--Iceni 11-12 dinghy plans: a singlehander, home-build light weight lug sail dinghy a little under 12 feet in length - an attractive, well balanced and undemanding to sail stitch and glue day sailer.
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At around 11ft 9in and 4ft 9 in beam, the Iceni 12 is a four plank aside stitched seam balanced lug dinghy for the home builder, with recessed decking and side tanks; sheer and freeboard are moderate for possible car topping without detracting from her character; and a well-proven rig of moderate proportions provides the drive. The topsides are well flared throughout, and the transom is well lifted to avoid drag under oars or sail, but still with enough bearing aft for a small outboard. The lines have resulted in a fast, dry, well-mannered craft that is exceptionally manoeuvrable with reassuring stability, both initially and on heeling. As a result of the underwater sections and flared topsides, she gains displacement very rapidly, maximum designed displacement being around 230 kg. Depending on layout, she is ideally suited to an adult with a couple of children, or to a husband and wife, or to the singlehander with an occasional crew - she is after all only a few inches longer than a Mirror 11 - and the boat is easily dominated by the weight of a medium-sized helm. The Iceni 12 is a general purpose dinghy, but with the accent firmly on sailing. The 2 photos above are of a very fine Spanish stitch and tape build courtesy of Jose Luis Martinez Viana
* Offsets are given too for building conventionally over moulds and a building frame with battened seam construction, or she could equally be built glued clinker over stringers in the bottom and bilge. The Megan in the photos below was built as an experiment in combining stitched seam construction in the bottom to avoid lands and glued clinker in the topsides for strength with light weight. This produces an exceptionally strong, light and attractive hull, but requires an experienced eye to ensure the top seams remain perfectly aligned as there is no building frame; there is not as much self-fairing ability with this method as there is with the completely stitched seam panels where the close butting edges ensure accuracy and alignment.
Plans are on five A1 sheets with 22 A4 sheets of keyed construction detail and outline building procedure, with separate offset and hull panel details. Hull panels are nested for best ply use, as are bulkheads and decking. Details are also given for the cambered foredeck version.
The photos below show Megan - an experimental version with the first two planks stitched carvel fashion and the second two overlapped clinker style - with an open cockpit and sealed bow tank under a small foredeck. Constructed of 4 mm ply doubled with 6 mm on the bottom to make a total of 10 mm, the complete hull, epoxy coated but not painted, weighed 51kg. The Iceni 12 is built of 5 or 6 mm ply, with reinforcing floor stringers instead of the ply doubling, though that too could be used if wished as in the Megan. The layout with the single midships thwart is for the lazy singlehander!
