The
Dinghy
Cruising
Association

Services to Members

The Bulletin

The Association publishes a quarterly bulletin for its members.The bulletin is a fund of information for small boat sailors, and at a time when many of the major yachting magazines think that small boats start at 25 feet, its sailing articles, letters, technical tips and reminiscences are a welcome and refreshing change. The bulletin also serves as a forum for discussion and the subjects range from safety to sailing grounds, from navigation to new legislation. The Association has the back issues archived and catalogued and members can access useful articles for the price of a photocopy and the postage.

Sample Bulletin - No 188 in pdf format.

Technical Advice

The Association's technical advisers are available to help members with all manner of problems, including those to do with small boat safety. Many members have built their own dinghies, and there are study plans and full size plans available for the Roamer and Rebell dinghies as favoured by some of the members.

The Library

The Library has a total of around 700 titles covering a wide range of subjects including all aspects of dinghy cruising, more general books on the subjects of dinghy sailing, seamanship, rigs, sails, navigation, tides, meteorology, etc., books on canoeing, pilots and guides, boat building and associated matters, a large number of titles concerning various voyages, cruises and travels - in fact, covering just about every aspect of sailing.

The Library also contains three complete sets of all the Bulletins issued - commencing with No. 1 in 1955. These back numbers may be borrowed - up to 10 at a time - and an index is available for a small cost, which gives an indication of where - in those bulletins - to find subjects of a particular interest. The Library also contains limited numbers of other publications such as the American magazine "Messing About in Boats".

Books are available for loan to all DCA members - in the UK and abroad - for the cost of the return postage to the Librarian; the DCA pays the outward postage costs, with the exception that overseas borrowers pay the difference between the actual cost and that which would have been payable if the same package had been sent to an address in the UK.