This lightweight 12-footer is simple to build and all the materials, including the rig and sail can be found in one trip to a well-stocked home-center outlet for around $600. Despite the straightforward building steps, the boat has very quick performance. With a daggerboard and a full-length keelson to maintain steering with the daggerboard up, the boat tacks fast yet has great directional stability at speed. The Wing-Dinghy is really a 12' edition of the very fast "International 14's", with some scaled-down lines of the Lake Garda Racers thrown in.

The boat features a large, fully-battened mainsail, plus jib and kick-up rudder. The stock hull weighs only 125 lbs, is naturally buoyant, and also has four flotation compartments with air-out vents. Wing-decks on each side provide comfortable, controlled seating when hiking out. More advanced builders might want to use lighter plywood, a carbon-fiber windsurfer mast, and rig a bowsprit and a third "Jibbaker" sail for extreme speed performance.

Click Here or on the image above to view the Wing-Dinghy's building sequence.

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The Wing-Dinghy is a boat which lends itself to playful fun and our builder's photographs really share that feeling. Great paint schemes and great shots!

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