Preview: Building the Oonagh Rowing/Sailing Dinghy, Part 1 – A Real Rib Alternative

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September 10, 2020

If you’ve wanted something more aesthetically pleasing to replace your inflatable tender, or a wonderful little family boat . . . check out this rowing/sailing/motoring pram by Doug Hylan — it just might do the trick.

 

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86 Responses So Far to “Building the Oonagh Rowing/Sailing Dinghy, Part 1 – A Real Rib Alternative”

  • Avatar

    Peter Shapiro says:

    Very interesting design. Looks like a lovely boat. Unfortunately for me, the cost of a cnc cut kit is beyond my reach, but I have a good stock of okoume marine ply from a never-built 17’ trimaran project sitting in my shop. Can you tell me how many sheets of ply it would take to build this from the plans?

    • Steve Stone

      Steve Stone says:

      Good eye Charles. That looks like a receiver/bracket for a batten used for a rain cover. Batten sticks in either side and bows up, creating a crowned surface for rain to run off.

      • Avatar

        Charles Neuman says:

        Ah, makes sense. That would be for storage? (or perhaps sleeping aboard) It doesn’t like it could work while underway.

        • Steve Stone

          Steve Stone says:

          Storage, on a trailer, on a mooring, on the dock, etc. Definitely not underway or as a tent for sleeping (not enough headroom or way to get in or out.

  • Avatar

    Chris Chesley says:

    Doug,

    Really love the Oonagh…and your Crab Skiff. So you just KNOW what’s coming next. Yep, would love to have the Oonagh…just 2, teensy, weensy, little feet longer…..and 4-6 inches wider.

    Seriously!

  • Avatar

    Kent and Skipper says:

    Hi
    Nice design, looks like a good build for old and new builders alike.

    Would ventilation slats on the seats over the storage compartments detract from the design?

    Cheers
    Kent

  • Avatar

    Micheal Kingsley says:

    Do you have lists for the hardware and rosen and such that are NOT included? You list 1500 as approximate added cost. Can you supply information for those “missing” parts? I mean as far as where and how to find them? Also I am in Idaho, how close are your MFGs. to me?

    • Steve Stone

      Steve Stone says:

      Hi Michael and Maura. There is a complete Materials List that is included with the plans. Each builder’s location and scenario is very different, so we’re not able to list specific suppliers, but for the real wood we recommend finding a local hardwood supplier (good sources for finding good wood suppliers are your local custom cabinet makers). As for hardware, rigging, etc. Hamilton Marine and Jamestown Distributors are both good and ship to locations in the U.S. There is a list of qualified sailmakers in the materials list with the plans at that should run you about $600 and is included in the estimate you mention above.

  • Avatar

    Tiago Jesus says:

    Never mind the dinghy (which is lovely, by the way)…
    I paused the video at the Concordia Yawl for a few minutes, just drooling at it… :-)

  • Avatar

    Lloyd Hussey says:

    Did you drill a small hole in the Perko oar locks to allow for a lanyard?

    • Steve Stone

      Steve Stone says:

      Yes. That’s a trick used a lot around here. Allows only one hand to put it in.

  • Avatar

    John Wujack says:

    Love the boat and the interior paint color. Is it custom or off the shelf? Thanks.

  • Avatar

    Lou Kimball says:

    This is just a friendly reminder to get that 2nd video edited!

    I drove up to Blue Hill Friday and picked up my kit, and have received the plans from OCH (thanks for the hat). Gardner Pickering at Hewes and Co. was terrific, showed me the shop and the big CNC machine. Nice people over there! I’m ready to go!

    Love the design, tried calling Doug Hylan, but it being late on a Friday got no return call to my messages. Would have gone up to Brooklin to say Hi! Next time! I’ll be using Oonagh as a sail trainer for my grandkids. Just finished the OCH skiff last month, a really fun project and now I’m learning how to row correctly!

    Best,
    Lou Kimball, Harpswell, retired architect, amateur boat builder.

    • Avatar

      David Pinto says:

      YES, Agreed :) I’m really excited to watch this series… Just picked up the plans and want to use this as a first step into the world of boat building.

      Regards,
      David

      • Steve Stone

        Steve Stone says:

        Wow, David, when you say you “just” picked up the plans you weren’t kidding. I see your order that was 4 minutes ago. We were just headed to the post office, but we’ll pack your plans up and they’ll be on their way within a few minutes.

    • Steve Stone

      Steve Stone says:

      Hey Lou. One of the reasons we’ve taken on the Oonagh design is to give Doug a breather from support, so feel free to direct any questions you have to us, and if we can’t answer we’ll forward to Doug.

  • Avatar

    Craig Campbell says:

    I am interested in this design. Is a nesting version contemplated for easier stowage on deck and handling? Also, you keep saying “unrowable RIB”. If you had a motor mounted on this and the shaft in the water, as you do with the video of someone rowing the RIB, I’m guessing even this boat would be less like a rowing shell than you claim.

    • Nate Rooks

      Nate Rooks says:

      Hi Craig – As counterintuitive as it may seem, RIBs are often rowed with the motor down. The losses in drag are more than offset by the ability to go in the right direction rather than constantly battling the RIB’s attempts to spin like an inner tube.

      • Avatar

        Peter Jones says:

        I would suggest that you have faith in your design of Oonagh and stop spending so much time bashing RIBS. My brother built the first fiberglass RIB as a student at Atlantic College in Wales in the 1960s where RIBs were developed. They were rescue boats going out all winter long with teenage student crews who were actually part of the Royal Naval Lifeboat Institute as part of a Kurt Hah inspired school, much like Outward Bound. The boats were hand trailer launched into the Bristol channel (the second largest tidal range in the world—between 12 and 14 meters), powered by 50 hp Merc outboards. They saved lives and never lost or seriously hurt one of their crews. They may not be the best fit for your esthetic as a sailboat dinghy, but they were a valuable innovation in small boats that had to work in rough conditions.

        • Doug Hylan

          Doug Hylan says:

          Hi Peter,
          I should have been more specific in my ranting on RIBs. In the larger sizes they can be great boats for lifesaving and several other uses where superb fendering in rough water is of great importance. I find many of them quite handsome as well.

          It’s the ubiquity of small RIBs as yacht tenders that I find appalling, especially as the motors on them seem to get bigger each year. It’s rare to find a dinghy dock, even here in Maine, where the vast majority of boats are not RIBs. Noisy, polluting, short lived, ungovernable and unnecessary — in my not-so-humble opinion!

      • Avatar

        Craig Campbell says:

        Maybe. And as to my question about the nesting version of the design?

        • Nate Rooks

          Nate Rooks says:

          Craig – there is no nesting version planned.

  • Avatar

    Chris Butler says:

    Am considering buying the plans. What are the estimated costs for materials?

  • David Tew

    David Tew says:

    The video series for building is still in production presumably?

    • Nate Rooks

      Nate Rooks says:

      In production, with Part 2 coming out very soon.

  • Avatar

    Thomas Smith says:

    Hi my question is what is the range of cost of sails.

  • Avatar

    Eric R Winter says:

    Is it necessary or desirable for this boat (or this style of construction) to live in the water all season, rather than on a trailer or on a beach? That is, does it need to stay wet?

    • Steve Stone

      Steve Stone says:

      Good question, Eric. Definitely not. That’s one of the benefits of cold-molded plywood-epoxy construction, is that it can survive very well NOT in being in the water all the time. You can store it on a trailer or in a shed or under a cover.

    • Steve Stone

      Steve Stone says:

      Not likely Edward. Dagger board is best solution in this boat by far for a variety of reasons, including that a pivoting center board case would take up much of this small boat interior. We sail similar boats with similar dagger boards extensively on the rugged shorelines of Maine, often grounding out or even hitting submerged rocks and ledges at speed. While that is not preferred, if the boat is built well the collision only causes a bit of wear on the leading edge of the dagger board and a slight bruise on the ego if others are watching.

