We are Building an Argie 15

The Argie 15 is our most popular design, with builds to date in the thousands, spread all over the world. I designed this boat 28 years ago but have only once sailed one. That was the prototype on launch day, when we did publicity photos for the Cape Argus newspaper that had commissioned the design. Sailing among the rows of moored boats at False Bay Yacht Club, I remember it as a speedy and nimble sailor that also rowed very easily.

Getting the boat to the water was an interesting experience of its own, showing us just how big this big 3-in-1 dinghy is. We didn't have a trailer to move it from the Fishoek home of the builder, journalist Dave Biggs, to the water. Our friend, single-handed sailor Kate Steward, came to our assistance with her bakkie (South African name for a pickup truck) with a fibreglass canopy. We placed the Argie 15 upside-down on the roof of the canopy. The boat was way too big to carry that way, overhanging the roof all round and obscuring much of the windscreen, with the tip of the bow not much more than a foot above the bonnet. It reminded me of a young boy scout with a brand new hat that he still has to grow into.

Argie 15 prototype on the slipway of False Bay Yacht Club.

Me at the helm and Dave Biggs as crew. The first sail of the first Argie 15, between the moorings of False Bay Yacht Club.

We have never had an Argie 15 exhibited on the Wooden Boat Show but that will soon change. We are building one now and expect to exhibit it at Mystic in June next year. The work is being done by my friend, Kevin Agee, working from one of our CNC kits. I will post progress photos over the next few months, through to launching and sailing the new boat. Here are the first few photos of Kevin's project.

Long hull panels are longer than a sheet of plywood, so two panels are glued together to make the full length. If building from a kit, they have jigsaw joints. If building from plans then scarph joints or taped butt joints are used.

Close-up of jigsaw joint after gluing. Once faired and sanded, it disappears into the finished surface.

Kevin will be showing this boat in the "I Built it Myself" section of the 2017 Wooden Boat Show at Mystic. If you have an Argie 15 or other of our boats that you have built yourself and you live on the USA East Coast, why not bring it to Mystic and show off your handiwork alongside Kevin's boat?

To see more of this and our other designs, go to our main website or mobile website.`

And Now One for the Little Ones

Our small dinghies form a huge contrast from our big cats in the last two posts. They are very popular for small family fun boats and for yacht tenders. They are also great little boats for a child's first "own boat", to teach them to sail and gain confidence on the water. With a good grounding like that a young boy or girl develops a love for messing around in boats and a foundation on which to build their future watersport or life in boating. I had use of a boat like that from an early age and it contributed to my intense love of boats and boating.

These dinghies use basic stitch-&-glue methods, within the abilities of most potential builders. They are all built by amateurs, mostly from plans only but sometimes from plans and patterns or a pre-cut kit. Smallest is the 8ft Dixi Dinghy and next up is the Argie 10, named after the sellers of the Argus newspaper in Cape Town, which commissioned the design about 35 years ago.

Morgan MacKay of Vancouver, British Columbia, bought plans and patterns in January for the Argie 10. Today, a bit over two months later, he has sent me photos of the completed boat, ready for launch when warmer spring weather arrives. He says that it took him approximately 100 hours. Looks like a nice standard of finish too. He says that his boys are looking forward to going sailing with him.

In these photos Morgan's boat is on a very basic little trailer. These boats can be comfortably car-topped but there are definite advantages to using a trailer, allowing smaller people to get it into and out of the water.

Very pretty Argie 10. Two-tone colour schemes look good on a boat like this.

Morgan's sons trying out the Argie 10 for size.

Morgan has fitted a Laser Radial rig in his Argie 10, as well as a Laser rudder. The Radial rig is a bit bigger and has a longer boom. I look forward to hearing how well she behaves with this rig.

To see more of our designs, please go to our desktop website or our mobile website.