Boatbuilding Classes

Build Your Own Passagemaker Dinghy

Location: International Yacht Restoration School - Newport, Rhode Island
Dates: Aug 24, 2008 - Aug 29, 2008

Instructor:
Geoff Kerr

Sign-up with International Yacht Restoration School:
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Timelapse of 2008 Passagemaker Dinghy Class
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Class Details:

The Passagemaker Dinghy is easy to build but looks great and performs beautifully. A smooth glide when rowing, spirited performance when sailing, and steady handling with an outboard mark this bestselling entry in our fleet of graceful build-it-yourself boat kits.

This is the perfect dinghy for folks with larger boats. Are you tired of moving heavy, traditional dinghies that weigh 200 pounds, or struggling with a limp, awkward inflatable that can't be rowed or sailed? CLC designer John C. Harris has drawn an elegant, Norwegian-styled pram that weighs only 90lbs, but can survive real abuse in the dinghy park. With a 650-pound payload, the Passagemaker can haul the entire crew in one go, or ferry blocks of ice and jerrycans of drinking water from the quayside to the mothership. The sailing rig components store flat inside the 11'7" hull; fasten three shrouds and the mainsheet, hoist up the mainsail and jib, and you've got a fast, fun, stable sailing dinghy that will please even the most ardent and discriminating sailing enthusiast. If you have a long harbor to cross, a 2, 3, or 4 horsepower outboard will drive the Passagemaker to harbor speed limits and beyond. An electric outboard for fishing lakes will work great, too. If you don't want to lug around an outboard and smelly gas, you'll be delighted to discover how well the Passagemaker rows: there's plenty of rocker for low wetted surface and the transom won't drag in the water to slow you down.

With the help of the instructor, each student will assemble his or her own Passagemaker Dinghy from a Chesapeake Light Craft kit. The hull utilizes CLC's patented LapStitch construction method, in which stitch-and-glue techniques are used to create lapstrake hulls of traditional appearance. In this style of construction, the planks are wired together to create the hull shape, then bulkheads are inserted before the planks are neatly "welded" together with epoxy. The students reinforce the hull with fiberglass cloth and mahogany rails, then add the daggerboard trunk and seats. (The sailing rig is optional, but the class will proceed under the assumption that the boat will be used for both rowing and sailing.) As with all of our courses in which students build their own boat, this will be a busy week, so expect to spend a few evenings in the shop. By noon on Saturday you'll have an assembled hull, ready for sanding and sailing rig.

Skills conveyed in the course include advanced epoxy and fiberglass techniques, basic marine carpentry, and an overview of what will be required to get your boat rigged and sailing. With a completed Passagemaker you can contemplate placid afternoons on the local lake, or a dream cruise on the Maine Island Trail. 

NOTE: Students can build either the Passagemaker Standard or Take-Apart in this class. Let us know when you register.

A Great Daysailer

At CLC we've long since tired of dinghies with makeshift sailing rigs. This was what drove us to create the Eastport Pram, the Passagemaker's smaller sister. With its ample sail area and efficient hull, the Eastport sails better than any 8-foot dinghy has a right to. With a 78-square foot sloop rig, the 11'7" Passagemaker is even more exciting. While many Passagemaker builders will be using their boat as a tender to a mothership, even more people will be drawn to the design as a fun and practical daysailer. Slide the 90-pound hull onto the family car, throw in the kids, the dog, a cooler, and a picnic basket, and spend Saturday afternoons gliding around the lake or bay. When you're done, the Passagemaker can be leaned up against the side of the house or wedged into the far corner of the garage.

The rig is called a "gunter sloop." In this rig, a lower mast supports a taller mainsail with a yard. This allows for shorter spars, all of which can be stowed within the hull's length for trailering or towing behind a bigger boat. It's a handsome rig, and powerful on all points of sail with the jib-and-main combination.