SVArcturus
Member
I gathered materials and was preparing to start construction on a new 10' nesting dinghy to replace our existing 8' one. We want a bit more space for hauling supplies or when using it as a dive boat. One thing we'd talked about was how it would be nice to have a bigger motor so we can plane under power, both to get places quicker and theoretically maybe even to save fuel doing so. Still need nesting as deck space for storage is limited on our 36' sailboat.
We have a 2 ph Honda for our existing Danny Greene design. Chugs along fine, but of course no planing (though I swear that a couple of times with only one person and catching a following wave just right it sorta kinda thought about planing...for a few seconds). Our existing boat and the ones I've been looking at building (a Greene "Chameleon" or a Spindrift). Was leaning toward the Spindrift initially, but the Greene design seems to fit a bit more boat volume into a slightly smaller nested footprint on deck, so am swinging back that way. Still no final decision.
Both designers recommend 2-4HP engines. Both are row, sail, and power. We like the flexibility (though from past experience, we'd be willing to pass on the sailing if the trade-offs for other benefits seemed right).
Anyway, I had a sudden epiphany remember boat design articles mentioning problems designing hulls for safe turns on a plane. Maybe my goal isn't as easy as a bigger engine.
Has anyone used one of these designs (or a similar one) with a big enough engine to plane? If so, was it stable in turns?
How much engine power is needed?
We have a 2 ph Honda for our existing Danny Greene design. Chugs along fine, but of course no planing (though I swear that a couple of times with only one person and catching a following wave just right it sorta kinda thought about planing...for a few seconds). Our existing boat and the ones I've been looking at building (a Greene "Chameleon" or a Spindrift). Was leaning toward the Spindrift initially, but the Greene design seems to fit a bit more boat volume into a slightly smaller nested footprint on deck, so am swinging back that way. Still no final decision.
Both designers recommend 2-4HP engines. Both are row, sail, and power. We like the flexibility (though from past experience, we'd be willing to pass on the sailing if the trade-offs for other benefits seemed right).
Anyway, I had a sudden epiphany remember boat design articles mentioning problems designing hulls for safe turns on a plane. Maybe my goal isn't as easy as a bigger engine.
Has anyone used one of these designs (or a similar one) with a big enough engine to plane? If so, was it stable in turns?
How much engine power is needed?
