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2007-12-14

Garage sail



For those interested in the decision to opt for a nesting dinghy instead of the usual cruiser's choice of a RIB and a 9.9 HP outboard, here is the Niccollslite NN-10 nesting dinghy I ordered a couple of months back. It's made from Barry Niccolls in British Columbia.

http://www.niccollslite.net/page1.html

It arrived last week and now that I am recovering from a nasty head cold, I decided to put it together in the garage.

It is a relatively simple operation. The whole boat weighs under 100 lbs., and both ends can float by themselves. Four large screw-in fasteners do the trick, and the two pieces more or less "click" together under a fibreglass lip. I have a three-piece mast, and a main and jib, as well, but as it's taller at roughly 5 metres than my garage ceiling, I've left it packed until I go sailing.

As you can see in the pictures, it has a centreboard with sail controls mounted, bronze tholeplates, several small cleats and a nice kick-up rudder and sturdy tiller. I suspect I will sew bags so I can lash all these pieces into the nested boat.

It's easy for me to handle: in fact I attempted to walk it home using a hand truck (I don't own a car), but my cold was rotten so I ordered a taxi van and stuffed it in the back.










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5 comments:

Markitos said...

Hey man thats a styln dingy!!
Freaking cool I'm looking for a sailing dink also. More like a sabot sort. Where I'm at dinks take a beating. bad people knife the ribs and crash into my old fat boy rower. I got that one free so it's cool.

Rhys said...

Sounds like a dodgy anchorage to me!

I debated getting a Patty Knees or Boatex type, but this breaks down nicely to fit over the foredeck hatch, where it can be lashed. Also, both parts float...handy in a crisis.

I haven't got it wet yet, because if I'm going to fall in mastering a new dinghy, I want it to be in warmer weather. Now is a tad early.

Can't wait to sail the thing, though.

Margarita Mirasol said...

Blimey. It's pretty pricey.
I think I'll stick to my $470 porta-bote.

Rhys said...

Yeah, but this sails and nests down to slightly less than your own length. What can I say? Novelty and a clear foredeck get me going.

Anonymous said...

I will know, many thanks for the help in this question.