Port Townsend Watercraft BLOG » PT Spear dinghy https://ptwatercraft.com/blog Visit PTWATERCRAFT.COM to learn more Wed, 22 Jul 2026 22:54:18 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.38 Chesapeake Light Craft Independence Day Sale ends 7/7/26 https://ptwatercraft.com/blog/chesapeake-light-craft-independence-day-sale-ends-7726/ https://ptwatercraft.com/blog/chesapeake-light-craft-independence-day-sale-ends-7726/#comments Thu, 25 Jun 2026 16:14:32 +0000 https://ptwatercraft.com/blog/?p=4103 ...continue reading Chesapeake Light Craft Independence Day Sale ends 7/7/26]]>

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Chesapeake Light Craft Storewide Independence Day Sale!

Start the Independence Day fireworks early with storewide 4th of July discounts. Save on more than 100 boat designs, from kayaks and canoes to sailboats and rowing craft, paddleboards, powerboats, and Teardrop Campers. Storewide discounts apply to all complete kits, wood-parts-only kits, boat shop tools, boatbuilding supplies, and gear. Get your project completed so you can be on the water this summer!

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]]> https://ptwatercraft.com/blog/chesapeake-light-craft-independence-day-sale-ends-7726/feed/ 0 Shipwrights Regatta 2025 and the PTSA summer small boat series https://ptwatercraft.com/blog/shipwrights-regatta-2025-and-the-ptsa-summer-small-boat-series/ https://ptwatercraft.com/blog/shipwrights-regatta-2025-and-the-ptsa-summer-small-boat-series/#comments Fri, 31 Jan 2025 19:59:08 +0000 http://ptwatercraft.com/blog/?p=3891 ...continue reading Shipwrights Regatta 2025 and the PTSA summer small boat series]]> Click the image below to Sign up for the Feb 22 Shipwrights Regatta! PTSA-Shipwright25-PT11We would love to see more regional PT 11's out in Port Townsend Bay. The Sailing Association's summer Small Boat series (Monday evenings) is an ideal opportunity to improve your dinghy sailing skills. The committee boat team is wonderful and there is little better in life for making one feel unabashedly happy than dinghy sailing.Click the calendar below to sign up for the Summer Small Boat Series.

Click to sign up for small boat series.Monday night is dinghy night! Bring your own small boat or try out one of PTSA's three Lasers. Rigging starts at 4:30 at the boat ramp at Boat Haven.
Click to sign up for small boat series.Monday night is dinghy night! Bring your own small boat or try out one of PTSA's three Lasers. Rigging starts at 4:30 at the boat ramp at Boat Haven.
]]> https://ptwatercraft.com/blog/shipwrights-regatta-2025-and-the-ptsa-summer-small-boat-series/feed/ 0 A brief guide to setting up and sailing your PT 11 https://ptwatercraft.com/blog/a-brief-guide-to-setting-up-and-sailing-your-pt-11/ https://ptwatercraft.com/blog/a-brief-guide-to-setting-up-and-sailing-your-pt-11/#comments Tue, 19 Mar 2024 17:09:18 +0000 http://ptwatercraft.com/blog/?p=3664 ...continue reading A brief guide to setting up and sailing your PT 11]]> In the building manual for the PT 11 it says: "The PT 11 sailing rig is designed to be light and easy to use, not to be bullet proof." In developing this rig, weight and ease of use were the biggest priorities. "Hiking (sitting on the rail and leaning out) is okay for one person to do but not two.  Sailing with two and having one person hiking and the other sitting inside is okay too, just not two sitting on the rail." Molly-sailingDSC_0170
The PT 11 sailing rig arrives ready to use with all of its running rigging. One small item is up to you and that is the traveler line. This is the line needed to clip your main sheet to.
You can tie a line with a little slack, using the existing holes on the transom inwale to clip your main sheet onto that. This self steering blog post shows this method.
The traveler can be be made shorter as shown below by drilling holes about 7" from the centerline (14" apart). We drilled 5/16" holes and then applied a few coats of epoxy to the walls of the holes to seal the plywood.
The traveler line can be around 3/16 diameter and be held with stopper knots underneath the inwale.

