10' Chapelle Sailing Dinghy (2019) - CLEMENTINE

Howard I. Chapelle, noted boat historian, tucked the design for this unnamed 10 foot dinghy deep into the pages of his seminal 1954 work, “Boatbuilding” (page 420 to be exact). Looking for a winter boatbuilding project that would fit in my tiny basement, I chanced across the single page of lines and offsets. I decided to try one of Chapelle’s suggested construction methods, Ashcroft construction.
Herbert Ashcroft’s planking system is explained in his early 20th century book, “Boatbuilding Simplified”. I picked up a used, original copy and discovered that it was an early form of cold molding. 2 layers of short, wide, thin wood strips are bent diagonally over longitudinal stringers. My strips were 1/8 x 3 x 48 inches each, and the second layer was applied parallel to the first first layer and staggered to cover the seams. Ashcroft didn’t have waterproof glue, so recommended linseed oil and chalk dust between the clench-nailed layers, but I opted for easy-to-use and waterproof Titebond III and stainless steel staples.
I also challenged myself to use only found wood: the 5/8″ square stringers are ripped from spruce 2x4s found in the ditch; the planking is knotty pine flooring pulled out of a friend’s house and milled on my table saw; the thwarts are from an old broken pine bookshelf pulled out of the trash; the transom is from ancient pine shiplap boards pulled out of the basement of my 1930s house; the red oak breasthook is from a fallen tree at my brother’s house and the red oak gunwales are from my neighbour’s old waterbed. The centerboard is cut from a steel plate.
I enjoyed every moment of the build process but found it rather slow (although most of my time was spent scratching my head, wondering what to do next). It took me 500 hours over 3 winters.
I sail Clementine in Canadian Shield lakes around Ottawa and the occasional foray to Georgian Bay. The polytarp sail looks a little ragged (it’s from another boat) but works great. With her fine entry and 6″ skeg, Clementine will even go to windward with the board up. It’s a great boat. Just wish she was a little bigger. I need a bigger basement.