The Pirate's Dinghy

Too many pirates don't have a boat. We didn't want to be land-locked pirates. On the other hand, we didn't want anything too large to handle nor did we want to spend all of our booty on a boat.

I spent days searching ads before I ran across Walker Bay. This is not a traditional wood boat. It is cast plastic. Still, it has a lot of things in its favor:

• It's cheap.
• It is tough - no "hole in the water that you fill with money."
• The way it was cast it looks like a lapstrake wooden boat (one with over-lapping planks).
• It is light enough for me to move by myself.
• It is small enough and light enough to fit on the top of my van.
• It can take a sail.

Here's what it looks like when assembled.

The sail kit that you can get for it does not look at all period and it more than doubles the price of the boat. I decided to make my own sail.

I started with a couple of old pike poles, and added a sail made from a canvas drop-cloth and some white duct tape. I used a sprit-rig which seems like the best choice because:

• It was in use for centuries
• It does not need standing rigging
• It does not have a boom so my wife will not get hit in the head when tacking.
• It is supposed to be beginner-friendly.

I added some wood-grain contact paper around the rail. It really improves the look of the dinghy.



Now I need to make a tiller and dagger-board and I'll be ready to sail.