sailing casita

We bought a new dinghy and I’m in the process of making chaps for it. The new dinghy is an Achilles LSI-310, it is just over 10 feet in length and it has a high pressure air floor so it can be deflated and stored relatively compactly on deck. This is actually the first dinghy we have purchased new, all of our previous ones were bought on craigslist. Our last dinghy was also an Achilles air floor but it was a little smaller and a lot older.

So what exactly are dinghy chaps you ask? Well they aren’t dingy chaps, that’s something you would find in a cowboy’s dirty laundry. Har har 🙂 Dinghy chaps are basically a cover to protect the dinghy tubes from sun damage, but unlike a cover, chaps are designed to remain in place while the dinghy is being used. Our new dinghy is made from Hypalon which is more resistant to UV damage than the less expensive PVC, but it isn’t completely impervious to UV rays so the chaps should help extend its life.

We usually use Sunbrella canvas for sun covers but this time we went with Sattler canvas. According to Sailrite, Sattler has been around for a long time in Europe but has only recently entered the US market. Supposedly it is comparable to Sunbrella (they are both solution dyed acrylic) but at a lower price. Time will tell how well it holds up to the sun, but so far it does seem to be very similar to Sunbrella.