# very small dinghy



## soulesailor (Nov 18, 2007)

I'm in the process of cutting up my plywood pram and putting it back together in a much smaller size. My end goal is to have a hard dinghy I can carry on deck (I already own a raft and don't like towing). Since I sail a bristol 27 space is limited; under the boom isn't really big enough even for a nesting dinghy so it will probably be fore of the mast. What is the smallest hard dinghy in use out there, and how does it row? I like this forum and I'm psyched I joined!


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## JohnRPollard (Mar 26, 2007)

I have seen some 6-7 foot hard dinghies. Once you get down sub-7 foot you're pretty much talking about a one-man-and-a-dog dinghy. If the beam is decreased too much, it will not be very stable. 

The Dyer Midget is about 7'10". There is a "low-shear" variant of the Midget which shaves the top 2-3" off the boat so it will more easily fit under a boom on the coachroof. This reduces freeboard and also results in reducing the l.o.a. by an inch or two. I thought that Trinka had made a 6 1/2 - 7 1/2 foot dinghy, but I no longer see it listed on their website (just 8, 10, and 12'). But I'm reasonably confident I've seen a smaller version.

But in such a small size range, in my opinion a pram is the best design as it does not waste any of the length in bringing the bow to a pointy end. And a pram should be beamier over the given length which normally will increase stability and load carrying capability.


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## Mary51 (May 1, 2006)

*Montgomery 6'8" pram*

I have the 6'8" for all the reasons you mentioned. It weighs 65 lbs, so I can pull it up onto a beach or hoist it onto the foredeck myself. It rows really well, and can take two full sized adults without any problem.

It also tows beautifully, very very little drag. In the worst case scenario, it will swamp but not sink. Lots of positive floatation.

Good luck. Finding things to fit available space on small sailboats is such a challenge.

Mary


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## RandyonR3 (Oct 2, 2005)

You've asked a loaded question. As you probably know, your dinghy is everything from the family car while anchored to a fishing boat to take the kids out in. Choosing a dink on what it will be used for is sometimes harder than choosing the boat you put it on.
I've gone through a number of dinks looking for just the right one and I've turned up with two.. An inflatable, Avon hard bottom, that folds down into a flat pack, and a fatty knees that sets over the deflated inflatable, between the mast and dogger.
Your question, "smallest", If you could get both feet in a bucket, thats the smallest, but who wants to paddle around in a bucket. I would think of what you are going to use it for first.. If its used as sail or just paddle, and do you use it yourself or will you have others with you, open water or lake use, using it every day or just now and then.. 
When putting it on the fore deck, you've just covered your anchor locker or your ability to get to the locker. (thats the reason I sold the first dink).
The smallest I've ever seen was about 2 feet wide and about 3 feet long, and used by a guy getting back an forth from his boat in Sasusalito,
(San Francisco Bay).. I have also sean a few "Seveyor" inflatables, at about 4 feet long.. 
With a smaller boat, you dont have a lot of options.......


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Smallest on this site is 4'. Then there's a coracle. Any smaller than that and you're into an inner tube. If you'd like to be comfortable there is a Niccolls 10 foot dinghy that nests to under 6 feet long.


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## SimonV (Jul 6, 2006)

CapnHand said:


> Smallest on this site is 4'. Then there's a coracle. Any smaller than that and you're into an inner tube. If you'd like to be comfortable there is a Niccolls 10 foot dinghy that nests to under 6 feet long.


Love the inner tube one only thing I need the inner tube from a mine dumpster.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

I think that might make it an outer tube, Simon. With my boat anyhow.


