Welcome to Nestaway Boats. Our unique sectional nesting boats - available in lengths 8 to 16ft - are much easier to transport and store than "normal" boats... yet they retain all the advantages of solid boats, compared with inflatable and folding boats. So, what is a "nesting boat"?  It's just like that "normal" boat, but made in two or more pieces that detach from and fit inside each other. They are much more portable and can be carried in ways that other boats can't: on the deck of a yacht, or a towbar platform on the back of your car, or on a tiny trailer, or even (some models) INSIDE an estate car. And they can be stored in the corner of your garage, shed or beach hut, horizontally or vertically.  They assemble, without tools, in moments; and their efficient hulls perform much better - oars, sail or motor - than most, if not all, folding/inflatable boats.   We have 6 designs, prices from £489 (sectional kayak).

Above: our nesting Pram dinghy on towbar platform Below: Same dinghy, stored on foredeck of a yacht

The most common questions are either "How do they seal?", or "Won't
they leak?". The answer (no) is essentially the same for both: think of it
as two (or in some cases three) small boats joined together to make one
bigger boat - each section will float in its own right. More technically the
partial bulkheads at the ends of each section come above the loaded
waterline, so whilst a thin film of water may come up between them, it
never gets high enough to enter the boat. There is no need for a seal as
such, apart from a rubber washer on the lower joining bolts.

The rest of this page offers a brief summary of the different boats, or you
can use these links to jump direct to our BOAT INFORMATION PAGES:

8ft Nesting Pram Dinghy         14ft TRIO multi-purpose boat
8ft Clinker Stem Dinghy          9ft Nesting Stem Dinghy         

Sectional sit-on kayak           NEW! TRIO 16        

We also sell Tohatsu (petrol) and Torqeedo (electric) outboard motors,
and have a lot of experience helping you to decide which will suit you
best, depending on your type of boating - click here: OUTBOARDS

Contact us by email: nestawayboats@yahoo.com
Or by phone: +44 (0) 1202 423094; +44 (0) 7768 600595 (mobile)

Magazine Reviews of our Boats here: What the Press Say

SEE US NEXT AT:
Beale Park Boat Show (near Reading, 8-10 June)

This is our two-part nesting Pram dinghy, often sold as a yacht tender, or to fit inside/on the back of a camper van (optional towbar mount). She is 8ft 2" long assembled, with a nested length of 4ft 8". The glassfibre hull is fitted out in Iroko or Teak. Assembly is very simple: hook the sections together then do up the bolts. It only takes a couple of minutes. The Pram is stable, dry, easy to row, and takes up to three adults. The optional sailing rigs can be used with or without booms. She can of course be fitted with a small petrol or electric outboard. Click here (Pram Dinghy) for more info.

The 14ft Trio multi-purpose-boat (above and right) splits into three sections that nest together to make a package that will fit in the back of many estate cars, from the Ford Focus and VW Golf upwards - no trailer or roof rack needed. Based on a modified canoe hull form, she can be sailed, rowed or motored and takes up to three adults, or two and two kids, for a day out on the river. The high length to beam ratio makes her an efficient rowing boat, and fast under power, achieving speeds of 10-

11 knots with a 3.5hp motor. A new outrigger float and wheel system is
now available, further enhancing her stability, capacity and versatility. 
Click here (14ft Trio) for more information.



A larger version, the Trio 16 (prototype shown above) was launched at the
2011 Southampton Boat Show. Two foot longer than the Trio 14, a foot
wider, and a few inches deeper, she has a lot more stability and carrying
capacity. Click here to see more:  NEW TRIO 16

Our two-section, 9ft clinker Stem Dinghy (9ft Stem Dinghy) is very popular - she seems to be just the right size for many different applications: Yacht Tender, Sailing for Fun, Rowing, Fishing and just general "Messing About in Boats". She can be launched singlehanded, but carries three adults comfortably.

In similar style we do an 8 foot nesting stem dinghy with stowed footprint of just 4ft square. Like the 9 foot she rows superbly, going along at hull speed with surprisingly little effort. If you haven't tried rowing this sort of dinghy it will be a revelation; in fact you'll start wondering  why you'd need an outboard at all - for most journeys you'd probably find the row ashore ashore would take less time than fitting the engine! The two sections can be hooked together and the bolts done up in less than a minute.  Everyone who sees it loves the look of this boat: it's not as stable or capacious as the others but as a two person plus luggage dinghy for a small yacht it's perfect... and on larger yachts it would make a brilliant second tender for when the crew have different shore-going needs.  It can stand upright too: in or on the back of a camper van perhaps, or even on the bathing platform of a motor cruiser.  Click here for more information:   8ft Stem Dinghy

Above - standing up in the front of a van

 

These sectional "sit-on-top" plastic kayaks are a lot of fun, and great value 
(starting from £495). The three pieces assembled make a two-person kayak,
or you can use just the bow and stern as a one-person kayak. The pieces
don't "nest" like our other boats but as the only company in the world offering
a whole range of sectional boats we felt this clever and versatile design 
deserved to be in our line-up. 
Click here for more information: Sectional sit-on-tops

Some frequently asked questions (more here: FAQs):

WHERE ARE THEY MADE?

