Design and Lineage
The Dink sits one foot longer than the Dyer Dhow and carries nearly twice the weight, a deliberate step up from the smaller stablemate rather than a scaled copy anchor. The earliest examples from the 1930s were wood lapstrake before the builder moved to "Dyeresin" fiberglass construction, and the fiberglass hull was built to last. What distinguishes the Dink from a mere yacht tender is the true centerboard — not a daggerboard — housed in a trunk, with a wooden plate fiberglassed in to take the centerboard lever. All other hull features are made of teak, and the two-part gunwale and rubrail are riveted through the top of the hull to each other, a detail that speaks to a structured composite build rather than a throwaway molded shell.
Rig and Handling
She is rigged with proprietary bronze Dyer parts, and her chainplates are bronze tubes that pass through sockets braced by the forward thwart, held by clevis pins and cotter rings anchor. The two-part mast and spruce boom break down for cartopping, and the mast collars show wedge-shaped ends that fit snugly together and sound, with a good mast step. On the water the Dyer Dink rewards repeat sailing with lively feedback, a boat easy to learn and difficult to master in equal measure. The Riverside Yacht Club fleet frostbites Dyer Dinks, and the boat is a choice for that sport because she stays dry, an unusual virtue in a 10-foot centerboarder driven through winter chop.
Construction Notes
The composite deck and hull pair fiberglass with wood, and the thwarts were throughbolted to flanges formed in the original fiberglass hull. The centerboard trunk fiberglass is pretty thin, however, and delamination on the underside was caused by the wooden plate set into the trunk to accommodate the centerboard lever. That is a known structural soft spot worth knowing, though the example surveyed showed rudder, centerboard, and bronze hardware in decent shape, with mast collars and step sound.
Known Issues
A Dink can turn over or, more likely, swamp, so she is not a self-righting lifeboat and demands respect in a breeze. The aft thwart on one documented example curled badly at the forward edge where it had not been screwed down, a reminder that the teak joinery needs its fastenings maintained. The thin trunk fiberglass and the embedded wooden plate remain the principal construction watchpoints.
Ownership and Use
Production began in 1934 and roughly 1,400 were built, with the complete line still offered by The Anchorage in Warren, Rhode Island per period reporting. The Riverside Dyer Dinghy Association keeps a deep fleet — regularly 35 to 40 on the line each Sunday, 62 in a Big Fleet Open Regatta, and 24 entries in a 2019 frostbite championship — so a used Dink enters a living one-design community rather than a forgotten class anchor. For the owner who wants a tender that sails like a boat, the Dink delivers a documented, supportable path.
The Verdict
The Dyer Dink is a serious little sailboat disguised as a tender: Rhodes' cat-rigged centerboard design with bronze Dyer fittings, a teak-trimmed composite hull, and a dry, responsive feel that has anchored a frostbiting fleet for decades. She is heavier and more capable than the Dhow, yet the thin centerboard trunk and the swamping risk mean she rewards an owner who inspects and maintains the wood-and-fiberglass details.
Pros
- True centerboard with bronze Dyer rigging and sound mast step
- Dry, lively handling that rewards repeat sailing
- Active class community with regattas and frostbiting
Cons
- Thin centerboard-trunk fiberglass with embedded wood plate prone to delamination
- Can swamp or turn over; not self-righting
- Teak thwarts can curl if fastenings are missed
