When John Harris of Chesapeake Light Craft (CLC) came to WoodenBoat School here in Brooklin to lead a six-day class in building his newly designed Tenderly Dinghy and brought two finished boats with him, I jumped at the opportunity to see the progress as he taught, and to take the finished boats for a spin in Great Cove.While Harris didn’t draw inspiration from any one particular lapstrake design, the general English clinker day boat aesthetic is apparent. He was looking to do justice to a vision from Swallows and Amazons in a kit boat with attributes that would make for a great dinghy—plenty of volume, good to row, and a worthy daysailer. Harris aimed for a salty-looking design with good stability and carrying capability, and achieved that in a boat 10′ long with a beam of 52″ and a payload limit of 425 lbs. “At a more technical level, what I was pursuing was the most shapely boat I could manage in an amateur-construction context,” said Harris. “Tenderly has a lot of shape for a stitch-and-glue boat. The really full bow in plan view transitions seamlessly into a hollow waterline.”A few details elevate the Tenderly from a simple kit boat to classic lapstrake heartthrob. The open gunwales, the breasthook and quarter knees, the bead wale, and lovely sheerline belie her mostly plywood construction. When the eight optional floorboards are added, which make for more comfortable seating in the bottom of the boat and drier gear, the very finished appearance is the icing on the cake. What a looker.
Read this article now for Free!
Ready for a second free article? Create a free account by entering your email address and a password below.
— OR —
Subscribe now for $29.99 a year and have immediate access to all of our content, including hundreds of small-boat profiles, gear reviews and techniques, adventure stories, and more! You can also browse our entire archive of back issues starting from September 2014, as well as post unlimited classified ads. This is an extraordinary value!
Question, would a junk rig go to windward better? I am not a sailor but I am getting drawn to these small boats (Swallows and Amazons) I guess.
What a cool boat! Already built the Passagemaker that I am really happy with or I would build the Tenderly. Next project is Pocket Ship!
14′ or 15′ would be PERFECT for beach cruising. 10′ is perfect as a tender.
Please, John Harris, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, design and produce a kit for a 14′ version of this boat!
John’s done it again. Easy to build, sails and rows well, and has good stability for kids or a family.
What a great little boat. A 425-lb load rating for a 10′ boat is amazing. She would be a great boat to row or sail around Ventura Harbor. I think I may just have to build one.
I would love this boat in a 12′ – 14′ version. 10′ is a bit small for the wife and me, as we exceed the carrying weight rating.
Other than that, it checks all our boxes.
Long oars I noticed, which is OK if there’s not too much wind on the high freeboard. Beamy for stability and great for load carrying as a tender. I also like the broad thwart for a strong daggerboard casing. I’d have one of these if I owned a larger yacht. Which may well happen next Autumn (April in Tasmania, where I live).
Very interesting reading and video. I live in Tasmania, Australia, and just about to build my first boat; so far I’m trying to chose between the Tenderly and Jimmy Skiff.
Regards, Lesley