At Classic Wooden Boat we have owned many dinghies over the years, more often than not attempting to match a dinghy or tender to the motor cruiser or yacht of the time... that it was intended for.

In most occassions our selections were a compromise. 

Our dinghy selection process in a nutshell... 

In the early 1980's we matched a 12 foot Metzler Tornado high performance inflatable with 65 hp outboard to the rear deck of our houseboat on Lake Eildon, in later years the tender was replaced with a bowrider speed boat and a 10ft quicksilver inflatable with a 10hp. This final combination served us well for many years.

In the late 1980's a small rowable inflatable was matched to our high performance Farrier trimaran, the tender was largely disfunctional and unnecessary, as the tri was beachable in the most shallow conditions.

In the early 1990's we owned a maximum size Whittley trailable hi speed cruiser, it was time for another 10 ft inflatable with 10hp outboard to keep the growing kids amused on holidays and weekends. It was great for this purpose but a disaster to tow, harder to store and a nightmare to load onto the cruisers bow. I was beginning to understand the compromises in dinghy ownership.

In the late 1990's I was associated with ocean racing in larger boats, until I purchased and rebuilt Argyll, the 32ft gentleman's displacement bridgedeck lakes cruiser. After many attempts to utilise the 10 ft inflatable all hopes were abandoned save for long term cruising holidays over 2 weeks. It was a 'cow' to tow, was prone to damage the pristine timber hull on Argyll and had to be removed from the water after use as marina and pen rules did not allow it to reside in the pen. A trip down to the boat ramp ensued with lots of huff and puff to get the thing out of the water.

After selling the inflatable, ( also having become tired of repairs ) we opted for the new design Hobie pedal kayaks, Frecheville Heaney built a beautiful set of laminated wooden roof racks as crossbars to fit on the cabin top, this allowed the Hobie craft (2) to be easily lifted up onto the roof and strapped into position. Great for fishing, touring, a space for the 2 dogs, one on each rear deck and a great form of exercise. The only problem was that our solar panels were blocked, necessitating daily removal.

Along came Amazing Grace, all 48 foot of traditional Huon Pine wooden ketch. The Hobie's are still great, they can be loaded on the decks with spinnaker pole hoist and halyard and stowed along each walkway to port or starboard. However a boat with 6ft of draft requires a tender that can tow safely and easily between day moorings, be easily lifted with small outboard on the purpose built stern davits for in marina storage and blue water cruising and more importantly serve as the daily workhorse for ferrying people and provisions to and from Amazing Grace.

Introducing Wee Gracie

If you have read the companion and precursor article to this one "Coosing the right dinghy or tender" you will be well aware of our selection criteria and process of elimination. During the last year I was also fortunate to assist on delivery of a number of boats along the East Coast. A 42 ft Seawind Sailing Catamaran ex charter with a 12ft rigid inflatable that is too heavy and cumbersome to load onto the cat and at over 140 kilos with motor a real 'sea anchor' whilst sailing or motor sailing. In many instances on our delivery the tender rushed alternately to port or starboard in a following sea. As the boat speed increased from 7 knots to more than 12 knots the tender surged and surfed then fell back and tugged incessantly on the lines. I have include an image that displays the slippery hull of the seawind at 7 knots, without a flow or drag visible from the hulls, yet the tender is stern down with a serious drag wake that knocked more than a knot of boat speed off the catamaram.

More recently we assisted in a delivery up the East Coast on a fast 55ft monohull flyer, her owner was converting her as a live aboard cruiser. After experimenting the only safe way to travel in a seaway was to lash her 8ft rigid wooden tender upside down forward of the mast with a number of well place lashing points. The dinghy will only ever be used at permanent or longer term moorings, as the ability of the yacht to accelerate under sail would overturn the dinghy.

The above examples help to explain how our selection criteria is critical, to match our cruising and general boating needs to the type of dinghy that is best suited.

Our decision after much research was to select a set of Joel White Nutshell Pram plans. The dinghy was to be 9ft 6in, a size that fitted snuggly inside our transom width on Amazing Grace, affording safety for the dinghy whilst mooring or leaving jetties where stern swing could damage a vulnerable appendage on the transom.

Our dilemna was that we intended to build the dinghy ourselves, however after viewing the plans we realized that we it was possible to embellish the plans from a basic knockabout painted workboat dinghy to something really special.

A dinghy that would take 'pride of place' swinging from the davits across the stern of Amazing Grace. A dinghy that would turn heads as it was rowed through a set of swing moorings or through a busy marina. 

This dinghy was outside our present day skills and allocated time frame.

After discussion with a number of classic wooden boatbuilders, we settled on Frecheville Heaney to build the little dinghy of our dreams. James and Tim have really begun to create a little masterpiece that will Grace our transom at the upcoming Australian Wooden Boat Festival in Tasmania in 2011