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## mtboat (Oct 14, 2007)

I wonder if anyone considered this? I bought a 1 man inflatable pontoon type fishing boat for fishing our rivers but it also serves as a way ashore that takes up almost no space. It is pinned together and has 8 ft. pontoons. Disassembled it fits in a suitcase. Cost was 219.00 dollars. I'm in Flathead lake so , freshwater obviously.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Umm... It really depends on what you need. If you need to carry three people, a boat smaller than 7' is probably not going to work for you...If it is just you... 6' is probably about the smallest workable dinghy you'll probably find usable.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

I had something called a "Sport Yak II" that I sailed around on as a kid. It was 6'6" I believe and plastic, and could carry about 250lbs. Had a cute little latteen setup with lee boards. Only for protected waters as waves would quickly come over the bow. Don't know if they still make them, but it would fit under a low boom.

I guess BIC makes them now: http://www.bicsportboats.com/boats/sportyak.php?lang=us


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## kwaltersmi (Aug 14, 2006)

I've got a Sandpiper 8, which is obivously 8 feet in length. It's quite light at only 65lbs and fits on the deck of my Helms 25, though just barely. I also considered a WalkerBay 8, but the WalkerBay was considerably more expensive and heavier.


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## RXBOT (Sep 7, 2007)

*Old River Dinghy*

DirectBoats.com 7 foot 6, 47 inches wide, 17 inches deep,weight 50 pounds, capacity 410, HP rating 2. Sale price $679. Sandpiper 8 $459. And there are more to choose from. Search the web there are many options.


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## davidpm (Oct 22, 2007)

I've been looking at this one for a few weeks:
http://www.woodenwidget.com/
You have to build it but they have a kit option.
It looks fun. Folds to only 4" thick and unfolds in seconds.


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## jasonr575 (Sep 12, 2006)

have you considered a portabote, 8ft is the smallest but folded it is only 4 in thick. very light, you could tie it to your stanshions


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## Robby Barlow (Apr 23, 2006)

jasonr575 said:


> have you considered a portabote, 8ft is the smallest but folded it is only 4 in thick. very light, you could tie it to your stanshions


There's a company in Germany http://www.banana-boot.de that produces a fold away. It's excellent and you can also stick an engine on them. Their range goes from 2,60m to 3,25m and the smallest one only weights 19kg.


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## Jeff_H (Feb 26, 2000)

I still use a 6'-6" Sportyak II that I bought used roughly 35 years ago. Its great as a one person boat, two in a pinch. Light, easy to launch and quite tough. Of late I have been using an inflatable Kayak which also works extremely well. While Portabots have their place, I think they would be hard to stow on a Bristol 27. 

I like your idea of a nesting pram, but 6'6 is about as small as I would go for two people.

Jeff


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## 2ndbsn (Jul 28, 2008)

*Sportyak II Sail kit?*

Do either of the folks with either previous or current Sportyak II (Dayton Marine, not BIC) dinghys have any pictures or information on the sail kit that was an option originally?

Looking for pictures and/or dimensions, or ideally a source for leeboards, mast, booms, sail, etc.

Especially looking for how the mast was secured onto the boat and what the leeboards look like and how they are secured to the boat. Even a picture would be a great help!

Thanks for any and all help you can give!!


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

The cloth sections look pretty vulnerable to damage...


davidpm said:


> I've been looking at this one for a few weeks:
> WoodenWidget, home of the Origami Folding Dinghy
> You have to build it but they have a kit option.
> It looks fun. Folds to only 4" thick and unfolds in seconds.


Believe banana boot makes the porta-bote under license from Porta-bote. If you look at the two photos, you can see the construction techniques are basically the same. ATM, the banana boot would be much more expensive in the USA due to the exchange rates. The newer Portabotes have a squared off stern to make using an outboard easier.





















