Michael Weed - The Droleen (Dreoilín): A 12’ Traditional Clinker Sailing Dinghy

DBOGA member and graduate of the Boat Building Academy at Lyme Regis, Michael Weed, talks about the Droleen (Dreoilín), a one-class design dinghy built in the late 1890’s for members of Bray Sailing Club. The designer was club member Mr W Ogilvy and the original builder was Mr. Foley of Ringsend. The Droleen class was described by Henry Coleman Folkard in 1906 as being of “so safe and sturdy a form that they can carry their whole sail, without reefing, in almost any weather that an open boat can be out in”. Michael’s talk covers not just the origins and history of the class but also the construction of a Droleen recently undertaken by Michael and his colleagues at the Boat Building Academy.