Mark Sweetnam - Báidín – the Tale of a Chameleon Nesting Dinghy

For a long time Mark wanted a hard tender that was good to row and sail, as opposed to the ubiquitous inflatable dinghy with obligatory outboard motor. But while an inflatable dinghy could be deflated and stored easily under a berth, the storage of a hard dinghy would be a challenge. Then at the London Boat Show a few years ago he saw the solution – a nesting dinghy that divided in two with one half sitting neatly inside the other, so occupying only half the original space when stored. There were no nesting dinghies – new or used – available for sale anywhere so there was no option but to build one himself. He selected the Chameleon, a stitch-and-glue spritsail rig designed by Danny Greene in the ‘70s, and widely used by blue water sailors. He made some design changes to better suit north-west Atlantic conditions and constructed her during the lockdown in early 2021. He sailed her daily on the west coast during the summer of 2021 and became a big fan of the spritsail rig in the process. In this talk Mark describes the nesting dinghies available, why he selected the Chameleon, the design changes he made, the construction, his sailing experiences with her during her first season and why he has become such a fan of the spritsail rig.