      Interestingly, in the rare case of damage, the damage doesn’t come from the collision, it comes when the board gets stuck on the rock, leaning the boat over in one direction, and our involuntary inclination to climb uphill quickly in the boat, which can snap the dagger board under the pressure. So, we’ve learned if this happens to go with the flow and if possible lean downhill a bit to free the dagger board and sail on.

    • Avatar

      Ants Uiga says:

      Doug Hylan prepared a nice set of plans and worked with the option to provide CNC kit. It seems the general design concept has been appreciated for a long time. Pete Culler’s Sampan had similar dimensions, sailing and rowing options, and was listed with credits to the sampans of China. Hence, Culler’s name for his design. The Culler pan is available from Mystic Seaport as well as other Culler plans.

      In Culler’s description, Pete referenced what he perceived as the basis for the boat, the Chinese sampans. His design included rocker in the keel so the dinghy could be beached and occupants could walk to shore with dry feet.

      A recent forum at the virtual Wooden Boat Festival included the comment from the small craft designers that there is not much new in boat design. However, providing keep kits and plans using current practices and amateur builders is a current field.

      Does Doug Hylan have any comments on his design process in producing this design? I would be interested to read about what inspired Doug and what Doug thought was an approach that would work in 2020?

      Building a Pete Culler design is harder now, than it was for Pete. Materials are harder to find, and shop skills take time. Any help in getting amateurs inspired by traditional designs is good.

      As for me, I appreciate the comments that trace the design development.

      • Doug Hylan

        Doug Hylan says:

        Hi Ants,
        Trends in boating often go down unfortunate paths — IOR sailboats and deep vee powerboats come quickly to mind. The ubiquitous RIB dinghy seems to me one of the most unfortunate, having a list of disadvantages that stretches far. The OONAGH design is my attempt to incorporate the RIB’s few advantages into a boat with as few of it’s shortcomings as possible.

        You are certainly correct that there is little untried in the world of boat design! But the combination of epoxy and good marine plywood makes it much easier for home builders to produce a good product. Culler’s Sampan is certainly a worthy boat, bigger and much heavier than OONAGH. But it won’t be happy living on a trailer or in davits. As you point out, finding and selecting good lumber is an acquired skill, not to mention the higher skills required to produce a long lasting boat.

        I am a big proponent of traditional wooden boat construction. My hope is that a significant number of people who complete a boat like OONAGH will be inspired to take the next step and build a traditional boat. There are hundreds of worthy designs to choose from, by excellent designers like Culler. But I feel that my job in the 21st century is to try to meld the function and aesthetics that these great men developed with methods and materials that have come to us more recently.

      • Doug Hylan

        Doug Hylan says:

        Hi again Ants,
        I realized that I got off the track — I gave you the reasons but nothing about the process.

        I was familiar with the Culler Sampan (one of my employees had built himself a version many years ago) but the real inspiration was Joel White’s Nutshell pram. I built three of these inspired little boats shortly after WoodenBoat commission the design. One of them served as my resume when I asked Joel for a job that fall. I doubt if Joel invented glued lapstrake plywood construction, but he certainly brought it to the wider world’s attention. I was impressed that the method could produce such tight, tough, lightweight little boats. I also liked that traditional detailing could be easily incorporated.

        The problem was that Joel had a much better sense of balance than I did! He liked his boats narrow for easy rowing — that made them too tiddly for a klutz like me. I had worked previously for Jim Steele, whose beautiful Downeast peapod was well respected for its stability, as well as easy rowing. When I started drawing boats a few years later, I took inspiration from Joel’s method and Jim’s boat to make a peapod for myself. A few iterations later, this became my Beach Pea design.

        My balance has not improved over the years — quite the contrary! I well understood that stability was one of the main components of the RIB’s appeal. I drew a pram that would fall within the general parameters of the “average” RIB’s length, beam and weight. This produced quite a sizable boat that sails quite well and rows better than I had dared to hope.

  • Avatar

    Thomas Schattovits says:

    Greetings from the South Island of New Zealand! I am thinking of making the Arriba my first self-built boat. I’m a builder but of houses, although I have built a Tiny House on Wheels, Tree Cabin, and Dymaxion inspired mobile toilet cubicle, all from construction scraps.
    If you want, I can ask my CNC equipped joinery mates if anyone’s interested in making the oonah kits here in Wanaka for NZ supply.

