10OF THE BEST SAILING DINGHIES

In years gone by, you’d have had a 12 or 14ft clinker-built, lug-rigged dinghy with a pair of oars, but there is now a plethora of boats to buy, or build from kit or plan

- NIC COMPTON

What an impossible task: “Pick 10 of your favourite sailing dinghies under 16ft,” said the editor. “Something suitable for a family, good for rowing, too, and that you can stick on outboard on if necessary.” Balancing the contradictory requirements of this type of boat – sail vs oar vs outboard – is a challenge that has tested generations of designers, and there is a bewildering array of designs out there. So, I decided to go personal and focus on boats that are a) currently available, and b) which I’ve either sailed on or witnessed their performance close at hand.

The smallest in this selection is the 10ft 6in Lily, designed by Ashley Butler (better known for his bigger, workboat-inspired cruising yachts, such as Sally B). He says the boat was inspired by the dinghies in Claud Worth’s book Yacht Cruising and planked in Sitka spruce, as recommended by the celebrated yachtsman, although Butler says he hasn’t yet built one “so thin as to be transparent, as he mentions in his book!” I sailed on the rst Lily on the Blackwater River many years ago and, despite a close encounter with a mud bank, was immediately taken back to a more innocent age.

Not everyone needs such a dainty craft, however, and if you’re looking for a boat that can take the abuse of numerous grandchildren and be left on a mooring to take the ground at every tide, then the rugged