Building A Chameleon Sailing Dinghy | Lofting Plywood - #1

I’m building a Chameleon sailing dinghy. It’s a sprit rig pram made of plywood and epoxy that will sail, motor, row, and nest.

During our last trip to the Bahamas I saw a few rigid dinghies that had small sailing rigs that were cruising around the anchorages. They intrigued me. It looked so cool to see them casually sailing around, and I wanted to a part of that.

For one thing, I’m always draw to things that interest the few. Inflatable dinghies outnumber rigid ones by a factor of 50:1, so naturally I was interested in the rare rigid ones. I tend to go the opposite way of the crowd, and my newfound interest in rigid dinghies is a symptom of that mindset.

Also, I’m always drawn to simplicity when it comes to cruising. Less things to break means more time to enjoy traveling instead of continually being forced to maintain complex “stuff” that are supposed to be making your life easier. It doesn’t get much simpler than a good rigid dink – as far as dinghies go, anyways.

So yeah – that’s pretty much why I decided to build one.

Lastly, this project has been kinda therapeutic for me. It’s kept me connected to the sailing lifestyle even though we’ve been stuck on land for the last few months while dealing with the sale our house.

I hope you enjoy this video series that will cover the construction of our Chameleon sailing dinghy from beginning to end.

Thanks for watching!!

Ben, Tambi, & Molly | S/V Sandflea | “SAILBOATSTORY”

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