    • Steve Stone

      Steve Stone says:

      Right on, Thomas. We are currently searching for a reputable CNC cutter in NZ, and would love to have one on both the N. island and on the S. island. You can let us know what you find by clicking contact us or emailing us at support(at)offcenterharbor(dot)com. Thank you.

      • Avatar

        Nicholas Lawson says:

        Hi Steve,

        Just wondering if you’re having any luck finding the same in NSW or elsewhere, in Australia? Unfortunately I have no contacts to offer but would be very interested if you identify someone.

        Thanks, Nick

  • Avatar

    john shrapnel says:

    Would not the sail as shown be better called a “standing lug” or is there some subtlety in fitting that I’m missing?

    • Avatar

      Derek French says:

      Well, since there is a sliver of the sail’s foot ahead of the mast I guess it is a balanced lug, but it sure looks to me to be pretty close to the line between standing and balanced. I think that in a standing lug no part of the sail’s foot is forward of the mast.

  • Avatar

    Daniel Palmer says:

    Will the plans be available in a metric version? Or a maybe digital/CAD version? Looking forward to having a go at this!

    • Avatar

      Heinrich Meurer says:

      I second that, being in Germany sailing a traditional Dutch leeboard ship. And also with CAD plans in hand, we could find ourselves a laser cutting operation to cut locally available marine plywood. Are surface weights and total area for the plywood sheets in the plans? Thank you very much for this ideal looking tender!

      • Avatar

        David Saxon says:

        Hello Heinrich:

        I’m in Gdansk Poland and am considering building this boat…..I inquired and they are getting a kit quote out of the UK for me. Of course Germany is easier…….

        Cheers,

        David

        • Avatar

          Heinrich Meurer says:

          Hi David,
          I will order the plans and depending on them perhaps might do some lofting, first on MDF sheets to get templates. In any case let us know how it goes with your kit.
          Cheers
          Heinrich

          • Steve Stone

            Steve Stone says:

            Hello Heinrich. The plans include full size patterns for the molds so there is no lofting required.

    • Steve Stone

      Steve Stone says:

      Hi Daniel ~ There is not a metric version of these plans available currently. Included in the plans are full size patterns for the molds, etc., so there is no lofting required.

  • Avatar

    Jim Alexander says:

    Thanks Steve; it’s good to be back in the circle.
    I am currently looking to build a SMALL/LITE dinghy. I’m looking at a Ozona by Bedard Design. I need something light weight since I’m on the late end of my 70’s. If you have any suggestions please feel free to advise me.

    I’ll give you some personal background: My wife and I retired in 2001 and left Lake Eire in Sept in our Cape Dory 33 and headed for the ocean. We lived aboard for 9 months a year and logged over 30,000 water miles, stayed south of Miami every winter, summered in the Annapolis/South River and made 3 trips to the Caribbean. In 2012 we sold our 2004 Gemini cat and one of us is happy! I put out a captain’s log when internet was provided so we had a lot of friends traveling with us. Over 400!
    If you want more info feel free to call 330-518-1148 and leave a message or you’ll be blocked.
    Ahoy! Jim

  • Avatar

    Mike Cusack says:

    Lovely boat.
    I too am wondering about kit availability in Australia.

    • Steve Stone

      Steve Stone says:

      Hi Mike, Hewes & Co. is currently looking for a good, well-established source for CNC cutting these kits in Australia/Tasmania and New Zealand. I have confidence they’ll find a good source in all three places in the coming weeks.

  • Avatar

    Allan Palmer says:

    How much are the plans for Australia? Would I be able to get a kit in Australia? Lovely, well thought out boat. Ticks so many boxes.

    • Steve Stone

      Steve Stone says:

      Allan we just posted the link above to a page with all the info you’ll need plus pricing. As noted above, we’re looking for a good source for CNC cutting the kits in Australia at the right price. Soon is my best guess.

