A Couple of Boats Added to Our Fleet

[jhenson]

I have had the my Triton now exactly 2 years. I would guess that I am unfortunately only about 1/3 of the way through the project, though almost all of the structural work is complete. With our boys growing up faster than we would like, my wife and I decided to purchase an interim boat that would meet our basic needs for short range, overnight cruising on the Chesapeake. We wanted the boat to be around 28 feet, and in a condition (and purchase price) that would not deter me from working on the Triton project. After an exhaustive search over the Summer months, we finally bought a 1974 CAL 2-27 which we have had now for a little less than a month. The plan is to sell her when the Triton is completed.

Also, in anticipation of this purchase, last spring I was lucky enough to find an 8' Fatty Knees for $500 that need several fiberglass repairs, but had the sail package (unused) included. My boys have enjoyed the Fatty Knees all Summer. The boat rows beautifully, and is fun for a youngster to sail in fair breeze. I may sell this boat if I ever get around to building a 2 part dinghy.

Here are some purchase photos at the boatyard:







At slip:



First Sail:





Fattty Knees:





Joe

[Figment]

Fantastic!!! Congrats on both ends!

[Tim]

That's great, Joe, but it's really a shame your boys hate it so much.

[jhenson]

That's great, Joe, but it's really a shame your boys hate it so much.

Yes, suffer they did!! But, they will soon find some relief from the misery when they return to school. One more torturous sail next weekend, weather permitting.

Joe

[Rachel]

Nice boats! Always nice to see pics.

I was especially interested to see the 8' Fatty Knees because I have a 7-footer. Was trying to get a sense of how much bigger the 8 was. I've always guessed it would feel nearly twice as big, given how much difference two or three feet makes on a "big" boat.

--- Rachel

[Tim]

I was especially interested to see the 8' Fatty Knees because I have a 7-footer. Was trying to get a sense of how much bigger the 8 was.

I don't know what the 7-footer is like, but the 8 is an outstanding dinghy, and extremely large thanks to its beam and overall depth of the hull. I suspect the 8 might feel significantely larger than the 7, as you guessed.

Joe, unless you have a serious need to carry your dinghy on deck, I'd carefully consider just keeping that Fatty Knees for your cruising needs. We always tow ours (we're not doing offshore work) with no trouble, and it sure is a great dinghy for all purposes otherwise. Nesting dinghies are great, but I've seen few rigid dingies that beat the FK for pure utility.

Frankly, if you're out cruising the coast for fun, you shouldn't be out in weather that makes towing a dinghy unsafe!

[jhenson]

Tim

I'd carefully consider just keeping that Fatty Knees

I doubt anyone else in my family will go for a different dinghy or allow me to sell it. Even the dog loves it! Still, I need some justification for building a small boat from scratch. I guess two dinghies though would be just fine. As you have said before: Boats beget boats!




The towing eye seems awfully small on mine and very close to the water line. Do you tow yours from there, or is there some kind of different harness arrangement? You can just barely see it above the waterline in the above picture.

The oars are ones I adapted from the an old article in Wooden Boat and from these plans:

http://marina.fortunecity.com/breakwate ... /index.htm

The looms were changed to an octagonal section at the top instead of square. It was a fun woodworking project that took me away from epoxy work for a couple of days.


Joe

[Tim]

The towing eye seems awfully small on mine and very close to the water line. Do you tow yours from there, or is there some kind of different harness arrangement?

I tow from the stock eye. It is small, but the metal is plenty strong for its purpose. Padeyes like this are deceptively strong.

I find the eye to be too small in section, though, and therefore "sharp" to line, so I run the line through some hose chafe gear that prevents the eye from damaging the line.

The eye is located where it is because that's the optimum towing connection. Any higher and the bow might tend to plow and therefore cause the dinghy to yaw. The stock location seems to work excellently. I find the boat tows very nicely.

I need to add a fender on the bow like yours has. Occasionally at anchor, the dink will ride up (often thanks to an ignorant powerboater's wake) and want to bang the taffrail on the boat. The topsides are so high on the FK, and the stern on the Triton so low, that it places the stem squarely on the taffrail. Ouch!

[David VanDenburgh]

Jim,

Twenty-one years ago my parents bought me a Fatty Knees for my 10th birthday. What a gift! I absolutely loved that boat. I agree with Tim, hang on to her. Your boys will create many treasured memories that they'll escape to when they're well into their thirties - and beyond.


The day I took delivery. Wish I still had her. I lost her in a house fire a few years back.

[Tim]

Judging from that photo, I'd say that the 7-footer (shown in the photo) is considerably smaller overall than the 8. I see less beam and less overall depth of hull, judging by the scale of that grinning 10 year-old kid!

[jhenson]

David,

That's a great photo. I would have to look at the title, but I think my 8' boat might be close to same age. The 7 foot version is very beautiful, especially when new.

I still need to repair one broken inner gunwale that hit something hard. I will paint her when I do the Triton.


Joe

[Rachel]

Nice dinghy, David - thanks for posting the photo :-) Sorry to hear about its loss though.

Mine's just a wee bit younger than yours, with hull #302 (but sail number 247; must have been some trading going on). Also a pre-Edey & Duff as yours must have been.

It is smaller than the 8-footer - which I would have loved but which wouldn't fit on the cabintop, which I needed it to - but it's still pretty capable. Numerous times it was used to haul two non-tiny adults, four full 6-gallon jerry jugs, and a bunch of groceries. It was riding low by then but was still surprisingly "sea-worthy." The main challenge was to have room to swing the oars as you rowed :-)

Kind of cramped for sailing with two adults, but doable.

Of course the 8 would be fabulous - and I would love one. It doesn't weigh that much more considering what you get. I forget exactly, but perhaps it's in the neighborhood of 85 lbs. vs. 98 (?)

That is a nice fender on the bow of yours, Joe. I also covet that "gunnel guard." Mine has just the bare teak gunwales, although I'm making some combination fender/flotation devices out of jumbo pool noodles.

I tried them out just strapped on temporarily and you could almost stand on the gunwale without capsizing the boat. That would be nice for getting back in after snorkelling or possibly other situations. I'd still like the regular stuff for permanent installation though.

All-in-all the Fatty Knees is a fine design in any size.

--- R.

[Tim]

I think the 8-footer by Edey and Duff weighs 85 or 88 lb--surprisingly light for such a large and rugged little boat.

One of my favorite features of the dinghy is the "saddle" seat instead of a traditional midships thwart. This makes the cargo area much more accessible and easier to move around in, and really helps the boat swallow ridiculous amounts of gear.

[Rachel]

Okay, I must have my weights wrong. Perhaps the original concept of my thought was right, and they are only about ten or so pounds different in weight - I'll check on that.

Yes, the fore-and-aft rowing seat is great, as Tim mentioned. You can instantly "trim" the boat for balance, when you have a load, by just sliding fore or aft a bit.

My only (very slight) complaint with the 7-footer is that when you're rowing solo, you really can't get far enough aft to keep the boat from being bow heavy - you run into the aft seat. I found that a 6-gallon jerry full of water lying on the aft seat was just about right to fix that. But that might be an issue with all tiny dinghies. It's easily enough solved anyway.

--- R.