Greetings stan and all,
This is Russ. Previous owner of BCC
#93. Still lurking here I have some feedback on
dinghies based on our experience.
We decided that an inflatable was not practical for us
as well. Although we did carry an 8 foot Avon in the
lazarette. We rarely used. And hated inflating and
deflating every time we wanted to dive. We found an
old Mongomery pram, I think about 71/2 ft. that we
fixed up and used awhile. I made temporary chocks for
the cabin top and it rode well there. But we could
not stand the loss of visibility. And in the long run
the pram had very bad carrying capacity. We are not
large people. But it could hardly carry the two of us
and a 2 hp. motor safely. One person rowing or
sailing it was ok. We got rid of it and bought a Sam
Morse Cherub before going cruising.
We absolutely loved the way it rode over the scuttle
hatch. Nearly flush to the deck. Sail handeling was
never a problem. The staysail tacked over it very
smoothly. And when anchoring I simply lifted it on
edge with one hand and leaned it against the lifeline.
Where it rested until we deployed it with the
staysail halyard.
It also gave a comfortable place to sit when working
the mast in rough conditions.
You could still walk around it to work the sprit
without concern.
The carrying capacity of this dink is quite amazing.
We could both ride seated for and aft with a 2hp Honda
and as many as 5 full jerry cans with room for more
and we have done this once in a 3ft. chop and 20 kt.
winds in the Turks and Caicos. And always felt safe
and comfortable.
The dink sails great and rows decent only. In over 6k
sea miles with this dink on board. I would do it no
other way.
Only draw back is that we liked to snorkle and fish
alott. And anchoring out in deep water and trying to
get back into the boat is nearly impossible.
Well, one more drawback Big $$$$. For a small dink.
But we still do not regret it.
The Fatty knees was an option and is similar to the
Cherub but could not ride on the bow with the center
board trunk in the way. And I am not sure it is even
beamy and deep enough to fit over the scuttle hatch.
As I have built several small boats over the years,
we thought often of making a nesting dinghy. But I
could not find or create a design that I was
comfortable with.
If I had to do it over again. I would get a hull laid
up (I guess Crystaliner is doing the layup) and finish
it out myself. We were not very pleased with their
finishing job. They even used galvenized fasteners on
the gunnals and even under the glass in some places.
And naturally we had rust stains. And their jellcote
had 100% blisters below the waterline after only 6
mos.( they would not warranty it) We ground it off in
Trini. and epoxyed it. Worked great.
Hope this helps…
Russ…
— waxwingers <waxwingers@yahoo.com > wrote:
I have some time and a shop area available and am
considering
building a nesting dinghy. I’ve run the
gam-mot(sp)of hard dinghys
from six-foot on the cabin top to 12-feet towed
behind. I don’t care
for inflatables.I’m thinking of a nesting dink that will fit on the
cabin top, over
the skylight and under the boom. I don’t like a dink
on the foredeck
because of the awkwardness of anchoring and sail
handling working
around one.I’m thinking the cabin top could take a six by 4 1/2
foot area to
nest a dinghy into which ‘could’ result in a 10 to
11 foot length
overall when put together.I’m a lousy designer and feel no desire to reinvent
the wheel if
someone has already done it, however.So if you have or know of someone who has already
done it for a BCC
I’d appreciate a come back.By the way, I’ve towed both aluminum and fiberglass
12-foot dinghys
from the Chesapeake to Aruba. They were no problem
for the most part
on short hops (had to cut one loose off the
Carolinas)but still a
drag on long passages.Thanks,
Stan Roeder hull#22 Waxwing
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