page_title: Dinghy
section_title: Sail
hierarchical_section_title: Dinghy / Propulsion / Sail
caption_attribution_description: English: Proactive lifeboat, sailing. Note unzipped section of canopy and reefed sail.
context_page_description: A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or towed by a larger vessel for use as a lifeboat or tender. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor. Some are rigged for sailing but they differ from sailing dinghies, which are designed first and foremost for sailing. A dinghy's main use is for transfers from larger boats, especially when the larger boat cannot dock at a suitably-sized port or marina.
context_section_description: A typical sailing rig for a dinghy is a gunter with a two-piece folding mast stepped through a thwart and resting on the keel. It is raised by pulling a rope called a halyard. A single-sailed rig is usually preferred over a marconi or Bermudan (with a triangular mainsail and jib) because this rig is simpler, with no stays to attach. Sprit rigs also have no boom, and the advantage that the sail can be brailed up out of the way against the mast when rowing or motoring. Lug rigs are another common single sail type used in small dinghies, both standing and balanced (with some area forward of the mast), and usable with or without a boom.
  Traditional working dinghies have a lee board that can be hooked over the side. This does not split the cargo space. A sailing rudder is usually tied or clipped to a simple pair of pintles (hinge pins) on the transom with the bottom pintle being longer so that the rudder can be mounted one pintle at a time. The rope keeps the rudder from floating off in a wave. Both rudders and lee boards have swiveling tips so the dinghy can be landed. Rudders are often arranged so the tiller folds against the rudder to make a compact package.
  Racing dinghies usually have a daggerboard or centreboard to better sail upwind. The trunk is in the middle of what would otherwise be cargo area. A self-rescue dinghy intended to be used as a proactive lifeboat has leeboards on either side, to allow for maximum open cockpit area.
caption: Self-rescue dinghy lifeboat, sailing. Note unzipped middle section of canopy and reefed sail.
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