BoatsScorpion Dinghy

Scorpion Dinghy

Fractional Sloop · Centerboard Dinghy · First built 1960

A hard-chined fractional sloop designed by Taprell Dorling for plywood construction and popular as a home-built kit

Designed by Taprell Dorling, built by Honnor Marine Ltd.

LOA
Beam
Draft (max)
Displacement
Hull type
Centerboard Dinghy

Is it for you?

Character

Where this design lands on the numbers a shopper trusts — read straight from her own ratios.

TrailerableBeam 1.40 m — inside the 2.55 m no-permit tow width across most of Europe, and the 2.59 m US and Canadian limit. About 81 kg of hull, so roughly 700 kg on a trailer: check that against your own towing rating.Ramp-launchableAbout 81 kg of hull, with a keel that raises or a draft shallow enough to float off a trailer — she can go back on the trailer at the ramp, not only into the water.Shoal draftDraws 0.18 m, board up where she has one — creeks, sandbars and thin anchorages most keels have to stay out of.
CoastalBluewater

At 3.25 she sits above the 2.0 line — beamy for her weight, and happiest coastal.

Capsize screening 3.25
EasygoingPowered-up

53.9 — a lot of sail for her weight; powered-up and eager, a real performer.

Sail area / displacement 53.9

Powered-up and quick to accelerate — this one likes to sail.

  • Narrower than ~84% of boats her size on file

Compared with 372 boats of the same type within a quarter of her length.

The record

Full specifications

The complete reference set — tap any figure to switch between metric and imperial.

Dimensions
Weights
Rig & sail area
Rig
Fractional Sloop
Ratios
SA / displacement
53.9
Capsize screening
3.25
Hull
Hull type
Centerboard Dinghy
Construction
Wood
Production
Years built
First built 1960
Units built
1900
Designer
Taprell Dorling
Builder
Honnor Marine Ltd

Boats like this, on the water

Nobody has filmed this one — but these are close.

Comparable boats the fleet has on camera: same type, within a quarter of her length. Open the boat, or watch the video — a timestamp means she only appears in passing.

International 144.27 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA high-performance development racing dinghy that has served as a testing ground for innovations like the trapeze since 1928
Huff of Arklow - Uffa Fox-designed yacht featuring a fin and skeg, stepped sheerline0:30from Classic Yacht TV
Several Under License 29er4.40 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA high-performance skiff designed by Julian Bethwaite, featuring a powerful fractional rig for competitive racing
Marie Rønningen, Olympic gold contender7:24from SEILmagasinet
Spindrift 134.06 mSame hull family0.2 m shorterA Hubert Vandestadt-designed centerboard dinghy with a high sail-area-to-displacement ratio for lively, responsive sailing
Our Boat Got Stolen 😡… So We Built a New One (in just ONE Week)from WhiteSpotPirates
Hunter Marine 1404.27 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA lightweight fractional sloop designed for responsive dinghy sailing with a high sail-area-to-displacement ratio
Sailing Dighies NOT to Buy - How to Learn Sailing Ep 318 - Lady K Sailing6:19from Lady K Sailing
CL Sailboats 144.32 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA 109-kilogram fractional sloop built since 1980, offering a high sail-area-to-displacement ratio for lively handling
TERRIFYING Sailboat Rescue in Puget Sound - ep 321 - Lady K Sailing10:06from Lady K Sailing
O'day 123.76 mSame hull family0.5 m shorterA lightweight cat-rigged dinghy featuring a simple unstayed mast and daggerboard, sharing her hull with the Widgeon
The Pilot Who Crashed His Plane and Was Reborn on a Sailboat | #SAL #34314:23from Hashtag Sal

The family

Related models

The designs closest to hers — usually the rest of the builder's range, sometimes the same hull sold under another name.

Sabre DinghyA Rex Fettell-designed single-handed dinghy originally intended for amateur stitch-and-glue constructionCormorant 12A gaff-rigged centerboard dinghy with a high sail-area-to-displacement ratio designed by Roger Dongray for lively performanceDrascombe DabberA John Watkinson-designed sprit-rigged daysailer with a centerboard, built since 1970 for shallow-water versatility

Keep looking

Nothing filmed of this one yet

Two ways to keep looking — both search what the fleet has actually recorded.

Search the fleet for boats like thisAsk the fleet about the Scorpion Dinghy

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