dtoland Posted August 18, 2004 Posted August 18, 2004 All Sailing season is slowly drifting to a close here in the Northeast, and my mind is turning to cleaning out a corner of the basement and starting my Spindrift. Now, should it be a 10 or 11? I'm trying to balance performance and stability with weight. Mostly I'll be using it as a tender and will hang a 28 lb Tohatsu 3.5 on the back when not rowing or sailing. It is mostly me and my wife, but I wouldn't mind accomodating company from time to time. Some times when we are at moorings, there is a little wind and/or chop. What do people in the know think? Will the 10 handle it, or should I go 11?? Quote
Steve Day Posted August 19, 2004 Posted August 19, 2004 I can only talk about my 10N. We took it down to Alabama this Memorial Day and used it as a fun sailboat and a tender for the Day's Dream (40' Beneteau). One person is great as a sailboat, two is a bit of a crowd. Three can sail it, but you're not going to get any great speed out of the boat. We had three in the boat rowing back and forth to various anchorages and had NO problems. One anchorage was off Pirate's Cove and the wind was coming from the south with white caps. The boat handles the chop very well and we stayed dry rowing directly into the chop and wind (except for my wet butt where the CB trunk slopped water on me). We could have taken one more with no problems under those same circumstances. The 10 works auite well. The 11 would be a little better, but deck space on the Beneteau was an issue for us. As far as the power goes, I'm sure the 10 could handle the 3.5. Steve Quote
Garry Posted August 19, 2004 Posted August 19, 2004 I agree with steve that the 10 should meet your needs. But I also want to put in a word for the 11. Just my opinions. The 11 is marginally bigger and heavier than the 10. But the payload, stability, and seaworthiness will likely be noticeably improved. I have added a little more weight than necessary to mine to add storage compartments and flotation. I hope to try it out soon to evaluate the ability to recover from being swamped. I wanted a "jeep." A dinghy that would perform well as a tender but also as a utility boat. I love to sail small boats, a thrill that my 36 ketch can't quite match. I want to explore shallow areas and creeks, do some fishing, snorkeling etc. So I am willing to deal with a little extra weight for the added capability. If I break down and buy an outboard, I want something that will plane and handle the chop well. If you primarily want a tender, the 10 footer should do well for up to three in a chop and four in calm water. If you want more capabilties like I did and you can handle the difference in size and weight, consider the 11. Also consider the seating arangement and design. The standard S10 or S11 is designed with seats along both sides primarily for sailing. This is of course not possible with the S10N or S11N nesting versions. You can be creative with the seating. For a working tender, I think athwartship seats are more practical. The nesting version's aft flotation chambers are a compromise somewhere between both arrangements. With the temporary side seats that Steve came up with, they function adequately for both needs. To increase the safety factor as much as possible, I recommend you maximize the flotation chambers similar to what I did with the center chamber in my forward section. But, all told, either the 10 or 11 would be a great choice. Good luck and keep us posted. PS - Unless you are very disciplined and determined, it will take longer than you think. Quote
dtoland Posted August 20, 2004 Author Posted August 20, 2004 S&G- You brought up several good points... * I wasn't considering nesting, I always drag my deflatable, otherwise my CS30 will get going too fast... Will the spindrift flip over, fill with water, or otherwise sink if I drag it? * Sailing would only be a crew of 1-2 and would be recreational at anchorages. * I like the idea of the athwart seats. The sides seats don't make sense for rowing or motoring. Are those aforementioned seat modifications available for viewing somewhere? Is there enough floatation? thanks! Quote
Designer Posted August 20, 2004 Posted August 20, 2004 The Spindrifts will tow fine at your big boat hull speed, as long as you put on the keel, as the boat lacks directional stability without it. The only negative I have had towing is when going into rough head seas from taking on water from spray blown aboard, this was solved by leaving the Anderson bailer open which kept the boat empty. They have been towed from Maine to to the Keys. The side seats make a lot of sense, they don't get in the way when motoring or rowing but allow for infinite combinations of seating with sailing/ passenger combinations, easier to right from a capsize and bringing a lot less water aboard, more stable with a lot of water aboard and strengthens the bottom. You could leave out the side seating but need to put in a couple of stringers in the bottom to make up for the lost stiffness. There is a place for nesting versions when onboard stowage is critical but there is a small price to pay. Quote
Steve Day Posted August 22, 2004 Posted August 22, 2004 I don't think I will put my Spindrift on the deck for coastal cruising, but I plan to put her on the deck when I go out in the open ocean for passagemaking. Therefore, most of the time, she will be on a line trailing along behind Day's Dream. As Graham said, she tends to take a little spray every once in a while and the daggerboard trunk will slop water with some regularity. I have built a plug for the trunk to keep the slop out of the boat, but the self bailers keep the boat dry with no problems in any case. We towed the boat in a 4' to 5' wind driven chop in Mobile Bay in reaches from beam to broad and downwind in the following sea. We have the designed keel on the dinghy and she was very well mannered and showed no signs of any difficulties in those situations. She stayed back there where she should be and did not even try to over run us as we slowed down to enter the harbor (downwind). You should have no problems towing the boat. There are pictures of my boat and its seats in earlier threads started by Garry and/or me. Take a look and you should be able to see them. Steve Quote
Rob Blackburn Posted August 23, 2004 Posted August 23, 2004 Did someone say CS 30... Now that is worth workshopping... How would it be laid out? Rob Quote
dtoland Posted August 23, 2004 Author Posted August 23, 2004 Did someone say CS 30...Now that is worth workshopping... How would it be laid out? Rob Sorry, That's a Canadian Sailcraft 30, an 80's Fiberglass sloop, and a very nice sailer, BTW... http://closereach.com/csoa/ Quote
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