Temptations part V: a dinghy so small, your family will hardly notice…

Chuck Merrell’s Apple Pie dinghy is so small and simple, she’s a real kitchen-table boat – that is, she’s small enough to be built on a kitchen table, and simple enough that you may well be able to finish her before anyone complains that they can’t do anything useful in the kitchen because there’s a boat in the way.

Seriously, it should be possible to build her in a very short space of time, and with very little in the way of materials. She’s also a clever and useful design and would make a great first boatbuilding project. Here’s the link for Chuck’s FREE BOAT PLANS:

http://www.boatdesign.com/applepie/

If you do build one of these boats, we’d love to hear about it! Email me at gmatkin@gmail.com.

Dale Austin built one and has kindly allowed me to post a photo of the finished boat (below). Click on the picture for an enlargement.

He has also put up a photo log complete with instructions on his own site:

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mrwizard/sail/dinghy/dinghy.html

Apple Pie

Applie Pie photo

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Temptation of a different kind, if you can stand it…

Well, I have to say she tempts me, and that you’d have to be very hard-hearted not to love her!

She’s a 1935 National 12, and has just been sold by Wooden Ships at Dartmouth. She’s just so sweet and with a new set of sails she could be ready for this summer…

The National 12 was designed by Uffa Fox before WWII as a class racing dinghy, and this example is in a complete time-warp, having been kept ashore for over 20 years after remaining in the same ownership from new until last year.

Built from clinker mahogany with all-copper fastenings, she has a galvanised-steel centre plate, a mahogany drop rudder, and is complete with an original gunter cotton sail on an original bamboo yard and a bronze main-sheet horse.

Clicking on the image will bring up a larger image.

http://www.woodenships.co.uk/

1935 National 12

Some curragh photos

Here are some curragh photos I took at the Beale Park Boat Show a couple of summers ago. I particularly like the one where the boat seems to be almost on the plane, and the one with the mythic Gaelic beauty casting her nets into the water… As before with my photos, if you click on the image, an enlarged view will pop up.

If you’d like to share these with a friend, please send them this link: http://intheboatshed.net/?p=227

Perhaps I should ask the Beale Park people to sponsor this site! If the Boat Show organisers are listening, our charges would be very reasonable, the site is aimed at traditional and hand-built boat enthusiasts based in the UK and we’ve had more than 3300 visitors in the few weeks we’ve been in existence.

Currach 1

Currach 2

Currach 3