All of our boats are hand made in England (except the sectional kayak).
Hulls and sails from Dorset, spars from Oxfordshire, joining bolts from
Birmingham. Most of the components are bespoke, and we offer a high
level of customisation.

The sectional kayaks are from a Swedish company, Point 65 North
(model range "Tequila").

WHAT'S WRONG WITH INFLATABLES? 

The most obvious problem is that they are the shape you can make from blowing air into a rubber tube. This is very different from the shape that is most suitable (and energy efficient) for rowing and sailing. Added to that, the tubes flex as you row, absorbing half your effort - like soft suspension in a car - so you virtually have to use them with an outboard. And of course they take ages to blow up, are vulnerable to damage (some people call them "deflatables"!) and theft (particularly because they usually have expensive motors on the back), and not very pretty. The smaller, lighter ones (ie those that are easier to handle and roll up) are not as stable as you might think either - and the "round tail" versions are not what we'd call brilliant with an engine. Click here (What's Wrong With Inflatables?) for more pictures and information.

In contrast, a Nestaway nesting, sectional or takeapart dinghy:
- ROWS WITH SUCH EASE that most of the time you just won't bother with an outboard. Rowing is good for you, and the environment... but if you do put a small engine on the transom, for longer journeys perhaps, the easily driven hull will go faster and further on the same amount of fuel.
- ASSEMBLES QUICKLY & EASILY, with the only loose components being the (easy to replace) bolts. Contrast this with blowing up an inflatable or assembling a folding boat...
- TOWS LIKE A DREAM when you can't be bothered to bring it up on deck
- SAILS with the optional rig... perfect for exploring that idyllic anchorage
- LOOKS STUNNING, far more "boaty" than a floppy inflatable or a boxy folding boat. You will feel proud at the dinghy dock, and probably be inundated with questions about your beautiful tender (please tell them where you got it!)
- STOWS IN A SMALLER SPACE than any same-size hard dinghy, not much more than a deflated inflatable with a hard floor, and less than an equivalent deflated RIB.

HOW DID IT ALL START?

We lived on board a 31ft yacht in the Caribbean for two years - our dinghy was equivalent to a car. It was used, hard, every day: carrying water, going to the shops, going to the bar, visiting other yachts, setting anchors, going snorkelling... and during that time we got through three inflatables. The first simply wore out and disintegrated in the sun. The second was stolen when it was very new (in many parts of the world an inflatable is like hard currency). And the third survived but is heavily patched. At one point we drowned our outboard after a disastrous beach landing and had to row our inflatable until we could find a replacement engine. It was hard work and far from pleasant, especially in the tropical sun, as we watched half our rowing energy being absorbed by the flexing of the rubber tubes.

"There must be a better solution", we thought - and that's when we started considering sectional nesting dinghies. We saw the odd one, and found plans for DIY building, but that nobody actually made them to buy. So now we do!

HOW DO WE CONTACT YOU?

By email - nestawayboats@yahoo.com

By phone - 01202 423094 or 07768 600595. We are still a fairly small business
and won't always be able to hear/answer - if so please leave a message and
we will get back to you as soon as possible.

We attend most of the major UK boat shows, particularly London ExCeL (January)
and Southampton (September), plus a scattering of the smaller ones.

Our boats can be seen at any other time by arrangement, and with a little
notice, near Christchurch or Bridport (ie east or west Dorset). Please note we
build almost entirely to order and therefore don't always have all varieties of boat available - don't just turn up "in the hope!"

Nestaway Boats is a limited company, established 2007.
For more contact details click here: Contact Form and Details

Quick Links:

8ft Nesting Pram Dinghy     14ft TRIO multi-purpose boat
7ft 10" Stem Dinghy           NN10 nesting stem dinghy
9ft Nesting Stem Dinghy     Point 65 Tequila! sectional kayaks
What the Press Say (Magazine Articles reviewing our boats)
Torqeedo Electric Motors

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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