Adding a Skeg to a Dinghy

[HEINZIR]

I recently acquired an older fiberglass El Toro sailing dinghy from Craigslist (for $95!) She needed a little paint but is structurally sound. I'll be using her as a sail trainer for my 10 year old and as a tender to Chiquita. I've had her out on the water just once (our boating season is about over.) She sails great; much better than the 8' Sinbad we had been using. The El Toro is also much more stable than the round bottom Sinbad. But she rows like a bowling ball.

I wonder if adding a skeg would improve her rowing characteristics somewhat. How would I go about doing that? I was thinking about adhering a 3' X 5" triangular board to the bottom with epoxy--after grinding off the gel coat. But there is a lip/seam running the length of the boat where the two molded halves were fiberglassed together. This pretty much rules out the use of mechanical fasteners. The seam forms a (sort of) 1" X 3/4" keel. Should I mount the skeg directly on to this "keel" and add epoxy filets for strength? Or is the whole skeg idea not worth bothering with?

Also, as long as I have the epoxy out, what do you think of glassing a layer of carbon cloth to the bottom for wear protection? My method of launching the boat involves sliding her across the grass and then down a 10' wooden ramp.

 

[sailormanbigd]

skeg

Its a sailing dinghy right? It looks to have a centerboard trunk, and should/must have a rudder. A small skeg toward the back might help if you row without rudder/skeg. Might be location of rowing oarlocks, is the boat faily level when in position to row? Just my two cents.

 

[Eric M]

First off congrats, looks like you found a great find if you got a full sail rig for that price! I used to have a Trinka sailing dinghy and it had a skeg about like you describe, ~5" at the transom tapering to none about the middle of the boat. It was plenty for tracking purposes.
On your idea for an extra layer of cloth for abrasion resistance, that is the beauty of glass, you can always add another layer as needed. I might use kevlar vs carbon as I think it is actually more abrasion resistant.

 

[Ross]

As for wear I would use it for a while and see where the paint wears off and reinforce it there. The grass/wood launch won't be at all harsh. Gravel and concrete are the killers.

 

[Don12364]

Why Not Two Skegs?

I had one like yours. Catch a crab or one missed pull on an oar and we went round in circles.
I added two skegs, one on each side of the centre line about 18" apart.
Each skeg was a piece of 1" thick timber about 24" long and 4" wide at the stern tapering to 1" at the front, the upper surfaces being slightly shaped to fit the hull.
Each skeg was simply held in place by a few stainless screws from inside the boat with penny washers under the heads plus sealant round the holes; and so they were slightly splayed outwards by the curvature of the hull.

These skegs cured the rowing problem and also conferred benefits of keeping the boat stable when on land. For this you may need to set the width of the skegs so they are level with the kelson at the stern.

 

[kendall]

Donalex has te same idea as I, two skegs placed away from the center line
They'd add some directional stability, and act as easily replaceable rails for dragging launches.

 

[dscribner]

Heinzer,

Nice! A man after my own heart. I got opne for about the same price and count myself lucky. Let me put this bug in yer' ear. If you're adding a skeg, think about building one with a wheel in it. A touch of drag on the water but not a drag on land. I saw details of it made out of wood. But a strap of stainless glassed into the skeg would work even better.

 

[Bill Roosa]

rocks are a drag

Dang, and all this time I've been dragging my 8-Ball fiberglass dingy over rocks and never had a problem. I thought that the paint was supposed to come off the high spots. It has not seemed to effect the single 10 oz fiberglass layer after 8 years of use. the wood skeg is showing signs of abuse though.

 

[Joe]

Rig a "lee board"..... its a simple skeg mounted to the SIDE of the boat that can swing up out of the way. For a visual, google "lee board". As for rowing stability, a fin may not solve your problem. I would add a pair of 1 or 2 inch strakes to the bottom. One on each side about 12 inches from the centerline, running along the latter 2/3 of the boat.

 

[dscribner]

Bill,

I'm not concerned about the rocks but since Heinzer is probably a trailer sailor like myself, and probably has to manhandle his dinghy from his truck to the water, and it probably weighs in at 100+ pounds, I thought it would be neighborly to suggest a modification that just might save a ruptured disk and a spoiled day of sailing.

 

[HEINZIR]

Duh!!! Slap to forehead!

Two skegs--why didn't I think of that? Must've been brain dead! Two skegs would solve the mounting problem, and I could put a stainless rubbing strake on them to avoid any abrasion. I'll have to keep the skegs less than 24" apart, as that is the width of my portable ramp.

The El Toro is a sailing dinghy with a daggerboard trunk but I won't be using the daggerboard or rudder when just rowing out to Chiquita's mooring. There is no need for a leeboard since I have the daggerboard but will only use it when sailing.

Chiquita is a trailer sailer and when my girls were little we would take her to the Great Lakes for our summer vacations. Never had a dinghy then. We don't do much trailering any more.

I keep Chiquita on a mooring about two blocks from my house, just off a small city park. I will store the dinghy at the park leaning against a fence. There is no beach or landing, just rip rap along the shore. I have devised a portable ramp that I keep hidden in the bushes there. It consists of three 2' X 4' sections of 3/8" weather proof plywood hinged together end to end with zip ties. I unfold the ramp accordion style and lay it over the rocks that form the rip rap. I added a 3/16" aluminum plate to the end to keep the end of the ramp from just floating at the surface and to provide a good starting slope when retrieving the dinghy.

I've used this ramp for many years, originally with my 9' Achilles inflatable. I had put retractable wheels on the transom and would roll boat and motor down to the park whenever I wanted to go sailing. I tried to train my dog to pull it sled-dog style but she was just too wimpy. What wiith some recent health problems, that rig is now just too heavy for me to drag back up the hill to my house.

Keeping the El Toro right at the park will make life much easier. All I will have to do to launch her is to flip her over, drag her 15' over the grass to the water's edge, unfold my ramp, and slide her down. There are several docks I can tie her to while I load her up. We will carry the sail, rudder, and daggerboard from the house when we want to sail her.

I did make a small hand dolly/trailer to move the dinghy between home and park. It cost me all of about $12 to build and consists of 3 pieces of wood and a pair of wheels.

Thanks for all of the replies! Just goes to show the benefit of many minds working on the same problem.