Quite odd, a see-through dinghy but rather funky too. Leica M9 Elmar 50 2.8

It always seemed like a great idea, to cover a dinghy with see-through material rather than boring PVC so I finally got around to it. The dacron skin on the Stasha needed replacing so I thought a little experiment was in order.

There are no screws or staples holding the material down. It is all done with VHB tape. This is a double sided acrylic foam tape which has phenomenal sticking abilities. The advantages of using VHB is that it is so clean and so neat compared to trying to do the same thing with a sealant. The time saved is enormous.

The down side of VHB is the shocking cost of the stuff. 3M make the best but it can cost 80€ a roll (33m) or more! There are cheaper brands which are fine for this application, even they stick tenaciously to the window material. It comes in many colours including clear.

The window material adds about a kilo to the weight of the dinghy which is not much but it is noticeably heavier than when it had the dacron skin.

Now all I have to do is test it for a few months to see whether or not it is durable and safe.

Quite hard to photograph and show the invisible covering. Here the Stasha ST (see-through) floats. Leica M9, Elmar 50 2.8

It certainly is a lot of fun using a transparent dinghy and the looks you get are most amusing. It must be said that there are not that many lightweight wooden see-through nesting dinghies out there.

And like all Woodenwidget dinghies, the Stasha also sails and sails very well. Here’s a short video

For more info about the Stasha, click here