While the MBA is finished, I have yet to re-immerse myself back into the Westsail build, but am eager too nonetheless. Reading of others enjoying their time on the water, exploring isolated anchorages "off the beaten rhumb line", gets me motivated to get going on the W32. However anxious I am to get going on the W32, I am turning my attention to a pretty little lady...a custom sailing dinghy. Owned by a friend of mine, I was asked to perform some maintenance on her over the summer months to be ready to splash by late summer. So, on the to-do list: Awlgrip the topsides, fresh bottom paint, and new teak rails, breasthook / mast thwart, and stern thwarts. Today, June 1st, I spent a couple hours staging the dinghy and began mocking-up various rub rail dimensions.
I began with applying some scrap material I had on hand in the shop to get a sense of overall look and proportions. From the initial two iterations, I quickly got a sense of what would and would not work...form is as important as function!
Stepping back for a shot of the sheer line, I was satisfied with the vertical dimension of the rail, but knew I had some tweaking to do on the width of the rail.
After mocking-up a few iterations of different dimensions, I settled on what I thought held the best proportions for the new rub rails on this gorgeous little sailing dinghy. In the end, the dimensions I think best suit the boat are .5" x 1.25", both inboard and outboard along the sheer line.
A shot from the interior (above).
Settling on the dimensions and receiving sign-off from the owner, I went ahead and prepared the teak stock for the port and starboard rub rails / gunwales.
Total Time: 2 Hours
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