[Public-list] dingy vs.tide and current, cockpit locker tops

[Matthew Hay]

Hello all,
This summer I will be doing all of my sailing in mid coast Maine maybe 
making it to the Penobscot.  I will be sailing with my wife and my son who 
will be about 8 months in May.  I currently have a walker bay 8 without the 
pontoons that I use for my dingy, and will not let our baby near it in the 
cold waters off Main, since it is so very tippy.  I have been using a 2 year 
old 3.5 Tahotsu that pushes the walker bay fine.  (but seems to shear its 
pin often with weight in the boat, I actually have to cary a pack of pins in 
the dingy.)  To be safe I am looking at inflatables.  Would this engine 
suffice with a eight or nine foot inflatable? Also would you recommend a 
wood floor or an air floor?  I want to be safe and am not familiar with the 
currents I will be encountering in Maine.  Also, in some areas I will have 
to anchor a ways out due to the larger tides.

Trying to avoid living out "A drift"


I took the cockpit locker tops off my 1968 Alberg two years ago and they 
were made from teak plywood and were hinged with screws right into the 
fiberglass.  A big long hinge ran the entire length along the back of the 
locker top and the fiberglass.  The teak ply was completely rotted and I 
scraped both of them.  I am fortunate enough to have a good friend who is a 
talented woodworker and he made thick strips of teak into tong and groove.  
And mounted them in teak frames, put black caulk between the strips, and 
glued a piece of black rubber along the underside of each top.  They look 
great, but I still have to give them a little finesse' to make them fit 
properly.

Thank you and best of luck,

Matt #314 Renard