Dinghies

Now we will look at Hunter's latest small boat, the Xcite. Hunter recently acquired controlling interest in JY Sailboats of East Lyme, Connecticut, and this is their first new project. This 10-footer is a car topper designed to keep the kids happy, or, with the choice of the "Turbo" rig, maybe even exciting enough to keep Dad happy.

The Xcite weighs a mere 95 pounds. The key to this is the construction method used, which employs special plastic-injected foam and fiberglass mat, thermoformed into a very durable finished product.

The ergonomics of the deck look good. You sit on the side deck and the cockpit is open at the transom. The daggerboard trunk does not protrude into the cockpit at all. Flip-up rudder and daggerboard make this an ideal boat for off the beach sailing.

Both rudder and daggerboard are high aspect ratio and look very effective to my eye. There are few things worse than a dinghy with inadequate appendages. It's hard to teach someone to sail efficiently to weather if the boat is not up to the task. The Xcite looks to be well suited for performance oriented training.

There are two rigs: training and turbo. The training rig has 34 square feet of sail while the turbo rig has 55 square feet. The difference in the areas of the two rigs appears to be in the amount of roach to the sail. The turbo rig has a full roach with almost a "fat head" plan form while the trainer rig has a straight leach.

This simple, durable boat would be an ideal boat to teach your kids or friends the joys of dinghy sailing.

Jason Rhodes dropped the newest Walker Bay model off at my beach place a couple of weeks ago so I could test it. I own two of the standard 9-footers and I was anxious to see how this new model performed. I do love the little original 9-footer. It rows, sails and tows very well. However, its performance comes at a price, and that is initial stability. You need to be aware that you are in a small boat at all times and keep your weight centered on the thwart.

Apparently someone brought this to the attention of the Walker Bay family and they have responded with a new 9-foot model called the 9 RID. This model includes inflatable tubes set just beneath the gunwale. These tubes increase the overall beam by 16 inches; each tube being about 9 inches in diameter and tucking under the gunwale detail. Overall length is 9 inches longer than the original 9-footer. The tubes add weight and the RID model weighs 20 pounds more than the original, so if you are carrying your dink up and down the beach this may be a factor. Also, the original still has the advantage of being totally maintenance free.

Under sail the tubes act like outriggers and will alter the entire stability profile of the boat. But they will drag as you heel the boat and this will slow the boat down. Climbing in and out of my Boston Whaler or pulling a crab pot laden with plump, juicy, sweet Dungeness crabs is effortless with the tubes.

I like the looks of the tubed model. The tubes are actually tapered and accent the lovely sheer of the 9-footer nicely. They also lend a more high-tech or current look to the boat while acting as full length fenders.

These are very versatile little boats and make ideal tenders, especially if you prefer to tow your dink.