Preview: Building the Oonagh Rowing/Sailing Dinghy, Part 20 – Sail Plan, Spars, and Finishing Details

19 Responses So Far to “Building the Oonagh Rowing/Sailing Dinghy, Part 20 – Sail Plan, Spars, and Finishing Details”

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  Charles Neuman says:

  Gunwale guards and aesthetics…

  If you’re using the boat as a tender, then certainly the gunwale guards make sense. But if you use it for its own sake and launch from a beach, then maybe the gunwale guards aren’t necessary.

  Do the gunwale guards offer their own aesthetic? Maybe it reminds us of a traditional manilla rope used as a guard? What kind of boats have used canvas gunwale guards?

  Without the gunwale guards, one could give it a more yachty appearance, like the one featured here
  https://www.woodenboat.com/boat-launchings/sylvia

  On the other hand, with gunwale guards and with most of the surfaces painted instead of varnished, it’s a more practical boat, and with a bit more of a workboat vibe. And certainly I’d get it in the water much sooner and not have to worry about every nick or scratch.

  Any thoughts on these issues?

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  Charles Neuman says:

  Not sure if anyone asked already, but what happens to the rudder if you go aground or beach the boat? If it doesn’t rip out the hardware, will it at least pop up and come off? It would be nice not to have to make a more complicated kick-up design, so I’m hoping this would work out somehow.
  Could you use this hardware?
  https://www.woodenboatstore.com/products/rudder-mounting-hardware-kb

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    Steve Stone says:

    It’s a good question, Charles. Yes, most of us use that hardware choice for mounting our rudders on dinghies. It enables a much easier way to put the rudder on, especially when in the boat and leaning over the transom (rather than trying to thread pintles and gudgeons simultaneously. As for the rudder hitting the bottom, the dagger board will almost always hit first if it’s a surprise and thus the sturdy construction of the dagger board case supported by the thwart/etc. We’ve all done it many times in our Shellbacks and Nutshells with similar rudders/hardware (without damage other than a dinged leading edge). And if care is taken coming ashore it’s not a worry. If needed, you can ship the dagger board and rudder and row ashore.

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      Charles Neuman says:

      Thanks for your response.
      I have a Sunfish, so I’m used to lunging for the daggerboard when I hear or feel some scraping on the bottom. But the Sunfish has a kick-up rudder, so I don’t have to worry about that. It looks like the design of the rudder on Oonagh would encourage it to go up (rather than just pull aft) when it scrapes the bottom. So that helps. Also, where I sail the bottom is mostly sand, so at worst it would dig in and slow down the boat I suppose. It sounds like it’s just something one deals with. Fair enough.
      By the way, my O’Day Mariner has the bottom pintle longer than the upper, so you align that one in the gudgeon first and then work on the upper one. Makes it easy! (An aftermarket rudder I got didn’t include that feature, and it’s much more difficult.)
      I do like this hardware from Woodenboat, though.

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  Lou Kimball says:

  Hi Kit- thanks for a wonderful series. I have drilled, countersunk and dry fit my bronze keel strip. Did you use any bedding compound or other material between the bronze 1/2 round and the keel? If not, did you worry about the screws being constantly submerged? My boat will sit on a mooring for the season, and it occurred to me that water might get in and start some rot over time.

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    Steve Stone says:

    Hi Lou. Kit may have a different/better answer, but definitely use bronze screws, and bedding compound is good for the screws but not necessary between the keel and half-round if there is epoxy coating on the keel.

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      Lou Kimball says:

      Thanks Steve- 2 coats of epoxy on the keel, and I know the strip may have to be repaired/replace in the future, so I’ll do the bedding compound just on the screws.
      Thanks again for the quick response.

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  Capt Jack Molan says:

  Enjoyed the whole series, thanks so much!

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  Lou Kimball says:

  Finally finishing my Oonagh and have a question about the lines used for rigging the sail. Any suggestions as to the diameter or lengths for the halyards and sheet? I was planning on using a cream colored “traditional” looking braided line that they sell at Hamilton Marine. On the gudgeons and pintles, I could not find bronze that was affordable so went with the stainless dinghy style from Racelite. I didn’t want to try to recess the 3/4″ size like Kit did, so I put the pintles in my vice and bent them a bit so the slot was wide enough go over the rudder. I’ve got 2 coats of 207 epoxy on the boat now and no one wants me to paint it! Had a great time with the build- Kudos to Kit!

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    Ben Mendlowitz says:

    My two cents, just go with 3 strand Dacron for rigging, nylon for painter and anchor but Dacron throughout would be fine, It is much easier to splice and finish and looks more traditional. If you have stainless fittings white not tan. I’m guessing a 3/8” diameter, but make sure it will run easily through any shivs but not too small that makes it hard on the hands. With her rig you don’t need the low stretch benefits of more expensive higher tech braided lines. New England Rope is a good choice, worth a few more bucks than less expensive options.

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  jeffrey chabot says:

  Hey guys I have two questions number one how did you guys bend the brass that goes on the keel to protect the bottom of the boat and the second one is where can we get the gudgeons and pintles for the rudder I can’t seem to find them thanks looking forward to an answer

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    Kit Macchi says:

    Hi Jeffrey, apologies for the delay in responding! We ordered ours from the local marine supply store, Hamilton Marine. It seems that what they have is *it* unfortunately, I’m not sure who might be making them in this smaller size. JM Reineck makes larger scale hardware (aka for a Haven 12 1/2) & you could check with them about smaller ones (bronzeblocks.com). I made a sailing rig for my shellback dinghy and found pintles & gudgeons in stainless meant for opti’s or lazers and they worked out perfectly, although not quite as classy as the bronze (definitely cheaper!). The brass was bent by clamping the brass just below where you want the bend, then carefully hammering just past that bend location. You can make a hardwood block with the curve you want and hammer against that as well. It’s also important to not put fastener holes too close to where you want to make the bend since the metal will want to kink at that weak point.

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      Andy Smith says:

      i always drill the fastener holes around any bend, after ive bent the brass, otherwise it will always kink at the hole.
      A great show, well documented to encourage would be builders, and top tips for old timers.

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  jeffrey chabot says:

  What a joy it has been building this boat, can’t wait to launch it this spring, Kit has been awesome to work with. Where did you buy the pintle and the gudgeons I have called around and can’t find it in bronze. Thanks again for the adventure.

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  Thomas Buzzi says:

  Listening to her explain what she did, where, when and why was like rereading a favorite book. I too have done those mental exercises and always added “MY” special touch (for me) at each step of the process. Yes, messing about with small boats!

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  Steve Borgstrom says:

  “Building the hull is about 1/3 of the project”, can’t argue with that. For the last few boats I’ve built I made the spars and other bits before starting on the hull. Gave me more room in the shop for long pieces like the mast and it felt like the project progressed faster after getting the hull done. Leaving the spars 8-sided looks good, going to borrow that on the next boat.

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  Donald Sullivan says:

  Kit, your sail boat is spectacular, as is your series on the Arriba, I could listen to you all day. Thanks for a great adventure.

  Don Sullivan, novice Caledonia Yawl builder

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  dirk gevaerts says:

  I would make small cleats flat grained, not vertical grained, to avoid them splitting

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  Rich Dodson says:

  Thanks so much Kit and the OCH Team! I learned a lot from this series. Now to go finish my own dinghy, which has been patiently waiting for me in my workshop for far too long!