Design
FireBug
Designed by John Spencer and Peter Tait
FireBug is a 2.4 m by 1.2 m sailing dinghy from Auckland, drawn in 1995 by John Spencer and Peter Tait as a first boat to build at home, in a sailing club, a school or a community group. It is meant as a complete lesson in wooden boatbuilding: build one, learn to sail it, then go on to something larger. Her listed weight is 27 kg, and it sails with an adult, a child, or two aboard for teaching.
Construction is timber and plywood, and the plan pack combines plans, step-by-step instructions and full-size patterns intended to make the build close to foolproof. The woodwork materials are meant to be found locally, while sails, spars and hardware can be bought as a kit. The design has travelled well: close to 1,000 plan packs have gone to more than 30 countries, and over 500 boats have been finished by amateurs. A sound choice for a youth programme or a family looking for a first shared project.
What building a FireBug 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 FireBug 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 ft Portland Yawlboat Sailing Dinghy | Benford Design Group | 8′ 0″ (2.44 m) | 0 |
| Kiwi PDR | John Welsford | 2.44 m (8′ 0″) | 0 |
| Norwegian Pram 8 | Butler Projects | 8′ 0″ (2.44 m) | 0 |
| Alli8 Sailing Pram | Duck Trap Woodworking | 7′ 10″ (2.39 m) | 0 |
| Sabotina | Glen-L Marine | 7′ 10″ (2.39 m) | 0 |
| Dixi Dinghy 8 | Dudley Dix Yacht Design | 8′ 2″ (2.5 m) | 0 |