July 2016

From The Editor

The Inside Passage

When I read Quill Goodman’s account of his Race to Alaska in 2015, I was amazed at how difficult the conditions were. He, Dylan, and Mitch were always working against headwinds and often sitting out storms. I’ve been up the Inside Passage twice, and my two experiences were so different from each other and from Quill’s that you wouldn’t guess it was the same place.

Profiles

Rollin has a long history of sharing his designs and hires young builders so he can pass along his knowledge. He has licensed his Atkinson Traveler design to a handful of other builders, among them Jeanne Bourquin in Ely, Minnesota. She has been building the Atkinson Traveler since the 1990s and believes the Traveler is “as close to perfect as possible.”

Atkinson Traveler

The pinnacle of wilderness canoes

The Atkinson Traveler is Rollin Thurlow’s favorite canoe, and that’s saying something because Rollin has been building canoes in Maine for 38 years. We’ll take a look at what makes this wood-and-canvas canoe stand out among all the others he has built.

The boom and the foot of the jib are both set high, providing a clear view forward and eliminating the need to tell passengers to duck when coming about.

Glen-L 15

Building experience

When Kelsey Johnson decided he wanted a boat for exploring the lakes near his British Columbia home, he had never sailed a boat, let alone built one. The Glen L-15 turned out to be the perfect introduction for both boatbuilding and sailing.

The Race to Alaska

High Hopes, Dogged Determination

In a race as long and as arduous as the 2015 R2AK, coming in last can be counted as a victory. The weather took a heavy toll on the race fleet—many of the boats withdrew and a few needed to be rescued.

I used the Siwash system frequently with my Gokstad faering on a second cruise up the Inside Passage. The anchor is ready to drop over the side with the retrieval line secured to the stock and the chain, rode, and painter joined to the shank.

Tsimshian anchoring

Dropping the anchor while standing ashore

When you come ashore for a quick stop or for an overnight stay, Tsimshian anchoring is a simple way to keep your boat afloat and off the beach.

Reader Built Boat

The Candlefish has comfortable seating for the family and plenty of freeboard.

LADY LOUISE

A Candlefish 13

Small Boats Monthly reader Scott Rowley read about the Candlefish outboard skiff in our April 2015 issue and decided it not only would be a good tender for his sailboat, but also better suited than his car for taking his family of four, not to mention the dachshund, out to dinner and visiting friends near his South Puget Sound peninsula home.

Reviews

The SynMat Mega is inflated by means of a bag called a Schnozzel Pumpbag. It takes about 90 seconds and three fillings of the Schnozzel to bring the SynMat Mega up to a firm pressure

Exped Mats

Uncommon comfort

Getting a good night’s sleep is the best way to get your day off to a good start. Two sleeping mats by Exped that are as good as any mattress at home.

The water-cooled stone makes quick work of sharpening tools without affecting their temper.

Makita Blade Sharpener

Quick, sharp edges

Sharp edge tools can save you a lot of time when you’re working with wood, but sharpening your blades by hand can nibble away at those savings. The Makita wet-wheel sharpening tool can give you razor-sharp edges in a fraction of the time.

News and Curiosities

Glen-L’s Moving: We’d All Like to Go to Their Warehouse Sale

Heard through the grapevine thanks to editor Christopher Cunningham, Glen-L has announced an Office and Warehouse sale. Masts! Tools! Model boats! No prices, they're asking only for reasonable offers. Chris says, "If I were in the area I'd sure get there early."

Video: Popular Norwegian Video of John A. Andersen Now with English Subtitles

An inside look at boatbuilder John A. Andersen's pram-building class, and a portion of what KYSTEN is all about. New main titles in English serve to narrate unspoken portions where captioning helps the viewer understand the action, and of course there are new English subtitles for the various speakers.

Video: The Pirogue Maker, 1949

This 14-minute piece of vintage film shows Cajun craftsman making a pirogue the "old way": Hewn of a cyprus log by hand; probably the last pirogue made this fashion.

Amazing Resource: Nick Schade’s How-To Videos

Nick Schade is producing beautiful videos that are helpful and chockablock full of information. Right now he's working on a strip-planed microBootlegger, but he's got other playlists and builds: A skin-on-frame microBootlegger Sport and a Petrel Play.

Natalie Warren’s Series About Great Places to Paddle

Warren shares both overnight and day trip possibilities with readers, and has all sorts of boaters in mind when she shares what she's found.

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12-foot lightweight lapstrake double paddle canoe

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