just the same old same conundrum...

Something well worth your time, another side of drought, and giving a whole new meaning to the phrase "Throws like a girl..."

I'm currently jumping through a bunch of mental hoops trying to sort out which dinghy to build. The fact is there are any number of great dinghies out there but the problem is finding a design that will stow in the allotted space as well as being the sort of workhorse that can put up with the loads and abuse I regularly subject it to.

Nesting dinghies make a lot of sense and I have plans for Danny Greene's Chameleon, the B&B Spindrift, and Wood's new Duo but when nested they all seem to seriously impair the view forward while sailing...

The Wooden Widget folding designs make a lot of sense but, being skin boats, they are less than perfect for throwing 75' of chain, 100' of warp, and a forty-pound anchor in the bottom when needing to row out and set extra anchors to windward when a big storm threatens. That said, stowed in front of my hard dodger you'd have great view forward while sailing...

Fact is, any hard dinghy on the coachroof is going to be problematic and there is no other space aboard to place a dinghy that makes any sense so just about anything you do is a bigger compromise than I actually care to make.

Bummer.

Tad Roberts has the right idea in his Future Cruiser series where he designs in proper dinghy stowage..

"The cockpit is huge by modern standards as it's the place you spend the most time. Options for protection are considered, dodger and higher coamings forward. Transom door and outboard rudder/tiller simplify access and self steering. No holes in the boat's bottom. I have a idea the solid pram dinghy will sit in the cockpit (becoming the cockpit footwell) in these boats, perhaps under a solid flush cover in the larger boats."

Which would sort out the problem finestkind.

Listening to Guy Clark

So it goes...