Sailing Dink

Probably more of a davit question..... but:

I want to replace my inflatable in favor of:

A dink I can sail around the cove while at anchor
Got to be able handle a small outboard, I hate rowing
Traditional looks, something like a fatty knees
I need to be able to tilt it up onto the swim step via davits. Something like the snap davits used for inflatables, no room to hang it off the back, I'm already too far into the fairway while in the slip.

How do I get there?

Where/how do carry/store the inflatable now? A light sailing dink weigh about the same as an inflatable. I can pull our sailing dink up onto the dock and turn it over.

Baggiolini said:

Probably more of a davit question..... but:

I want to replace my inflatable in favor of:

A dink I can sail around the cove while at anchor
Got to be able handle a small outboard, I hate rowing
Traditional looks, something like a fatty knees
I need to be able to tilt it up onto the swim step via davits. Something like the snap davits used for inflatables, no room to hang it off the back, I'm already too far into the fairway while in the slip.

How do I get there?

Click to expand...

Each half weighs about 40#, rows and sails like a banshee.

Port Townsend Watercraft?s Nesting Dinghies

If I were buying a sailing dinghy, I'd do my best to get a Trinka. It is a stunning beauty and the workmanship is impeciable.

Link to Website: Trinka-The Best Rowing/Sailing Dinghy in the World.



If I was in the mood to build a sailing dinghy, and I'm always in the mood to build a boat, that Port Townsend nesting boat sure is pretty. The kit looks pretty easy as well.

Our boat came with a Montgomery 7-11 sailing dinghy. It's a ton of fun to sail or row. But if we hadn't gotten it with the boat and we wanted a sailing dinghy, I agree, the Trinka is a beautiful and beautifully made dinghy and that's what we'd want for sure.

My Trinka 8 is under construction. Not the sailing version, however. No plan for an engine either. Just oar-power. Like the idea of two oaring positions. KISS.

Baggiolini said:

Probably more of a davit question..... but:

I want to replace my inflatable in favor of:

A dink I can sail around the cove while at anchor
Got to be able handle a small outboard, I hate rowing
Traditional looks, something like a fatty knees
I need to be able to tilt it up onto the swim step via davits. Something like the snap davits used for inflatables, no room to hang it off the back, I'm already too far into the fairway while in the slip.

How do I get there?

Click to expand...

,

We had a Gig Harbor Sailing Dinghy (Captain's Gig with Jib). It sailed and rowed great. With a motor, fair. I guess 2 out of 3's not bad. The mast and boom were each 2 piece, so storage was easy. It fit on the swim platform on our 34 Mainship with Weaver Davits.

Compare All :: Gig Harbor Boat Works

Going to a sailing dinghy after an inflatable because of the difference in the stability, is going to be an adjustment. The sailing dinghies do seem to hold their value if you find it's not for you though.

I like the Minto

Thinkingabout picking one up. Prices seem to be 1-1.5K on Craigslist

Minto Sailing Dingy Gallery

Watch the weight as they tend to be heavy, especially the name brand mentioned. We bought a used cheap/no name for like 500 bucks. I would not buy an expensive fancy dink which is going to be stored in the weather, bump/banged, pulled up on the beach/land.

Also before you buy a sailing dink make sure you like to sail and will sail it? We sailed it a couple of time at first, quickly added an electric motor, and have not sailed it since. The grandchildren and I still row it, but many time we are glad to have the engine. My wife does not like to go in it as its to rolly, so we bought a Livingston, which we use 90% of the time.

Here is another option. Made in Washington state, very light for swim step mounting.

Dinghy Co. Inc.


As far as the Dinghy Davits..... You can use these on your new Dinghy while utilizing your current swim step davits.

http://www.weaverindustries.com/ind...dinghy-hook-up-to-inflatable-davit-heads.html

I've had two boats from the Dinghy Co. Earl built one for me and the other was built for someone else, he bailed and I bought it.

