Mertens-Goosens PK78 and D4 Dinghy
Description
The Mertens-Goossens PK78 is a Belgian-designed pram dinghy by naval architect Jacques Mertens-Goossens, intended as a simple, multi-purpose tender for rowing, sailing, or outboard use on calm waters like ponds, small lakes, or sheltered harbors. Introduced in the early 2000s as an amateur builder's project, it serves as a successor to the D4, using just two sheets of 1/4" plywood for an easy, scarf-free build via stitch-and-glue epoxy and fiberglass. Mertens, known for over 100 small craft designs, created it for DIY enthusiasts during the plywood boat revival, with plans available from sources like Duckworks or directly from the designer. No factory production; dozens built by amateurs.
Construction Details
| Designer | Mertens-Goossens |
|---|---|
| Length | 8.000 ft |
| LOA | 7.830 ft |
| Beam | 3.920 ft |
| Displacement | 75 lb |
| Max Draft | 2.000 ft |
| Min Draft | 0.500 ft |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | - |
|---|---|
| j | - |
| p | - |
| e | - |
| p2 | - |
| e2 | - |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Sails
Mertens-Goosens PK78 and D4 Dinghy - SPRIT
| Luff | 6.25 ft - (1905 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | 5.5 ft - (1676 mm) |
| Leech | 8.5 ft - (2591 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 84.5 ° |
| Diag (clew/throat) | 7.92 ft - (2414 mm) |
| Head | 3.5 ft - (1067 mm) |
| Area | * 30.95 ft² |
| Edit in Calculator | |
Disclaimer. Boats are not all the same -- even when produced in the same factory of the same model. Sailrite does its best to publish accurate dimensions, but we often find it worthwhile to have our customers measure their boats carefully before we produce kits for them. You should take the same precautions, especially when the data is not from Sailrite. The information on this site is not guaranteed to be accurate. Sailrite offers this content as a service to our community, but takes no responsibility for the reliability of the data provided.