Boating Has Been Very Good To Us
1993 Achilles Dinghy
1993 Achilles Dinghy
Sorry, but I haven't saved pictures of my projects.
So, here is a list of the projects, accompanied by a few comments:
- The Land of Dead Boats
Found the dinghy in the Land of Dead Boats. The owner just sold his boat, so he doesn't want the dinghy anymore. He sold it to me for a six-pack of beer, and then invited me to have a couple of the beers. Ben, nice guy. - Clean it and buy new Valves
As you might expect, after sitting over the winter in the open, it is dirty, so the kids and I clean it. The valves leak and a couple are missing. The cost for each valve is pricey but what can you do? Actually a local boat sales shop had them in stock! - Patch holes
Achilles' dinghies are made of hypalon, so buy a hypalon patch kit and get to work. I used a spray bottle of soapy water to find the leaks. Then it's just a matter of following the instructions:- clean the area
- sand it down lightly
- clean again
- glue and patch
- If you look closely at the pictures, you can see some of the patches.
- New Floor and new wood seat
Surprisingly, the floor of this dinghy is made of wood. Well, it's rotted and nasty, but there is enough there to use as a template. So, I get some "marine plywood", cut out the two pieces that make up the floor, polyurethane the heck out of the wood, and we have a new floor. Also needed to make a wood bench seat (stapled some velcro to the ends of a plank). - Test Drive
My kids and I take it for a test ride in the marina. It holds air, and the 1952 Evinrude 9.9 hp pushes it around pretty well. I also purchased a 5 hp Sears, and a 1955 3 hp Evinrude. The Evinrude 3 hp works most dependably.
The Achilles is lots of fun for the kids, and it keeps them wanting to go boating. Hopefully, it'll keep them interested enough until they can start using jet skis (all part of my evil plan to keep the kids coming to the boat).
I wish I had "before" pictures. It wasn't bad to begin with, and it's been a great dinghy. Now if I could only find oars that will fit it?.
2006 - First Step of my Evil Plan
Summer 06 - After a couple of weeks patching leaks, making the new floor, and finding/fixing a couple of outboard motors, she is water-worthy. Kids have their boating licences and they are old enough, so the Achilles gets a good work-out.
Of course, the kids are keen for power and try to make it really go fast, but it's a dinghy. Still lots of fun, and George and Philip (and friends) use it to cruise the marina, as well as several trips around Johnson's Island.
2007 - not as effective
Summer 07 - With the introduction of our 1992 Waverunner III, the Achilles just isn't that much in demand. It gets occassional use on the weekends, but not much. Although I still like it.
2008 - present
After the summer of 07, I deflated the Achilles and packed it up in my garage. It has sat there ever since. A good dinghy, but we just have too many toys and not enough space.
