Dinghy

After Roxas, Pinoy we headed on west to Borocay. It is one of the number 1 tourist destinations in the Philippines. Lots of pretty white sand beaches, etc. Which means two things. One, many many people with vendors trying to get every last shekel from them! And two, white sand is ground up coral rocks, not always so fine and soft. We took our old faithful dinghy ashore to 'enjoy the tourists'. It is still heavy and the beach was steep, so I tried to anchor it just outside the tiny surf. We spent a couple hours at the market and looking around. When we came back, the tide had come in some, the anchor didn't hold and the dinghy was sliding back and forth in the sand at the surf line. The space around the bottom tubes got full of sand and coral gravel. Must have been some sharp pieces. I've had sand there before, but this was worst than any other time, and larger pieces of coral.

The air stays about 2 hours now. And if it sits too long, water leaks back indide the tubes making it really heavy. So a replacement for getting ashore is a must.

They make simple wood boats and paint them with just ordinary with enamel. We thought maybe the temporary solution would be a bangka. One like this could be built for about $100 US. A smallish paddle canoe with outriggers. Trinda couldn't lift her end. They are built very heavy come to find out.

Our feriend Greg, on Shanghai, just made this dinghy in Carmen when we were the last month. I really liked the looks, but we didn't need a new dinghy then.... It is built with a technique called stitch-n-glue. It is relatively easy, strong and light weight. So Greg has been kind enough to send me a copy of the plans.

Ahh, but they do not sell fiberglass or epoxy supplies on this island.
Ok so next idea is to order the fiberglassing supplies from Manila. They can ship them by ferry boat, which are scheduled to come here 3 days a week. They do sell 'marine plywood' here. But at about $13 US for 4x8x 1/4 is pretty cheap plywood, but the best they have.

With 'stitch-n-glue' you layout the drawings of the pieces on the plywood then cut it out.

Next drill little holes in each piece and tie them together with wire.

As you get the round pieces all together, it begins to look like a boat. The next step is the one we are still having trouble with. If I could get the company to actually ship me the epoxy, you make a thick goo like peanut butter and make fillets in all the corners. Later you cover it with thin fiberglass cloth and more epoxy.

The carpenter and his crew. He wanted to do it as a contract instead of an hourly wage. So he is doing something else until the epoxy arrives.