While shopping online for a tender / dinghy for my sailboat I came across free plans for a Portuguese style rowing dinghy. CLICK HERE to get to the site with plans and instructions on how to build. I beefed up the transom a bit to accept an electric trolling motor but other then that I followed the plans directly. After the project was complete we took it out for sea trials and I have since added a sail. It was great fun building and has inspired me to tackle a larger project....which I am in the planning / research stages now. It was as much fun to build as it has been to play with on the water. Here are some pics and I plan to add video soon.
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| I was amazed at how quickly it started to look like a boat. |
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| Attached Transom |
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| Floor and seats are in. |
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| Let the fiberglassing and sanding begin. |
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| Painting. |
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| Will it sink or swim? |
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| Seems pretty stable. |
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| Added a makeshift sail. |
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| Here she is out on Lake Michigan in a little bit of chop. |
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| Sitting at the dinghy dock in Saugatuck, Michigan. It made it all the way across the lake. The trees in the background is where the voyage began. |
-Ryan Parks
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