Design
Dinghy 5
Designed by Jacques Mertens
A 7 ft 10 in pram dinghy by Jacques Mertens of Bateau, based on a pram that gave years of service in the Caribbean. The brief was a yacht tender that fits on deck, rows well in a chop and carries two or three people. Designed weight is 55 lb on a 3 ft 10 in beam, with a 2 hp outboard or a 35 sq ft sail as options. D5 is a design code, not a length.
Stitch and glue from flat plywood panels and fiberglass tape, with no butt joints and no special tools needed. The designer's figure is about 30 hours for the hull, so budget 40 to 60 hours with paint and a rig. The medians below come from builders who logged this boat here.
What building a Dinghy 5 actually takes
Medians from the build logs kept on this site, not the designer’s estimate. Nobody has logged this boat here yet, so they are empty until the first builder does.
Those medians firm up as more people log this boat.
Builds of this boat
Nobody has logged a Dinghy 5 here yet.
If you are building one, yours becomes the reference: the page the next person building this boat finds when they search for it. One photo and one line is a valid first entry.
Start the first log of this boatBoats like this one
Same type, closest in length.
| Design | Plans from | LOA | Logs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Centerfold | Glen-L Marine | 7′ 10″ (2.39 m) | 0 |
| Eight Ball | Glen-L Marine | 7′ 10″ (2.39 m) | 0 |
| Eastport Nesting Pram | Chesapeake Light Craft | 7′ 9″ (2.36 m) | 0 |
| Eastport Pram | Chesapeake Light Craft | 7′ 9″ (2.36 m) | 0 |
| 8' Entlein | Boatkits | 2.42 m (7′ 11″) | 0 |
| Crayfish 8 | Woods Designs | 2.44 m (8′ 0″) | 0 |