Dinghy Dinghy Bang Bang and other horrible names for your tender.

Buzzing southward along the coast of Plymouth, Massachusetts towing my blue Achilles tender.  

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The Story of "Dinghy Dinghy Bang Bang"

About 10 years ago I was living aboard a Cal 20 in Oakland, California.  The Oakland/Alameda Estuary was my sailing area at that time and one day a friend scored a little wooden tender for free.

This little wooden tender had been around for awhile (hence the free) and therefore needed a bit of TLC to get back into seaworthy condition.

The little wooden tender was framed with wood, planked with wood and then covered with a layer of fiberglass and other miscellaneous aftermarket additions that peeled off rather easily one warm sunny Saturday afternoon.

The after market additions peeled off easily at first as we gawked over the new five or six foot long maritime acquisition, then got tougher with the smaller bits.  So, after about 5 minutes of peeling off the fiberglass aftermarket layer we stopped and smoked a couple of cigarettes.

I think we next went to the nearby marine supply and picked up a couple of tubes of 3M 5200 sealant along with maybe a putty knife,

Back at the little wooden tender we managed to get rid of the remainder of the aftermarket outer coating and sealed the space between the planking with the 5200 sealant.
The little wooden tender was ready for a sea trial.

So we picked up the nice little tender stuck it in the back of the pickup truck drove a few blocks to the Oakland/Alameda Estuary dropped it in and it immediately began filling with water.

"The planks might need to swell up a bit."

"Yeah."

We stepped the mast attached the boom and rudder raised the sail tossed in a bucket and a couple of life jackets got in the boat where one of us immediately started bailing while the other paddled or adjusted the sail in the small puffs of wind that may or may have not picked up as we sailed or paddled a couple of times across the Estuary and then stuck the thing back in the truck and maybe somewhere along the way the name "Dinghy Dinghy Bang Bang" came up along with a mention of Dick Van Dyke or Crackitus Potts.

Confused lovestruck Sagamore Bridge graffiti.

About a week or two after the sea trial a natural foods market opened nearby and they were looking to put a nautical spin on their new store.  My friend sold them "Dinghy Dinghy Bang Bang" for 200 dollars and last I knew it stood near the entrance filled with organic popcorn and tortilla chips.

Fair Winds
Captain Bill