Many of us think about nothing at all, but lately I have been thinking about my San Juan Islands Dinghy. And I got a little sidetracked. I should be thinking about boating and off-season planning.
Dinghy's, tenders, shore boats come in a dizzying array of shapes and sizes, and the on going "best dinghy" argument is far from complete in my limited mind.
But right now I'm wondering if the pointy end of a dinghy is really needed. I mean the part that is normally above water.
So here's the question: When comparing a 8' pointed dinghy to a 8' blunt nosed dinghy (some call them prams, others punts) do they both have the same load capacity? rowing, sailing ability? I think if you take a 8' flat nosed dinghy and add back what it would take to make a decent pointed end you would in essence then have a 9.5' (give or take some inches) pointed dinghy. Am I missing something here?
If I'm correct, it means a flat nosed dinghy of a given length may actually be a bigger boat (other issues and factors being equal) than a pointy dinghy of the same length overall. Right!
I think carried to extremes this line of thinking means a rectangle boat is bigger, followed by a square boat as being the best shape for big loads. So a barge may be the shape it is for good reason.
So this brings me full circle back to my earlier thought, is the pointy end of a dinghy really needed, or does it just make it a smaller boat?
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| This picture was taken of my son by his sister. Sunset at Rolfe Cove on Matia |
