Cheap (probably free) Dinghy in IL 1962 Penguin

[whitebd]

Saw this on the Sailing Texas Website. Have no association with the sale. In Clear Lake, IL. 1962 Penguin sailing dingy. $300 or donation. I'd go get it but it's a long way from Austin.

http://www.sailingtexas.com/spenguin100.html

[rbgarr]

I had a wood Penguin about ten years ago and the plywood bottom had a crack near the cb box. It was annoying to fix and stubbornly leaky around the chine. Any one interested may want to look for that kind of problem closely.

Very enjoyable sailors however, demanding a bit of athleticism.

[Lulworth]

Sorry for the partial highjack .... If whoever gets this boat is near RI and wants to join us in the Penguin frostbite fleet at the Bristol Yacht Club (in Rhode Island) we'd be delighted to have you. It's a great bunch of people sailing a fun boat (and telling lies afterwards at the bar) most Saturdays during the Winter.

I can also help you find a boat in good condition ready to race already here in RI (not mine) if you want to race. Let me know ...

David

Here are three Penguins engaged in competition ...

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b7cc27b3127cceb1331df2009400000036100AaOGTZmzaOW IA

[bamamick]

fleet on Mobile Bay in the 1960's. I have heard so many stories about how much fun they all had sailing those little boats. Sadly I never got to sail in a Penguin but have always thought that they were wonderful.

I am glad that I am still enough of a wooden boat enthusiast to see how great that Penguin could be with some work. When my kids were in their teens I decided that I would get a Windmill for us to sail. I drove to St.Louis and paid something like $800 for this boat that was in much worse shape than I thought it was when I made the deal. I took it to a guy locally and had a new deck put on and then stripped it down on the inside and refinished the whole hull. Gray insides, white exterior, and an absolutely awesome varnished deck. New Harken gear and sails. She was a beaut. The kids didn't really like it but I had a great time singlehanding her. I wound up trading her for a 5.5 metre!

You could do that with that Penguin. It could be a gorgeous little boat. I hope that she finds a really good home.

Mickey Lake

[rbgarr]

LOL, Mick. That was the same thinking I had for the Penguin: "The kids will love it!"

No go. They much preferred taking friends out in the Shields and forgoing the (as they put it) "hiking and jumping around all the time".

[Lulworth]

rbgarr, maybe the problem the kids had was that there just wasn't enough action. During the Penguin heydays of the 60's and early 70's people sailed them double handed. Insane, I say, what would the crew do? In rogues island we have always sailed Penguins single handed and not just because we're a bunch annoying old guys who can't find crew! These boats are much more lively when they are set up for single handed sailing and they better suit the ... ah.... less lithe ... amoungst us. I just acquired a second boat for my very skinny 14 yo to race -- the little stinker better not beat me!

By the way, that 1960's boat is practically new, mine was built by Beaton in NJ in 1957.

I encourage anyone keen on trying Penguin racing in RI to contact me (can you tell that our fleet is shrinking -- apparently most people don't want to race/maintain wooden boats anymore so while there is a local resurgence in Laser frostbite sailing our fleet (the second oldest in the US) of Penguins is slowly disappearing.

Cheers, David

[rbgarr]

David,

Mine was a late 50s Beaton also, now (or when I sold her) sailing in Annapolis. I can see the boat as a single handed frost-biter. I'm big enough to do that in an Interclub and wish a club could get started up here in those. Not enough racers here year 'round, though. I think Marblehead is the closest place to frost-bite. Too far at today's gas prices.

[bamamick]

sail singlehanded. Can it handle a big guy (250 pounds)? How does it handle chop?

Mickey Lake

[Lulworth]

Mickey,

Penguins are a lot of fun to sail single handed. I am also a sometimes laser sailor and the two boats are completely different to sail but, when not planning, not that much different in speed. Rhodes, when he designed the Penguin, put an upsweep at the back so Penguins don't plane easily. The sail controls are extensive and the sail shape is actually cut like a sail should be cut (as opposed to the laser which relies on the cut of the luff and bend of the mast to set the shape). The stays are running -- you ease the leeward stay when going down wind and the mast rotates (with lines that control an arm attached to the mast to control the amount of rotation). Also, of course, its got a centerboard rather than a dagger board so you can, to some extent, control the amount of helm. It's a cool little boat. I think 250 lbs is probably ok if you were racing people sailing double handed but in our fleet, in light air, it would be slow (I'm 195 and the skinny folks are hard to hold off down wind ). The other downside of the Penguin is if you go over, it is not likely that you'll be able to self rescue.

Cheers, David

[bamamick]

It sounds as if you guys have a lot of fun sailing Penguins. I found a really neat looking WEST boat with tons of extras on the class web page for $3000 but the e-mail address in inactive and I assume that the ad is pretty old.

The bottom line is that I want a singlehanded dinghy to sail, for the most part, in my club Portsmouth races. Of course, I am open to any sort of adventure and would be the kind of guy who would come to something like the Internationals for the experience of it.

It's an option that I will keep open.

