailed dimension of the Pudgy’s “footprint” when it is stowed upsidedown. I plan to template the “footprint” and determine if we can fit the lifeboat on the cabin top. The drawing is the exclusive property of Portland Pudgy, hence can not be shared.
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We have not ruled out any dinks at this point in our research.
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Fair Winds for the New Year,
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Rod
S/V IDUNA

Bob:
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Hum, when the owner of IDUNA looks at this website, we may have another married democratic vote regarding nesting dinks. When I chased molecules around a lab, an often used phrase was, “In research, we take one step forward and sometimes two steps backwards.”
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Thanks for the photo of your new Montgomery 23 - very nice. May I post the photo of the 23 at the Lyle Hess Tribute Rendezvous Photo Site?? As is proper, I will give due photo credit in the caption.
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Happy New,
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Rod
S/V IDUNA

Rod

Yes, go ahead. And a Happy New Year to you both as well.!

I do like the idea of a nesting dink. Like anything else that is 11 feet
long, you will likely end up towing it while you explore coastal
waterways and harbor hopping. It is probably some hassle to
break it down or assemble it; especially if its wet and rainy out.

Once nested and attached to the mothership of course, you can cross
the Atlantic. The advantage of a 11 foot tender over a 8 footer is large.
Especially if your going to stay in one area. More capacity for people,
supplies and room for taking trips around the harbor, etc. A pram
like the M_6 foot eight inch would be more of a get to the boat, get
to the dinghy dock mode of transportation for 2. With one aboard
you can putt around the harbor and explore some. It does row well
and that is what a hard dinghy should do.

To me, the difference in getting the ships tender up and ready is
what makes or breaks its utility. For harbor living and coastal cruising,
exploring, getting to the Yacht Club, hauling people and supplies around,
getting on and off while climbing on board the mothership, you really
can’t beat a good, semi rigid inflatable. With a small Honda it is perfect.
Then we have a few problems. One is you can’t row one, especially
in a wind. Two, you have to deflate them and lift them on board
when your going offshore. Three, you can’t sail them around the harbor
for fun. The hassle of getting them ready, inflating them, lowering them
over the side could be compared to assembling a hard nesting dinghy.
(as for the time involved) But the nesting dink, while not as stable as
an inflatable, can be rowed, can be sailed and can be motored. It will
bang against the hull at night while the inflatable won’t.

I don’t know if I would worry much about having to abandon a BCC in mid
ocean. Highly unlikely. Maybe a soft pack raft with a abandon ship bag and
a good beacon with GPS capability.

How about having all three?..LOL

Fair winds Rod…!

Bob

Bob,
As usual your work is exquisite. Its great having you participate in
this group.
Are you building any 37’s ? I was just stunned by the beauty of the one
I saw in Annapolis about 10 years ago.
Cordially,
Jim Hiller

The dimensions of IDUNA’s skylight are 28" W by 30" L.??The forward edge of?the skylight is 12" from?the back of the mast. The space between the bottom of the boom and the top center of the skylight is 24".??Can someone?provide these dimensions?for a SLM built BCC? After going through “n” number of interations of stowing a dink on IDUNA’s cabin top, I have not been able to derive a working solution.
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Thanks,
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Rod

Make a thinner dink ;-}
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kidding…

Nica:
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I like the idea of a thinner me. I may have to resort to a thinner dink if my idea of feeding growth hormones to IDUNA does not work…
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Happy New Year,
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Rod