The TENDER

Every yacht needs a tender (dinghy) to get ashore in, so rather than get a dreadful inflatable, I thought I'd make one. The plans were courtesy of Richard Woods, free in his design book. I was going to make this indoors, but decided I might not be able to get it out of the house once built, so it will be a shed job. The bottom, sides, bow and stern are all cut out of 4mm ply. If feels very thin, but I know from experience of building canoes that once joined together, it will become very strong. Next stage - stitching it all together with cable ties.

Cuddy roof

At long last the cuddy is complete - as a shell at least. The roof is on - a fiddly operation, but it is now ready to take whatever a winter can throw at it. There is more to do inside it - but this will not be weather dependent. Just one more job if I get a few days of fine weather in October is to sheath the cuddy with glass cloth and epoxy. Next step - the hulls!

Roof sides

The roof panels are a bit more fiddly than the rest of the cuddy, but the roof sides are now in place. Just the roof raisers and the central roof section to go and the cuddy should be watertight for the winter. The weather has broken, so I need to be patient and wait for a slot of good weather to complete this construction. It would be a bonus if I could also get the cuddy sheathed in glass and epoxy before the winter, but this will need a few days of fine weather.

Front side panels

The front side panels, after constructing the window surrounds have now been fixed in place. At last it is beginning to look like a boat! Next stage is to fit side roof panels.

Side Decks

Photos are a bit out of focus, but the side decks are now in place, with lockers on the starboard side. These are now ready to take the front side panels - the next task.

Front hatch panel

The first of the front panels is now in place. The raised section will need to be cut to take a hatch. The next stage is to fit the front decks and then the front side panels.

Cuddy window sides fitted

The cuddy side panels are complicated components that have needed careful construction. The window surrounds are 18mm thick to allow me to screw, rather than bolt the windows in place - thanks for the advice Richard. Now they are fitted, the next stage is to fit the cuddy front panels - but I need to wait for some more wood!