Mickey Lake

[rbgarr]

... other downside of the Penguin is if you go over, it is not likely that you'll be able to self rescue. Cheers, David

That's another reason my kids preferred other dinghy types, especially in these cold waters. Understandable, because they liked doing capsizes to see if they could stay close-to-dry, especially in the occasional hot spell up here. The Penguin filled like a coffee cup and stayed awash.

[Dan McCosh]

Ah, yes. The Penguin was the state of dinghy sailing in the 1960s, when I was teaching sailing basics. One day in early March, I had two students on board, and a puff hit us while I was hiked out. I quickly dumped the sheet to avoid a capsize. This provoked a rapid roll upwind, which dumped me over the side. My students on their first day out, lacking such essential skills such as sailing, steering and tacking, drifted away downwind, while I was left paddling in near-freezing water. There was a lesson here, but I don't know what it was....

[Lulworth]

Mickey, $3k for any penguin these days is, in my opinion, wayyyy too much. The boat that I have was free if you don't count hours of labor, paint, and a new sail. Part of the joy of the Penguin is that now that it is utterly obsolete, there are boats in garages and barns that are available for very low cost. West system, Schmest system -- it's a plywood boat!

And that is one man's opinion! David

[bamamick]

David, you want to know the real reason that I don't go after a boat like the one on e-bay? My wife would kill me, pure and simple. I have brought home so many wrecks over the years, spent a whole bunch of money on them, and then basically given them away, that I think that one more would drive her over the edge. If I could get it here and turn it over to a buddy of mine, then have it show up in mint condition, then maybe she would be overwhelmed by nostalgia and want the first sail for herself. Then again, she might kill me anyway. And of course, in that case how much money would I have in her then?

I am not really worried about flipping boats. I have flipped more boats than I can count and I am still around to talk about it. And I do like the Penguin, always have. It's just a Windmill that's been shrunk, more or less (or a Windmill is a Penguin that has been stretched, if my memory serves me about who came first).

If I can find a fun singlehander in good shape for $3K then I will be happy regardless of what it is. I am too big for a Laser or a Sunfish. An old OK dinghy would suit. Other boats that I have seen, like the old US1 or the Force Five, look too small for me. Right now I have a Finn, a Megabyte, and a Penguin on my list. Anyone with any other ideas please chime in.

David, if you know of a Penguin that meets my requirements let me know. I am open minded about such things. One more thing: launching. I want to launch off of a floating dock at my club. Do you Penguiners use a dolly like a Finn uses?

Mickey Lake

[T. Traddles]

How about a fireball?


http://www.sailingtexas.com/sfireball100.html

[bamamick]

I am too big, want the leg room too much, and am not interested in singlehanding a doublehanded boat.

I love the class, though.

Mickey Lake

[Lulworth]

Quote: " David, if you know of a Penguin that meets my requirements let me know. I am open minded about such things. One more thing: launching. I want to launch off of a floating dock at my club. Do you Penguiners use a dolly like a Finn uses?"


I'm a big fan of Penguins but it is just an 11.5 ft boat. This makes it easy to launch from a float but in the winter (the only time we sail these things) we rig on trailers near the ramp and launch by having three of us carry the boat to the water (saves the trailer from salt). The reality is that to have fun in all wind conditions, a heavier person needs a boat that can (1) accomdate the larger displacement without dramatic change in the underwater profile (ie not a hard chine boat)and (2) have a more powerful rig so you don't wallow in the light air. I say pick up a Finn -- I certainly would if there was anyone near-by to sail with. If I were younger, smarter, and had faster reflexes, I'd buy an A-cat for the max in single handed wildness!

Cheers, David

[bamamick]

I know what it's like to promote a class and try and be honest with prospective buyers, but I would rather people get what they want and would use than wind up with the wrong boat.

After giving this considerable thought I believe that the best thing for me is to just wait. Things have a way of working out, and I have no fewer than three other boat projects in the works right now. No reason to make life more complicated than it has to be.

I still like Penguins.

Mickey Lake

[bamamick]

out there to people with $1K boats. I have several other boat projects going on but I really want a boat to singlehand. And for some reason I have drawn a line in the sand as far as how much I am willing to spend so that limits me.

For $9K I know where you can get a fully serviceable 'glass Dragon complete. For $8K I know where you can get a very nice late model Star (VERY nice). Those prices are the minimum that you will spend to get a decent Finn, or a new Megabyte. I would like to do better. To me it's a simple matter of value. As far as sailing different boats go, I had a blast sailing my Beetle Cat except for the fact that it was dry-sailed and kept sinking from under me. I also had a blast sailing a Laser, a Sunfish, and a Finn at one time or another. I just like to sail. Unless the Penguin is just a horrible dog then I am pretty sure I'd love to sail one.

Mickey Lake

[john l]

i got a penguin for free about 4 years ago. i wooded it and removes a number of nasty improvements. it has sat in my work shop and i'm about to make a few parts -skeg and cb top end, patch and fill some ply areas and checking and paint. determined to get it sailing this summer and will let you know how it goes. in studying it i think it is a pretty smart design of modern materials and traditional shape
(ie non planning run). was not what i was looking for, but boats have a way of finding people and not the other way around.