PT 11 traveler with holes drilled inboard.
A short PT 11 traveler
This image shows the tiller/hiking stick in the self-steering position. Self steering is good for brief periods and works best when there is opposing pressure on the rudder blade.
This image shows the tiller/hiking stick in the self-steering position. This is good for brief periods and works best when going upwind and only works when the boat is heeled.

When sailing, if you feel resistance on the tiller, check to see if the rudder is completely down or if you have caught kelp or other debris. Keeping the threads in the knob clean and greased is important. The threads in the knob are brass and the pin is stainless steel so it will corrode. A bit of maintenance will insure the knob does its job and keeps the rudder down.

Image shows using the forward daggerboard cap turndog to hold down the daggerboard by closing it over the hold down pin.
For post-2021 kits, use the forward daggerboard cap turndog to hold down the daggerboard by closing it over the hold down pin.
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Pre-2021 daggerboards are thicker and shaped differently at the top. A loop of line at the right length becomes a hold down when captured by the aft turndog.
The Tack clips onto the boom as shown. (This image shows an older style gooseneck.)
The Tack clips onto the boom as shown. (This image shows an older style gooseneck.)

The outhaul (asymmetric) snap hook clips into the clew and the outhaul line should be snugged through the v-cleat on the boom:

Clew-clip-in-PT11

PT 11 Outhaul configuration during a regatta. Schooner Sir Isaac in the background.
PT 11 Outhaul configuration during a regatta. Schooner Sir Isaac in the background.
The vang clips into the eye strap on the mast.
The vang clips into the eye strap on the mast.
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The vang controls the twist of the sail. Controlling twist is important for getting the most power out of the sail, but don't overdo it! Some twist is good but the boom isn't un-breakable.

When adventuring or in fluky winds, we carry our oars with the oarlocks in the forward sockets and the handles tucked under the bow as shown above.

If you are good at slip knots, you can do this in a consistent breeze. Avoid it if not and if it is gusty. Unsuccessfully yanking the slip knot free in a puff can result in capsize or at the least, thoroughly dipping the rail as Ashlyn can attest.
If you are new to dinghy sailing, avoid this use of a slip knot on the main sheet. Unsuccessfully yanking the slip knot free in a puff is a recipe for capsize.
If you capsize when sailing, after righting the boat, make sure the mast is fully seated in the socket before taking off again.
If you are new to dinghy sailing, it is better to start in protected waters or when there is an onshore breeze, preferably steady but not strong.
Keep your weight forward for speed, but move aft in stronger breezes and downwind sailing.
If the water is cold in your area like it is on Puget Sound, wear a wetsuit or drysuit in case you end up in the water. Hypothermia is no joke. It is always advisable to wear a life-jacket/PFD.
Learn to stall, or "park" by pointing into the wind and letting the sheet go. When the wind picks up more than you feel ready for, or you have taken water over the rail and you are feeling a little out of control, this is a good way to take stock: bail, check your rudder and daggerboard for kelp, sort out lines, and take a swig from your thermos before heading off again. The sail will flap and make noise but that is not a problem. When you are ready, reign in your sheet, and continue or head for safety.
]]> https://ptwatercraft.com/blog/a-brief-guide-to-setting-up-and-sailing-your-pt-11/feed/ 0 PT SPEAR LAUNCHING in Port Townsend https://ptwatercraft.com/blog/pt-spear-launching-in-port-townsend/ https://ptwatercraft.com/blog/pt-spear-launching-in-port-townsend/#comments Thu, 27 Jun 2013 16:05:27 +0000 http://ptwatercraft.com/blog/?p=1185 The PT Spear, one piece PT11 design is now official and kits available. This was such a Port Townsend moment; A dinghy launching with flowers and bubbly, great friends and even a blush causing speech in the drizzling rain. All that was missing were the bagpipes!

A Port Townsend dinghy launching
A Port Townsend dinghy launching
Christened 'RASCAL'
Christened 'RASCAL'

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happy owners
happy owners

PT SPear dinghy

checking it out alongside a friend's boat...
checking it out alongside a friend's boat...

Another SPEAR post HERE.

 

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