Earl's boats are heavier than most but are excellent designs ... Mostly from the past as he takes his moulds from existing hulls. I don't think he has any boats that are actually powerboats but some are good for that if kept to slow semi-planing speeds. Mostly Earl's boats are sail or rowing.

Great pics of the Minto Max and I really enjoyed looking at them. My 10' dinghy from Earl was very similar w the narrow stern/transom. Earl's boat (I think it was the Discovery) is strictly for rowing and not made to perform heeled like a sailboat so it could be better for rowing. Can't imagine a better 10' rowing boat and the transom is higher than the Minto ... More like a "Whitehall". No sailing options unless you're prepared to put in a mast step, centerboard trunk ect. and I'll bet the Minto would sail a bit better anyway. For a row, sail, 2hp powerboat the Minto looks absolutely perfect.

I have a Minto (an original Ranger version). I paid ~$750 for it. It is a great boat to sail and row. Looks nice too with teak thwarts and gunwales. I have a 2 hp Honda that I did throw on once. It did fine but I needed a tiller extension. I purchased one but haven't tried it out yet.

Spy,
I've see at least several Minto's. Great looking boat. I'd prolly be trol'in for one if I didn't have a 10' sailing dinghy already. I thought it was the same as Marin's but now that I see his picture I doubt it. Mine may be a "Holiday". I'm not home or I'd go out and check. I'm slowly converting my "Holiday" sailing dinghy to a power boat. I fiberglassed in the centerboard trunk and need to cut out the upper part and remove all the other sailboat stuff. Plan to do that when we refinish the boat. We run the boat w a 6hp and 8hp OB (2 stroke twins) at about half throttle and 7 or 8knots. It's considerably more beamy and full aft than the Minto and of course carries more weight. It does have the lapstrake hull and is very dry for such a small boat. It lacks enough directional stability to make a good row boat but goes quite fast if rowed hard.

Eric--- Our sailing dinghy is a Montgomery. The model is 7-11. Montgomery made a variety of smaller sailboats on up into the mid-twenties in length. They are apparently still in business down in Dana Point, CA. They make a 15, a 17, and a 23. They have a minimal website at http://www.montgomeryboats.com They still make an 8' dinghy but the 7-11 has been out of production for many years I believe. Here are a couple of shots of them with the sail rig up.

7-11? Sailboats less than eight feet in length aren't required to be registered in California, so aren't subject to state fees and county property taxes. Same for manually-powered boats of any length.

markpierce said:

7-11? Sailboats less than eight feet in length aren't required to be registered in California, so aren't subject to state fees and county property taxes. Same for manually-powered boats of any length.

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I assume then that is why Montgomery chose that length which they also made the model number for the boat itself.

Up here there are some taxes or fees or something that kick in at 16 feet. At the time we bought our 17' Arima they only made two sizes, 15' and 17.' The 17' model is still in production but a number of years ago they decided to enlarge the 15-footer a bit so it became the Arima 15-11. I believe it is still in production, too.

We've got a Bauer 10 that we really enjoy. Couple of great features that are kind of unique for a sailing dinghy are the full liner with molded seat curving to the sides (no sitting on the floor) & the kick up centerboard & rudder which are great when beaching. Really well made boat & still weighs about the same as the Trinka.
Bauteck Marine Corporation, Inc.

Love these little boats ..

Carl ther'e,s another classy dink.

Marin I can see from the 2nd plank down from the gunn'l (visually) that it's too wide to be the same boat as mine. You can see mine in older pics of Willy. It's the yellow boat on Willy's roof. Still in the hotel room ... about to go to the Pioneer Cafe for breakfast.

manyboats said:

Love these little boats ..

Carl ther'e,s another classy dink.

Marin I can see from the 2nd plank down from the gunn'l (visually) that it's too wide to be the same boat as mine. You can see mine in older pics of Willy. It's the yellow boat on Willy's roof. Still in the hotel room ... about to go to the Pioneer Cafe for breakfast.

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I have one of these, which we purchased as a life raft that could actually go someplace.

