Preview: The PT-11 – A Nesting Sailing Dinghy

15 Responses So Far to “The PT-11 – A Nesting Sailing Dinghy”

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  Steve Wolfer says:

  This design came from a friend of Mr. Brown, Steven Callahan, a naval architect, writer and sailor. Steven wrote the book “Adrift” to describe his 76 days in a life raft after his boat sank a short distance from the Canary Islands. He drifted all the way across the Atlantic to the Caribbean. (You can Google Steven Callahan or go to his page on Wikipedia). The design was built in his mind during that ordeal – the ideal life raft. Steven and Russell sailed from California to the Marquesas in Russell’s Pacific Proa. Steven wrote about it in an awesome article called “Starship to Oceana”. http://www.stevencallahan.net/images/publications/proa-oceania.pdf

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  stephen santoro says:

  Awesome space saver and beautiful construction. I need to look into building one.

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  Lindsay Turvey says:

  I built a BandB Spindrift 11″ Nesting as our tender 15 years ago. The concept of a nesting dinghy has so many positives. It rows well, sails well with a Laser radial rig and motors on the plane with a 2 Hp outboard and one adult aboard.
  This was the first [and only] dinghy I ever built. I made some mistakes and had to design the seats and buoyancy myself. It is a little heavier than I would have liked, but still not bad.
  The PT11 takes nesting dinghies to a whole new level. I love the innovative joining systems, which I could use on my Spindrift 11N without too much modification. The dry locker is a big plus.
  I highly recommend a wooden nesting dinghy as a tender for cruising yachts. They add so much more to the enjoyment of cruising life.
  We also carried a Lancer Hypalon inflatable dinghy for when the kids left us stranded aboard and for high speed long distance dinghy work.
  Thanks for sharing.

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  John Wujack says:

  Brilliant!

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  Jonathan Steel says:

  BEAUTIFUL- and an elegant solution to the proper dingy problem. I’d like one.

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  Jerry Rose says:

  I wonder if Russell could comment on boarding the dinghy from the water, In other words using it to swim and dive. It looks extremely buoyant and I wonder if it takes two people to get a swimmer into the boat? Would it be best to come over the stern?

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    Ashlyn & Russell Brown says:

    Hi Jerry, Thank you for the question. One of our videos shows re-boarding after capsize while sailing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyuqJPvxBk4. It will give you some idea of what it’s like to re-board the PT 11.

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      Jerry Rose says:

      Hey that was great! Thank you for the link. Amazing how buoyant your design is and your video confirms my thoughts on boarding for swimming.

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  Conbert Benneck says:

  Back in 1966 we bought a Tripp-Lentsch 29 in Holland and then sailed it down the English Channel. We had a 9 foot fiberglass dinghy that we towed.
  It was a beautiful sailing day; great breeze;sunshine; smooth sea; but then we came to a complete stop. Our Brooks & Gatehouse log beeped at me. What was going on? The sails were drawing, but the boat was dead in the water. Then we looked aft, and found our 9 foot dinghy awash….. It made a superb sea anchor.
  What had happened was that the dagger board slot wasn’t closed, and mile after mile; squirt by squirt water got in the boat.

  Bailing out a 9 foot dinghy with a small pail took a long, long time, and when we were finally finished it was dark.

  Our next problem – since we hadn’t kept track of the tide in the Channel (25 / 26 foot range)
  where was our destination harbor, Calais?

  Later I made a closure for the centerboard slot, provisional at first to be able to sail to Le Havre, and then a “proper” one that wouldn’t leak. That lasted till we sold the dinghy years later.

  Russel Brown’s dagger board closure is a beautifully elegant way of solving the problem. Too bad I couldn’t have used his superior dinghy solution when we were sailing in the Adriatic and the Med.

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  paul kuntz says:

  I built a PT-11, not for use as a dinghy, but just as a lightweight boat for rowing and sailing that my wife and I could transport and handle easily, as you can see in the video. The design is great and the kit is very well thought out. The accompanying kit build manual is very detailed, with hundreds of photos. Just start on page one and follow it right through to get a great boat that’s a lot of fun on the water. All of the parts fit perfectly. I got a lot of satisfaction from the build process and have only the highest praise for the quality of this kit.

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  James Jones says:

  I built one of these a couple of years ago. Great design. Rows and sails very, very well. Fun to build, easy to store and carry. Pretty darn near perfect, I think.

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  C Douglas Walling says:

  Many Thanks Russ , very nicely done , interesting evolution , from all that testing .

  Many Thanks to OCH for bringing us this video , too !

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  Monet Brazier says:

  This video brings back such wonderful memories. Charlie and I had the great fortune to work for a gentleman that had a PT11 shipped to us already assembled in Newport before we left for the South Pacific. “Wheels” named after our bosses son, was our (the crews) tender most of the time and we rowed and sailed many many miles and loved every moment. Some of my favorite rows include Charleston, St. Bart’s, and Nuku Hiva. I highly recommend this boat to any and everyone.

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    Ashlyn & Russell Brown says:

    Wow! I wondered what happened to ‘Wheels’. Thank you for the news and wonderful comments. Best regards to you and Charlie.

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  Ted Lameyer says:

  Wow, What a beautiful solution to so many difficult design challenges. Easy assembly, Beautiful rowing and sailing all done with the goal of keeping the solution simple. I’m deeply impressed.