DIY dinghy – Streaker?

Hi ChrisB14,

I've seen a lot of wooden boats being built and restored when I lived near Falmouth.   Everything from plywood dinghies to a 120 ' schooner.  The more you watch the process, the more you realise how skilled these people are.

They also have very good tools ; hand, power and fixed workshop tools .  You shouldn't under estimate this.  It is almost impossible to get good tight wood working joints without and you will definitely need to be able to prepare lengths of wood to your precise dimensions, often with bevels on them.

The minimum workshop tools I would personally  want are :  A bandsaw with various blades, a planer/thicknesser, pillar drill, router and router table, a table saw and a compound mitre saw.   Then you can add a belt sander and various hand tools including chisels and many more clamps than you ever think you will need.

You will also need a decent sized and strong bench with a wood workers vice.

Most of this will fill your garage !

Yes, it can be done with far less but I think the end product will be compromised.


Edited by boatshed - 24 Mar 14 at 12:04pm

I had idea to build my own wooden dinghy a few years ago. Unfortunately I failed badly mostly because of lack of knowledge and practice with wood.

Originally posted by craiggo I'm trying to do some winter maintenance (re-varnish the deck) on my Graduate at the moment, and in a 1980s single garage, you cant work around the boat with all the normal stuff in the garage as well, its just too tight around the gunwhales. If you have epoxy or varnish going off, then you are bound to brush past it as you squeeze around the boat, ruining the finish and destroying your clothing.

Originally posted by craiggo ruining the finish and destroying your clothing.

Originally posted by gordon1277 Why the Garage?

He mentioned a wife...