Tinker Sailing Inflatable

I have the optional storm cover for that purpose. I've sailed it a few times and it is a remarkably good sailor, it rows well and will take a 4 horse. I like the PtTownsend Watercraft mostly because I would like to build it, and it is very lightweight, but I should probably dust off the Tinker for a season. I'd almost forgotten we owned one...

Ironicically I also live in Monterey (part time) but I have a Bauer 10 for sale that is currently on the back of my boat in Alameda that I would look at selling. They are very expensive new and one of the other posts above has a link to the site in St Augustine FL.

The rig is in great condition and is at my house in Monterey, I bought a new Yamaha 4hp for it last year but really didnt like the hassle of taking it off and on and it is in the shop getting its service, probably has less than 10 hours on it. I also just bought a new custom cover for it a few months ago.

If you are interested let me know I will be back in Monterey this weekend for a few weeks. Really have not come up with a price but open to reasonable offers.

Let me know - Gerald

I second the motion concerning the Bauer 10. It actually sails quite well, much to my surprise. We have the version with the fully battened main so the large roach probably help the performance. The boat has a true centerboard which is more convenient than a daggerboard.

On our last trawler we had a Trinka 8. It was pretty and rowed well. Sailing performance was not that great. We only sailed it once and I said never again.

We splurged and bought a Torqeedo electric outboard for the Bauer and it has a range of about 15 miles at 3 knots with two people aboard. Maximum speed is 4.8 knots but the range drops to 3 miles.

drf6 said:

On our last trawler we had a Trinka 8. It was pretty and rowed well. Sailing performance was not that great. We only sailed it once and I said never again.

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That makes me a bit more comfortable for not ordering the sailing options of the Trinka I recently ordered. ... My first boating experience was on a rowboat, so it's back to childhood.

Gerald, sent you a private message

I think that in most of these dinghys moving up from 8' to 10' results in a big improvement in sailing & rowing. A buddy of mine has the 10' Trinka & it sails well.

Carl Martin said:

I think that in most of these dinghys moving up from 8' to 10' results in a big improvement in sailing & rowing. A buddy of mine has the 10' Trinka & it sails well.

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I would agree with that. Our Montgomery 7-11 is a lot of fun to sail and mess with (and it rows great) but in terms of sailing "well," I suspect that someone with more sailing dinghy experience than me would say it's "adequate" at best. But it's still a lot of fun which I guess is the point with little boats like this.

One of the downsides to some sailing dinghies is how fast they can be towed. We could tow ours up to about 7 knots. Faster than that, water was forced up past the removable plug for the center board. Talking to others, with different brands, we weren't alone with this problem.

Sailing dinks are really cool...I'd love to have one to sail around the anchorage. Heck, I wish I had room to haul a laser or a hobie around.

But for serious cruising the way we do it, it would have to be a second boat. They just don't have the speed, range, payload capacity, or seaworthiness to be our primary dink. We sometimes run 15 or 20 miles a day in our dinghy on Bahamas trips.

I often see sailors over there with tiny little dinks with 2hp motors on them. Nice for getting from an anchored out boat to the dock, but not so good for exploring, diving, fishing etc. You miss out on a lot of good stuff without a fast dinghy.

Last few trips we used our inflatable paddle board as the "anchorage toy."

Phil Fill said:

Where/how do carry/store the inflatable now? A light sailing dink weigh about the same as an inflatable. I can pull our sailing dink up onto the dock and turn it over.

Click to expand...

Usually I just toss it on the bow and toss a line over it. When leaving an anchorage I tow it behind until I get home. Easier to pull up from the dock.

Dougcole said:

Sailing dinks are really cool...I'd love to have one to sail around the anchorage. Heck, I wish I had room to haul a laser or a hobie around. "

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Yeah, I've spent the last month trying to figure out how to make the boat bigger so I could put a laser or a bic on her.

So now to Davits....

Can I make this work?

Weaver Industries, Inc.: SNAP DAVIT W/REG. TRANSOM MOUNT HOOKS