  • Avatar

    jeffrey chabot says:

    I restore Lymanboats as a hobby and have always thought about building a new boat and I love to sail. this boats looks fun, stable and pretty easy to build, my grandchildren will love sailing it. Can’t wait for part two and the prints when they are available and wondering the cost, great work.

  • Avatar

    Dirk Faegre says:

    This is one gorgeous and lovely little craft — it was a joy to watch the video and I look forward to part II.
    However …………… that said, the US Coast Guard uses RIBs for a reason and I think it unlikely that they’ll find a naval architect that will try to follow in the footsteps of ARRIBA. The ability to smack hard into another craft with no discernible damage is not solved by Oonagh — not even close, altho I suspect it’s somewhat better than many standard dinghies. The inability to deflate Oonagh into a smaller package in the off season, and to be able to haul it around in the back of automobile is an important feature to many (and me). So I might well build an Oonagh and have a good time doing it, and more fun zipping around the bay, but I’m not yet ready to part with my inflatable.
    Might I add, dagger boards are fine until they meet an unmovable object … then … not so much. As we know center boards are generally more forgiving. But then we all know practically everything is a trade-off and I accept that without bias.
    Nice design Doug. Keep at it, we need more jaw dropping boats around.

  • Avatar

    Lindsay Wright says:

    Great, practical looking boat…will have a have a go at building New Zealands first

  • Avatar

    Ants Uiga says:

    Pete Culler’s book of designs happened to be a current read. Culler refers to his design as a Sailing Sampan and gives many of the same favorable comments that you do. An alternate name simply Butthead.
    There were no RIB at the time he drew Sampan, but a appreciation by many sailors for a sailing dinghy that rows was apparent.

  • Avatar

    Norman Palmer says:

    I am so sad I cannot actively sail any longer. I miss the water. My introduction to sailing was at the US Maritime Training School in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn N,Y. We sailed 27 foot wooden whaleboats with metal centerboards and a dipping lug rig. Steered by tiller and rudder andoccasionally with a 14 foot sweep. The Bay ran into ether Jamaica Bay or the Atlantic. Saturday mornings we raced under oars and then under sail. I was on the barracks teams for both.

  • Avatar

    Larry Cheek says:

    We do indeed need to wean the boating world away from RIBs, not only for their unrowability but also because of their dismal appearance. The designer Francois Vivier used to have a wonderful catchline on his website: “Boats to make the sea more beautiful.” RIBs are the opposite polarity: they make the sea more ugly.

    Doug Hylan’s design here is almost beautiful. But I have one immutable prejudice, and I apologize in advance, but here it is: A boat needs at least one pointy end. No matter how practical a pram bow may be—and for a tender, of course it is—I just can’t deal with it. Aesthetic judgements sometimes are not the same thing as rational choices, and that’s where I am.

    I wonder if it would be possible to design a stitch-and-glue or lapstrake plywood dinghy where the hull sides would make a sharp inward turn near the bow, giving us a hull that has almost the volumetric efficiency of a pram along with the aesthetics of a proper point. The builder could make a series of parallel cuts through half the thickness of the plywood on the inside face, then fill the kerfs with thickened epoxy just before bending. This would allow 1/4″ plywood to take an extreme bend, and the epoxy would replace the strength lost from the missing wood fiber.

    • Avatar

      James Tolpin says:

      This is why you never hear about “Rubber Boat Festivals” going on anywhere.

    • Steve Stone

      Steve Stone says:

      Hi Larry. I used to have the same feeling about the aesthetics of transom-bowed prams. Then I owned one and our family rowed and sailed it extensively for years while also owning a very pretty similar design with a pointy bow. The pram was always our favorite boat, by far, even over the very similar pointy bowed boat. My daughter fell in love with “her” boat, and not to long ago at the age of 19 saw a video of herself sailing that pram … looked over at me and said: “I love that boat.” Over time we learned to let go of our preconceived aesthetic biases and think of the pram as beautiful in its own right, and for what it is, and for the many things a pram bow can do such as provide a wider bottom forward for much greater stability . . . vs. judging it based upon how it looked compared to other boats that aren’t the same thing. We learned the hard way, you might say, stubbornly, over a long period of time. It was Joel White who taught us all these things over many years. He taught us these things through his design of the Nutshell Pram, and all this happened well after he has passed away.

