We're delighted to welcome PT Watercraft and the PT 11 Nesting Dinghy to Chesapeake Light Craft's stable of sophisticated and capable small boats.
The PT 11 is not a new design, having enjoyed a decade of very careful and incremental development by Russell and Ashlyn Brown. Russell Brown is a wunderkind boatbuilder, designer, and sailor with an international reputation for highly polished and thoughtfully executed wooden boats. Thus, the world took notice when Russell and Ashlyn founded a kit boat company, PT Watercraft, and released a nesting dinghy that was several orders of magnitude better than anything available.
Thanks to an ingenious connective scheme, the PT 11 can be assembled on the water. Performance is revelatory under both oar and sail. PT Watercraft soon had as many orders for kits as they could handle, and perhaps more...
The non-nesting version of the PT11, the PT Spear, is also available from CLC as a kit.
Looking to scale their business, in 2020 Russell and Ashlyn began working with John Harris and CLC to help with the manufacturing and distribution of the intricate--and intricately clever--PT 11 kit. (John and Russell last collaborated on Madness, John's 31-foot Pacific Proa.)
CLC is now producing PT 11 kits and options. We note that all of the elegant custom kit components and hardware--part of the special sauce that elevates the PT 11 above nesting dinghies that came before--will continue to be manufactured by PT Watercraft in Port Townsend, Washington. Sailing component "kits" do not require any assembly; they arrive ready to rig right out of the box.
The PT 11 is not for everyone. First, assembling a small wooden boat with this level of performance and sophistication requires a degree of patient craftsmanship and a willingness to pay attention to the details. And these details are lucidly and logically presented in the assembly manual included with the kit. Quick-and-dirty wood butchers aren't going to enjoy the process or reap the PT 11 design's potential.
Second, a kit with the PT 11's level of detail is expensive. However, the feedback over the years is that the investment is worth every penny, both in gaining a home-built dinghy of peerless performance and in the (often startling) resale value of the finished product.
Third, building a PT 11 is like taking a master class in epoxy skills. This is what one PT 11 builder wrote about the kit:
I would like to reiterate one point as far as the value is concerned: I've yet to float in my boat, but I'm confident it will work as designed. The money spent was worth it, just to have "taken the class" on working with epoxy, and stitch and glue boat building, getting a sweet boat at the end is, of course, a nice bonus. The manual describes such nuance of technique I feel like an expert, despite limited experience with epoxy and glass. That said by a working guy on a budget." ---A.S., a builder in Vermont
You really need to read and follow the instructions in the assembly manual when you build a PT 11.
Some hand tool skills are strongly recommended.
Have a dry and heatable location in which to build.
There is a time commitment of 200+ hours spread over 2 or more months. We want you to take your time and have fun.
A carefully built PT11 is surprisingly valuable and can last generations.
Frequently Asked Questions:
How much woodworking experience do I need to build a PT11? The most valuable single piece of the kit is the building manual. We don’t encourage people without hand tool experience to build the PT 11, but the manual allows someone with no epoxy or boatbuilding experience to build a really good boat.
Can you assemble the PT11 on the water? Yes. The key to the nesting PT11's easy and fast assembly is to separate the two main functions of the assembly operation: (A) alignment of the two halves, and (B) bolting them together securely. The custom alignment hardware is molded from carbon fiber. The custom connective hardware, used to join the two hull halves as they are correctly registered by the alignment hardware, are CNC-machined from 316-grade stainless steel.
How choppy can it be while assembling the PT11 on the water? Use common sense. In calmer conditions and mild chop you can launch each half and assemble the PT11 in the water. Don’t assume you could assemble this dinghy in the water, in a gale, if the mothership is sinking. Otherwise, assemble the boat on deck and either fashion a rope bridle and use the halyard to lower the boat as you would other dinghies or ease it over the mothership’s gunwale manually, stern first into the water.
Can I put an outboard on the PT11? Well, yes, but... The PT11 designer will state that he is anti-outboard for this boat. “A good rowboat is not typically a good motor boat.” Nevertheless, the PT11 can be used with a small outboard. A 2hp outboard is plenty of power to motivate this lightweight dinghy and is the maximum allowed by US Coast Guard regulations. Lighter electric motors are encouraged. Russell and Ashlyn have used the EP CARRY electric motor on the PT 11 with success. The EP Carry’s original mounting bracket was modified to fit over the inwale of the PT 11. Video of us testing the EP CARRY.
How long will it take me to build a PT11? Builders have different work habits, available time, and workspace conditions. Expect 190-300 hours. Ideally, builders have time to enjoy the project and admire their accomplishments. A comfortable pace, in our estimation, would be to allow yourself at least 3 months of part-time work. Detail work at the end of the project can eat up time, but it’s the details “that make the boat,” right?
How much do the two hull sections weigh when separated? The weight is fairly evenly distributed between the two halves. Each half of a completed PT11 weighs roughly 45 LBS (20.5kg).
How is towing performance? Towing the PT 11 in calmer weather or at lower speeds creates no drag compared to heavier dinghies. While towing, make sure the connective hardware is securely tightened, the daggerboard trunk cap and the hatch are well dogged down, and the painter is pulling from the tow eye at the stem and not the breasthook. As a very lightweight dinghy (one of its main features) it is going to jump in rough conditions and at higher speeds, as in our test video below. Of course, a nesting dinghy will ride happily on deck for more serious passages. We put the PT 11 through the ringer in this tow test.
What is the PT11's payload? USCG Safe Capacity Rating: 4 people or 518 lbs. Total of 600lbs Persons, Motor & Gear. Here's a fun load-test video.
Can I build this boat in a CLC class? Alas, no. The assembly sequence does not lend itself to the usual 5-1/2-day class format.
Are there any other rigging options? Not at this time. The rig, as developed, would be difficult to improve. PT Watercraft's sailing rig includes a 2-part carbon mast, a carbon boom, all associated hardware and running rigging, a sail, and a storage bag. The rig is extremely lightweight (10-1/2lbs, 4.8kg), and quick to set up. The spars for the PT11 are custom-made in the USA; the hardware is by Harken, Ronstan, and Allen.
Will a plans-only version be available? No. The PT11 was designed from the start as a kit boat and relies upon CNC-cut slots, tabs, scribe marks, and alignment notches for easy and accurate assembly. There are no fewer than five different thicknesses of marine plywood to optimize the strength-to-weight ratio, a challenge to replicate if building from scratch.
Does the PT11 have reserve flotation? There are three flotation compartments, one in the bow and two in the stern. (If you elect to use a motor, these compartments must be f illed with foam and cannot have access ports. There is a large storage compartment aft of the mast step.
Will the PT Spear (a non-nesting version of the PT11) be available? Yes. The PT Spear is now available (Winter 2023).
Kit Pickup Note: The PT11 & Spear epoxy kits are drop shipped directly to the customer from West System. An epoxy shipping fee will still apply for all kits picked up at the CLC facility or event. Call for more details.
Builders also looked at these other CLC Nesting Dinghies: