Folding rafts

[dee]

I think I saw a thread a while ago about foldable rafts. Does anyone know the link to that and how good those rafts are since they are foldable?

[jsserene]

Try this or this.

[Moe]

You might have better lucky searching for dinghy than for raft.

--
Moe

[craiglaforce]

I've been thinking about a winter woodworking project of building a Catspaw.
A couple of people on Trailersailor have built them and had lots of good things to day about the boat and the company.

This company sells plans and maybe the wood also if you are close to them.
The larger ones bolt together with minimal fuss and the 2 parts nest together for easy bow storage. Supposedly they are easy to build.

www.bandbyachtdesigns.com

[Terry]

Those are pretty neat tenders Craig, my personal choice would be the Spindrift. I like the sail plan and motoring ability. Unfortunately I already have a large inflatable so I will be looking at a motor for it as well as a SCULLY sail rig that someone posted to achieve the same versatility. Deflated my dinghy can be stored across the bow just in front of the mast, but when inflated I tow it. I can put it on the bow inflated while in the marina with the transom butted up against the mast and the bow end squeezed into the pulpit but it blocks my view when under way so I tow it. I would like to ask though, once you build one of those Catspaws how do you plan to stow it or take it with you. I can see towing as an option, but I cant seem to conceptualize how one would carry it aboard.

[craiglaforce]

I haven't gotten serious about it yet, so still need to measure things and look at the different models a bit.
There is an 8 foot design that breaks in half by removing a couple of wing nuts and nests very compactly together to store (only 4 feet long). The other thought was to build a smaller one piece one that again would store upside down on deck somewhere. The flattish bow and stern helps keep it short.

Of course it could also be towed, but I like the idea of having something lightweight that rows well and can just be picked up and tossed on the bow or maybe on some supports over the companionway like a pop-top. But have to consider what all this will interfere with (anchoring, boom vang, visability etc). Might also serve as a rain hood for whatever hatch it covers. I need to think about this some more to see if it is really feasible or not.

[dee]

oh yeah.. i was looking at those porta boats.. dunno if they fold under pressure and you end up swimming back to the Mac.

[waltpm]

I have also been thinking of building one of the folding dinghys. Would like to hear from anyone who has one as to dimensions when nested and where you store it.

[craiglaforce]

http://www.bandbyachtdesigns.com/cpaw.htm

Here is the link to the page showing the dimensions of the various catspaws.
They have a model that is small and one piece and others that are larger and break in half for storage. There are a couple people that have built them on the trailersailor website. Here's a couple spots where it was mentioned that I could find.

http://bbs.trailersailor.com/forums/tsa ... 365228,paw


http://bbs.trailersailor.com/forums/tsa ... 70,catspaw

[Idle Time]

we were given a fold a boat. It tows well when sailing but motoring over 6 mph and the front raises up and we swamped it 3 times. Folded up we put it on deck and it rode great. Havnt tried putting it together on the water or the X yet though. Might be tricky.