Dakini by Phil Bolger

[webfoot24]

I found an article in an old Woodenboat magazine about the Bolger Dakini. It looks like it would be a good boat for the Florida Keys and the Bahamas. Is there anyone out there who owns one in or near Florida? I would like to look at one to determine if I would want to build it.

Or, maybe someone has pictures of one that I could view via the net?

In the article in Woodenboat it said that it was "trucked to the beach" where the mast was stepped. I am assuming that it can be trailered?
After this years hurricane season in Florida I would like a boat that I could step the mast and put on a trailer to avoid damage dockside.

I currently own 2 sharpies---one is 14 ft. the other is 21 ft. The 14 foot boat has a bow well similar to Dakini's and I really like it.

Any comments would be appreciated.

[Venchka]

Dakini has come up before in these parts:


Jack;

I just checked Annie Hill's book for drawings of Badger, all Jay's dory’s are there, but no lifting keel. All the Benford dory designs are equipped with a ballasted fin keel. Badger herself is equipped with a Collins Tandem Keel, a retrofit which reduced her draft by about 6". The Collins keel is a pair of fins connected on the bottom by a large flat wing, all cast iron I believe.

In WB # 92 is the story of a boat called Dakini. A 34'6" dory/sharpie cross designed by Phil Bolger for Mait Edey. She is set up with two centerboards and a gaff yawl rig. There's a good write-up on her vices and performance. Perhaps Phil could be persuaded to give you some revised scantlings for her. Or you could addapt Dakini with Gardner's scantlings for a St. Pierre.

Dakini has 7'11" beam, draft is 1'11" B/U, displacement 6000 pounds, 2000 pounds of inside ballast, and 384 sq. ft. of sail.

Best, Tad That's a lot of boat, although the beam is within highway limits. "Trucked to the beach" is right.

Wayne
In the Swamp. :D

[Pernicious Atavist]

webfoot! i'm just down the road from you a piece. i've wanted to build a sharpie for quite some time now. what type do you have? have you pics?

ed

[Dave Hadfield]

Webfoot, you emailed me and asked if I knew which issue showed Dakini for sale. Sorry, I don't. It was about 2-3 years ago, if that's any help.

Someone on this forum was a member of the family that owned her. All his comments were very positive.

I really liked that design. The idea of sitting headroom didn't bother me that much, and I immediately thought of the Birdwatcher slot-top, anyway, or a pop-top like an older MacGregor 26 (plastic).

I am partial to long, skinny boats, not short fat ones. And very shallow draft, so you can look smug when you enter a crowded anchorage just before sunset and easily find a spot that the deeper boats can't use.

[webfoot24]

Thanks for the feedback re. Dakini. It sure is a pretty boat! I often wonder why a boat like Dakini isn't put into production in fiberglass
(I hope I didn't offend any wooden boaters by saying that!). I have only built a Bolger Tortoise (great dingy!), so building a Dakini would be one giant leap for me!

[adampet]

The builder of Dakini is here Old Wharf Dory Co. (http://www.oldwharf.com)
The builder, Walter Baron could probably give you lots of information, it might be worth a phone call.

[Mait Edey]

Hi Webfoot. Glad you're interested. WB #92, with my Dakini article, is out of print, but I think they can sell you a photocopied issue. I could send you the text if I could only extract it from a dead computer. The article contains a thorough description, with plans and one photo. I have many photos I could loan by mail; I'm not set up to e-mail photos or post them on the forum. Come to think of it, I could send you a photocopy of the article by mail. I suggest you begin with the article; I'll be happy to answer any questions which follow. I'll monitor this forum occasionally, and you can e-mail me at maitedey@earthlink.net. I sold Dakini last summer with regret after nineteen years following a brain tumor and surgery. It seemed I wouldn't be doing much cruising for a while, and a trailerable daysailer would suit me better. It takes four guys to step the mast (or maybe three if strong and able). She weighs 6000 punds, so is not for casual trailering. But I had her on a trailer for winter storage. I had hoped to take her to the Bahamas, but never managed to do it. She would be perfect there.

Mait

[Dave Hadfield]

Mait, sorry to see you were ill, and very glad to see you here on this Forum. Nothing like hearing about a boat from her Skipper!

I ran across WB 92 just yesterday while cleaning up the basement. Still a fine-looking design to me.

If you were going to build her again, would you keep her that narrow on the bottom? Would you do as P. B. suggested and widen it there to give more initial stability. Could she then have needed less ballast?

Also, how did you spread and secure that lead ballast? Sheet? Pigs?

Thanks,

Dave

[Brian Cady]

Are these two centerboards fore-and-aft, or bilgeboard/flankboard?

Brian Cady

[Dave Hadfield]

Fore and aft. One under the sleeping area and one in the bridge deck/cockpit.

[Mait Edey]

Hi, Dave. Her flare, and width on deck and on the bottom, still seem right to me. It's a tradeoff. Lighter weight, more initial stability, and an upright stance might seem to be virtues. But in a sharpie, heeling when sailing to windward makes for a soft ride—no pounding—and a dry boat. Her reserve stability is phenomenal. She's heavy for a sharpie of her WL length, but her weight provides momentum useful for tacking in a seaway. Some light sharpies don't have the momentum to carry through a tack. The ballast was in long pigs running athwartships, secured, and filling the whole area between centerboards and chines, under the cabin sole.

Mait

[ErikH]

Can I chip in as one who has sailed on her many times? (Hi Mait!)

I'm always a tad leery of owner opinions (everyone loves their boat) so for what it's worth: Mait's recommendation of her is dead on. I'm a picky guy, and Dakini is an outstanding boat for what she is. She sails extremely well. I strongly considered buying her from Mait (my stepfather), but needed a deeper cockpit for my two young kids. (the "actual" cockpit depth is OK. But the APPARENT cockpit depth when heeled is very shallow, as she's narrow and does go over a ways. not a problem for most though not good for toddlers.) She has an advantage taht may not be as apparent from the article (which was written when she was new) of seeming to require extremely low maintenance as these things go.

if I were to have purchased her I might have added on somehow in the foretriangle--via a longer bowsprit probably-- as she's a tad undercanvassed for my personal taste. Then again, I can say that about most boats. but were someone to plan on sailing her in light airs, i'd advise considering that change.

Funny thing was that I didn't like her as much when I was younger (stupid youth...) and I love her now. Oh well.

[ 12-19-2004, 09:15 PM: Message edited by: ErikH ]