Thanks Arne (regarding the numbers.)
David, the trim was not deliberate - its just where I plonked the tub of sand and it looked about right – although if the weight of the single adult were on the rowing bench she would trim a little more down by the bow. But I wouldn’t want to trim KISS down by the bow too much, she just doesn’t have the right shape for that. She doesn’t have the reserve buoyancy up there, forward, that Tender for Siblim appears to have.
I think KISS is a somewhat different horse for a somewhat different course. I might be wrong, but to me the two dinghies are rather different. KISS has a slightly Chinese style, “canard” body – main body aft and amidships, with a protruding bow. Tender for Siblim on the other hand (as far as I can visualise, which is not very far – that’s why I had to make the model) seems to be deeper and more full in the forward sections, she’s “all boat” as they say. Tender for Sibim is a bigger dinghy than KISS.
Talking about altering the design of KISS, rather than just altering the trim of this particular design - in that case David may well be right. In fact I think David is right. In that case, Tender for Siblim is probably the better design to go for, as a utilitarian tender.
I just don’t have the experience of designing and operating dinghies enough to comment any more so I will leave it there, and hope very much that some other people will continue the dialogue with David. For me, this is a good opportunity to learn.
(Actually, I’d like to make some more models now. There is so much that can be learned from them. But time is always the issue and none of the other designs would be anywhere near as quick and easy as KISS was. And for me, that’s the bottom line).
Arne’s latest post crossed in the mail. Definitely a different horse for a different course, Arne.
Packing 200, 300 – 400 kg into a 8’ tender is getting a bit too extreme for me. I’d rather make two trips. Fat Boy is… well… fat. But a great load-carrier, for sure. And nice and stable too. If it’s a competition to see who can carry the most weight (and still keep the stern clear of the water) I should have entered my scow, with a beam-length ratio equal to that of Fat Boy.
KISS is probably too small for most people – she’s a stern dragger - a pity, but that’s all there is to it. I still think she looks sweet,
More sophisticated (5-plank) but closer to KISS in size and sweetness) is Annie’s little Fantan.
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Annie, what are her dimensions? What’s she like?
And in the background you can see Marcus sculling his little wee tender for Freebie – at about 6’ she’s just plain vanilla.
![](/resources/MemberAlbums/38026503/JRA%20Design%20Competition/preview/Marcus%20dinghy.jpg)
They’re all different, they’re all good.
Nobody has talked much about towability. I would like to provoke some discussion by proposing that most people do it wrong, attaching a tow rope to the outside of the stem. My old mentor Brian Donovan always reckoned the painter should be attached to the inside of the stem and ropes which reside half in and half out of a dinghy are as untidy as leaving oars in their rowlocks - which is also a common habit.
Any half-way decent towing dinghy will sit back and plane even when the tow rope comes from the inside (where it belongs) and is deployed over the stem. I have had just one dingy which wouldn't - it was half a dinghy, actually - unfortunately it was the front half. But that's another story.
![](/resources/MemberAlbums/38026503/JRA%20Design%20Competition/preview/no%20no.jpg)
No, no. Bad. (Not the boat - the oars and painter I mean).