      • Avatar

        Karl Saul says:

        Steve
        Well said, Steve
        Experience has a way of re-educating us.
        I had a similar experience some fifty years ago. My friends and I over time discovered that two boats out of a couple dozen designs (from an 8′ El Toro pram – 19′ Lightning) that were getting the most use. A 10′ pram an and a 11’8″ sailing scow (a stretched Glen L 10′ sailing scow) with water tight cockpit and a dagger board. The scow design was simple and fast to rig, it was low and flat and a fast sailer with one or two aboard. We sailed that scow in conditions we shouldn’t of, often over loaded with friends, she just wouldn’t quiting. She was just more fun then any boat deserves to be.

        A remembrance, Sailing in a 26′ sloop and getting tired and sore from the relentless pounding we were getting “four by four” chop in the infamous afternoon winds and tides of the San Francisco bay. We top a crest surprised to see a couple dozen impossibly small sailboats rising over the crest disappearing in to the trough only to rise again and as we drew near we realize these were the intrepid 12′ pram bow San Francisco Peligans racing one another, and we couldn’t help but bust out in a big smile.

      • David Tew

        David Tew says:

        My wife doesn’t care for pram aesthetics but I grew up with them, built two identical hulls with my dad, one sailing and another for rowing and outboard. We’ve got grandchildren coming along in age and I plan to build one (or more) for and with them.

  • Avatar

    Dave Dickmeyer says:

    Please hurry with part two. This boat looks very interesting!

  • Avatar

    Edgar Boyd says:

    That’s my Oonagh and it’s a fabulous boat!
    (and I love the name)

  • Avatar

    Thomas Buzzi says:

    I would like to see a bit more freeboard amidships, otherwise a fine looking craft with a good wake, doesn’t waste much energy in being propelled.

  • Avatar

    Bob Hepburn says:

    Um. Giddy! Really curious about the removable center thwart feature for camp cruising.

    • Avatar

      Douglas Mosby says:

      I’m with ya there…give me 6′ and I’am sold

  • David Tew

    David Tew says:

    One of the features of some RIBS is that the tubes can be deflated when carrying on deck, if necessary or wanted. I wonder if a nesting version (or option) for OONAGH could be offered even though it would likely alter the middle thwart arrangement. Perhaps it wouldn’t make that much difference to those who wish to carry or store the boat in a limited space afloat or ashore. The nesting Port Townsend 11 dinghy is no longer available but the connecting hardware of it was very well thought out: http://ptwatercraft.com/blog/?p=495

    • Avatar

      Laszlo Morocz says:

      The Chesapeake Light Craft Passagemaker Dinghy is very similar to this boat and comes in a nesting version. Its dimensions are within inches while the weight is only slightly over half and it’s available with a balanced lug. Even if you don’t buy it, its nesting arrangement may be applicable.

      • Steve Stone

        Steve Stone says:

        While CLC is a well run company with good products and service, their super lightweight stitch & glue boats are VERY different than the OONAGH design in important ways, and we wouldn’t want to mislead anyone into thinking the CLC Passagemaker is a comparable or alternative boat to OONAGH. To pick one aspect, the Passagemaker will be MUCH less stable stepping into her — it’s worth taking a look at all the photos CLC has on their site and how little boat is actually in the water when not loaded down, and how much that long bow stick up/out overhanging the water (both for aesthetics and for stability). Imagine stepping off the mothership onto the port side edge of the bow thwart like Doug does in the video with OONAGH. If we were after a nesting sailing dinghy, we’d go for the PT11, and we’re betting that the PT11 will soon be available for ordering again. You can get on a waiting list at PT Watercraft. Again, not to disparage CLC because they have fine products, they just aren’t easily comparable to OONAGH or the PT11.

        • Avatar

          Robert Sorensen says:

          Have a PT11. Would trade for an Oonagh in a second, for the stability. Looks like the car will be in the driveway for a winter….

  • Avatar

    Joshua Parker says:

    Looking forward to this build series. Looks like an awesome boat.

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