Robby Barlow said:


> There's a company in Germany Banana-boot - Firma SieBroTec GmbH that produces a fold away. It's excellent and you can also stick an engine on them. Their range goes from 2,60m to 3,25m and the smallest one only weights 19kg.


from the PS mag. review:



> Performance with a 4-hp. engine was, in a word, *startling*! The boat, even with a 200-pounder and some gear aboard, jumped up onto a plane in less than 50', with no movement nor other acrobatics required on the part of the driver. With only a driver, we reached a speed of 15.2 knots. As a reference point, the easiest-planing RIB we tested, the Apex A10, could only achieve a partial plane and a top speed of only 9.3 knots, with a 4-hp. motor and a solo driver.
> The Porta-Bote has a soft ride, apparently because much of the force of waves hitting the boat is soaked up in the hull's flexing. It's a nimble boat, not surprising for a beamy, essentially flat-bottomed craft. What we found surprising was how accurately it steered, exhibiting very little of the skidding on turns that we'd expected. The handling of the Porta-Bote was very good. Accurate turns could be negotiated at speeds that were somewhat above our testers' confidence levels.
> ​ *Stability is excellent*. You can stand almost anywhere in the boat without danger of tipping. Porta-Bote is roomier than a comparably sized inflatable. Unlike an inflatable, the entire interior of the boat is available for loading gear.
> ​ The Porta-Bote's polypropylene sides aren't apt to damage a fiberglass or wood hull, even in a forcible meeting. The Porta-Bote isn't likely to be damaged either. The hull material, which carries a 10-year limited warranty, is really tough. Hulls are available in pearl white, olive drab, and aluminum colors, which are molded into the plastic so that they can't come off. The hull requires no maintenance other than washing occasionally..​


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## soulesailor (Nov 18, 2007)

*follow-up*

As a follow-up to my original post:

I indeed cut my pram apart and put it back together in a much smaller size. The foredeck could accommodate for a 5'8" long and 26" wide dinghy and still give me the room to go past on either side deck, work at the very bow and still use my inner fore-stay for storm sails.

I kept it shaped like a pram so the bottom of the dinghy is a little smaller than the above dimensions. I concluded that it is WAY too small to make it out past the surf and get to my boat and WAY too small for even two people in any kind of sea. Unless I can think of something else to do with it I'll continue to not use it.

I now sail with my puffin dinghy in tow for local area over-nights and for longer trips I use an 8' inflatable I can deflate and stowe on deck. Now I'm looking for a slightly bigger inflatable with a transom that can still roll up and be stowed on deck but is big enough to hoist over my main boat's 6hp outboard and go for much longer dinghy rides on layover days.

Thanks for all the advice and links on this thread, everyone!


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

2ndbsn said:


> Do either of the folks with either previous or current Sportyak II (Dayton Marine, not BIC) dinghys have any pictures or information on the sail kit that was an option originally?
> 
> Looking for pictures and/or dimensions, or ideally a source for leeboards, mast, booms, sail, etc.
> 
> ...


I will try to shed a little light. My first (very own) sailboat was a Sport Yak II. The setup was really basic. As I recall, the sailkit is exactly the same as the ones sold for Grumman canoes, and other small craft. Very easy to fabricate. A piece of lumber is bolted across the boat over the mast step which is molded into the hull. There were two pieces of aluminum channel iron on each end to accept the leeboards. The leeboards were nothing more than canoe paddles cut to size. The tiller was actually an oar handle (probably the remainder of the leeboards). The rudder blade was aluminum blade inserted into a slot cut into the tiller. The rudder pivoted on a single oarlock... There was a lot of play in the system, but it worked, and could tack upwind at least as well as my walker bay does. I sailed it on a river, and was able to tack upwind against the wind and current and make reasonable progress.

If you are going to be near Mid-Michigan anytime soon PM me. I can make arrangement's for a very good deal to be had on an old yak II, with sailkit. I actually have 3 sets of canoe/yak/small dink sail rigs rotting away in a shed down there. Haven't seen them in a decade.. but might still be serviceable.


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## 2ndbsn (Jul 28, 2008)

Thanks very much for your terrific description!
Very kind of you to help.
Wish I were planning on coming to your area but, alas, not.

Based on your info, I was able to get some good pictures of the Grumman canoe sailrig and have a good idea what is needed.

Can I ask how far in the water the leeboards and rudder extend? The Grumman looks like the leeboards are about 3.5 - 4 feet long, and about 2 feet of which are in the water at level. Is this about right for the Sportyak kit?

Thanks again for your very kind assistance!!


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