One of the cool things about metal boats is how easy they are to modify. Our dinghy is a good (if somewhat petite) example of this.

We’ve found that our pointed bow is never in the chop, even when going slow, and it makes for a poor pusher when we want to use it to maneuver the mother ship. So, we decided to cut off the pointy end and replace it with something with a gentler feel to it. Shane, one of the welders at Ventura Harbor Boat Yard, is administering to the dinghy above.

Here is the bow, sans point.

Shane then welded on a piece of 1/4" (6mm) aluminum plate to create a platform for our bow bumper.

This looks a little clunky in this photo, but in reality it is kind of cool – somewhat industrial in appearance. And it will work very well when we push with it (on our own or someone else’s boat). The flat sandwich fender is made in New Zealand by So.Pac Industries, and available in marine stores in the US and elsewhere.

We’ve added a string of seven 8" x 20" (200 x 500mm) fenders to each side. These do three things. First, they provide much better protection from our aluminum toe rail. Second, they add a considerable amount of buoyancy to the boat – about 500 pounds (220 kg). Finally, they increase the stability of the dinghy, which will be welcome in bigger waves.

Now what we need to do is get back to cruising so we can test this out!