by Eric Coleman

If you are still with me after reading this title I will explain that whenever I talk of a self-righting dinghy, people seem to think that it is easily capsizable. One might with equal logic assume that all liners sink because they carry lifeboats. The self-righting feature is a standby to deal with the remote possibility of a capsize. Boats with this order of stability are still fairly common and usually take the form of the conventional clinker built dinghy, some of which may be ex one-design racing craft. I cruised in one for 15 years without a capsize and John Deacon has sailed for a longer time in his without mishap. However, there have been many occasions when I would have been glad to know that if a capsize had occurred, the boat would have righted herself. One could argue that the safest situation is one where the boat is unlikely to capsize and the crew is cautious due to fear of the difficulties in righting the boat after a capsize. On the other hand I could argue that, in this boat, the possible reduction in caution is balanced by the increased safety of the boat. Moreover, in this design, there is considerable stability at angles of heel immediately preceding flooding which is not always the case with self-righting designs.

It is fashionable nowadays to ignore the past so that present day achievements can be blown up to inflate our egos. A study of the situation regarding cruising in open boats in the late nineteenth century is a sobering experience. In those days, sailing canoes were widely used for cruising on rivers, lakes and sheltered estuaries whilst coastal passages using dinghies (gigs) of around 18’ were just beginning. Nearly all boats were ballasted. The development and use of the canoe for cruising was equivalent to that of the dinghy today for racing. I have a copy of Dixon Kemp's Manual of Sailing 1888, which is 3” thick. Descriptions of boats take up 1 3/4” of which 1/2” is for canoes and 1/4” for other centreplate open boats. Main emphasis in design was seaworthiness except for up river craft used for racing.

EMBED MSDraw.Drawing.8.2

Self-Righting Unsinkable Boat of 1887 Boats of the above design were built at Bembridge, I.O.W. for £35 complete (about £350 nowadays). They were canoe/dinghy hybrids 17’ x 4’9” with 80 lb. centreplates, internal lead ballast of 246 lbs. and an iron c/p case of about 100 lbs. The aft 3’ was watertight and buoyancy tanks were mounted under the thwarts forward. The boat, when full of water, would support two people weighing 22 stone standing dry shod on the fore and aft decks. She could be shoved over sand in 9” of water.

The foresail was hanked to the forestay and the halyard was a continuous loop so that it also functioned as a downhaul. Mainsail was roller reefed in the same way as a modern dinghy and mizzen by rotating the mast. The mizzen outhaul was lead through a sheave in the boom end and then round the mast in the opposite direction to the sail so that if 6” of sail was to be rolled up then 6” of outhaul were slacked off. The mast had no tendency to revolve itself because the pulls on it were balanced and yet it could be easily made to do so with one hand. The tiller had an instant locking mechanism for ease of handling and both main and mizzen could be reefed in whilst going about.

The well was covered by a button down apron whilst on moorings and, when under way in rough weather, the unbuttoned portion came up under one's chin. A specially ventilated locker was provided for clothes, which would be dried if, put away wet.

What have we today after 80 years’ progress? Yes, that's right......... capsize drill!

The boat I have designed, called “Roamer", is 14’ x 5’ 10" and one difference with the above design is a higher position for buoyancy combined with less internal ballast (75 lbs). The first thing to consider is hull shape but this will have to wait until the next article.