Tenderly Dinghy

Product Description

The Tenderly dinghy is a traditional-looking 10-foot clinker dinghy or daysailer that is both handsome and easy to build. She'll comfortably carry two adults and a child and has excellent stability for easy boarding.

Rigged with a large, efficient balanced lug sail, she's sporty and responsive on all points. She also rows well with one, two or three passengers and moves nicely with a 2 HP outboard.

The hull features graceful lapstrake planking and easily-driven lines. The traditional interior includes broken (scuppered) inwales and optional floorboards. The wood-epoxy composite construction makes the boat rugged and durable.

Designer John Harris has created a dinghy of classical good looks that is nevertheless quick and easy to build. Labouring over the proportions has resulted in a small boat that does not look remotely like the build-it-yourself project that it is.

‘Tenderly is the culmination of 20 years of refinement of our LapStitch construction process’, Harris says. ‘Just a few years ago, if you wanted a traditional stem dinghy that looks like a British day boat from the 1920s, you were stuck building it over a mould using complex techniques’.

Instead, it's possible to assemble Tenderly's hull in about 50 hours. Total build time, including the finish, is around 120 hours.

The basic hull (all versions of which include the daggerboard case for sailing) weighs just over 100 lb – about average for a dinghy of its size, shape and displacement. This contributes to its stability and makes Tenderly a lot more practical as a working dinghy.

‘A 100-pound dinghy won't shoot out from under you when you step aboard with the groceries’, says John. ‘During photo shoots we had a lot of personnel climbing between the mothership and the dinghy and even in choppy conditions it was safe’.

The combination of nice lines and ample stability results in a terrific little sailing boat. There's plenty of sprawling room for two adults or a bunch of children. The boat is fast and stiff and a joy to sail. Not all builders will sail the boat, as it rows and powers with grace, but the base kit includes the daggerboard case and mast step to make future conversion easy.

Broken inwales, solid timber breasthook and quarter knees are standard in Tenderly kits, giving the boat a classic smart appearance. Traditional floorboards are an optional addition and they complete the Tenderly's image as well as being practical.

The computer-cut kits are intricately detailed and designed with first-time builders in mind. Every trick we've developed over the decades has been deployed here: tab-and-slot alignment of bulkheads, puzzle-joints and pre-drilled holes for wire stitches.

We recommend 8 ft oars for this boat.

The kit includes:

• Pre-cut wooden panels with pre-cut joints, pre-drilled tie holes and panel location marks
• Solid wood for broken inwales, breasthook and quarter knees
• Cyanoacrylate glue (industrial superglue) and accelerator for rapid assembly
• Epoxy resin and activator
• Epoxy fillers
• Copper ties
• Woven glass fabric
• Woven glass tape
• Pair of silicon bronze rowlocks and sockets
• Comprehensive building manual
• Free technical support from a competent builder

The daggerboard slot is pre-cut in the central seat and the mast partner hole is pre-cut in the forward seat for upgrading to sailing at a later date. If you don't intend to sail the boat, we can also provide these parts without the holes cut, on request.

What else do I need?

Sailing upgrade

The daggerboard case and mast step are included in the base kit, so the sailing upgrade can be added during the initial build or after a few years rowing. Please note that the base kit (or a completed hull) is needed in addition to the sailing upgrade.

The upgrade includes:

• Sail with one row of reef points
• Mast blank
• Boom blank
• Yard blank
• Daggerboard blank
• Fittings
• Kick-up rudder blank
• Tiller blank

The sailing upgrade does not include the warp – it is in the rope package.

Sailing rope package

The sailing rope package contains all of the line and sail lacing needed to get you sailing once your boat is complete. The package includes the mainsheet, main halyard, downhaul and sail lacing.

Floorboard kit

Floorboards are a luxury, without a doubt. These CNC-cut 12mm okoume marine plywood floorboards are fitted exactly to Tenderly's interior, with convenient alignment tabs and the fastener holes already drilled. Screwed down with stainless steel fasteners (included), the floorboards are removable for maintenance and refinishing. We didn't forget an opening in the floorboards at the deepest part of the boat so you can pump or sponge bilgewater.

Motor pad

The motor pad option strengthens the transom to enable mounting an outboard motor. The option includes the 12 mm forward and 18 mm aft pads, CNC-cut from the same okoume marine plywood as the hull kit, with a stepped mortice in the aft pad. Stainless steel carriage bolts, wing nuts and washers are included for mounting the pad to the transom. Click here for the installation diagram.

Plans and manual

These plans and manual contain sufficient information on the cutting of the panels to make it possible to build the boat from scratch. The plans include full size templates for every piece of the boat. Bulkhead and stitch-hole positions are marked and complete details for the sail and spars are included.

The parts-count is higher than some of our designs, so plans-builders should be comfortable reading plans and have access to a full suite of woodworking machinery.

Study manual

The construction manual is also available separately, either printed or as a PDF download, for pre-build study or to help with the decision to purchase. Reading this manual will help you decide whether or not you can build the boat. It is the manual that accompanies the kits.

The manual has 248 pages and is lavishly illustrated with drawings and colour photos covering every step. It includes a materials list, tool list and step-by-step construction details from start to finish.

If, later, you decide to purchase the kit the cost of this printed manual will be deducted from the kit price.

This does not contain the plans of the panels with the cutting instructions so it is not possible to build the boat from scratch using only this.

PDF study manual

The construction manual for the boat is also available as a PDF download. After credit card authorisation a download link will be sent to the email address put on the order form.

PDF study plans

These study plans are intended to give you an overview of the construction of the boat. They are in PDF format that can be viewed using Adobe Reader. There are three pages and they measure 279 × 216 mm (11″ × 8½″). They can be printed for carrying around.

After credit card authorisation the plans will be sent to the email address put on the order form.

When you have studied the plans, your next step might be to order the printed instruction manual, which will walk you through the project step-by-step.