Royal Cruising Club/Yachting Monthly dinghy design competition

About the competition

The aim is to encourage innovation in the design of the humble tender, which plays an important part in the enjoyment of a cruise under sail – as a taxi, for exploring and as a training boat for children. No single dinghy will be right for every circumstance – the needs of a couple cruising a Folkboat in the Solent are different to those of a family cruising to Brittany and Ireland in a 35-footer and these are different again from a larger heavily crewed boat exploring high latitudes.

Find out how to enter the competition.

The judges will be looking for imaginative solutions that address the problems that we all face with existing tender designs:
– wet bottoms from an inflatable tender that is also near-impossible to row in a cross-wind
– where to stow a rigid dinghy
– how to minimise the height of a nested dinghy
– how to provide reasonable leg-room and carrying capacity whilst still allowing the dinghy to be stowed on board 
– producing a dinghy that is attractive and a pleasure to handle afloat

The competition is very similar to that organised by the Royal Cruising Club 100 years ago. Click here to see some of the entries, including the winning entry from former Yachting Monthly contributor Arthur Briscoe and another from yacht designer T Harrison-Butler.