...challenging a Rottweiler, the Puddle Duck just jumps in and goes at it, without seeming to realize it might look a little silly to observers. Or maybe it just doesn’t care. Free Puddle Duck plans are available from the website www.pdracer.com/free-plans/, or from Jim Michalak at www.duckworksbbs.com/plans/jim/catbox/index.htm. Learn more at www.pdracer.com. Tom Pamperin The Puddle Duck is not a strict...
Boat Profile
A simple and affordable solo canoe
...as directed by the instructions but held off on installing the keel to see how the canoe would handle without it. Peter H. Thompson, www.phtpht.com The raised seat makes for a comfortable paddling position and facilitates getting in and out of the canoe. I finished the canoe in roughly 100 hours over three weeks and I think most builders, even...
...still builds in wood, but Luke turned to alu-minum in the 1970s. Following Nielsen’s own pattern, new construction can now be done at Walsteds (www.walsteds.dk), or Rockport Marine in Maine (www. rockportmarine.com). The latter came into play because Rockport’s owner, Taylor Allen, cares not only for his own double-enders NORTHERN CROWN and FERN but also about a dozen Nielsen yachts...
...https://www.storerboatplans.com/boatplans/goat-island-skiff-simple-sailing-boat-excellent-performance-lightweight. You can see pictures and contact other builders at www.facebook.com/groups/GoatIslandSkiff. Kits are available from Clint Chase at https://www.chase-small-craft.com/. Particulars Length 15′ 6″ (4.73m) Beam 5′ (1.52m) Hull weight 128 lbs (57kg) Sail area 105 sq ft (9.75 sq meters) More than 1,000 Goat Island Skiffs have been built since Michael Storer first drew the plans 20 years ago. ...
A McKenzie-style drift boat
...aluminum. A few wooden boat shops still build drift boats and sell kits and plans, for example Mike Baker of Bend, Oregon (see www.bakerwood driftboats.com). At the same time, interest in preserving the heritage of wooden drift boats has been renewed. Eagle Rock Lodge in Vida, Oregon, hosts a McKenzie River Wooden Boat Festival each April (see www.eaglerocklodge.com) drawing as...
Fitting Out Guide
Surface reflection with LED lighting
...Tack it to the back with 3/8″ or 1/2″ tacks, and use contact cement to bond the overlapping ends. Materials LED lights and power supply. The strip lighting and 6-watt power supply used for the lamp shown in this article are made by Armacost Lighting, www.armacostlighting.com, and are available from Lee Valley Tools, www.leevalley.com, specify indoor natural white LED tape...
Boat Profile
A 1950s classic in lapstrake plywood
...223-lb, 50-hp Honda outboard meant Taggart had to raise the transom’s upper edge by about 3″. “They still make that stain,” Taggart the conservator says, pointing at the nearly-invisible line where the top of the original mahogany transom meets the new filler piece. The stain to which he was referring comes from Sandusky Paint Co. (www.sanpaco.com), the Ohio-based company that...
Boat Profile
The wood-and-canvas Moosehead Laker
...stepped back onto the dock at Grant’s, FIELD OF STREAMS’s mahogany and cedar were ablaze in the midday sun. While Stevens motored toward his century-old camp, my mind wandered back over the foggy morning, to the era when wood and canvas reigned. Jerry Stelmok, Island Falls Canoe, www.islandfallscanoe.com. Rollin Thurlow, Northwoods Canoe Company, www.wooden-canoes.com. Bill Stevens, Kennebago Fly Fishing, kennebago@me.com...
News and Curiosities
...are available in three models and can be ordered through the new www.downeastpeapod.com website: • “The Chevy” with all-painted surfaces. • “The Cadillac” with varnished seats and sheer strakes • “The Rolls” varnished inside and out. For more information go to www.downeastpeapod.com or contact Donald Tofias. President & CEO Sparkman & Stephens, LLC, 401-847-5449. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram....
Technique
A gallery of ideas to improve your small boat
...on a C.W. Barrett design of 1915, and the hardware is from Shaw & Tenney (www.shawandtenney.com) of Orono, Maine. The otherwise vulnerable socket locks in its rowing position, and is easily unlocked and flipped into the boat for storage and transport. A Compass Guard A thwart-mounted compass in an open boat is vulnerable to all sorts of knocks from oars,...
Boat Profile
A weekend cruiser from Jim Michalak
...typical cost of study plans, he puts construction plans in the hands of dreamers so they can immediately become builders. He also lends confidence with information through his online boat-design articles (www.jimsboats.com) and his book, Boatbuilding for Beginners (and Beyond!) (www.duckworksbbs.com/ media/books/michalak/index.htm). Fuel efficiency makes for longer trips. As an engineer, Jim thinks a lot about things like power-to-weight ratio,...
Boat Profile
A stitch-and-glue solo expedition boat
...adrenaline output, this boat deserves a close look. For more information, contact Chesapeake Light Craft, www.clcboats.com. The Faering Cruiser’s long, straight keel and ample skeg make for good tracking, while near-circular sections offer minimal wetted surface for fast sailing and rowing. The accommodations (bottom profile) are small but surprisingly comfortable—even for the mildly claustrophobic. CLC Faering Particulars: LOA 22’6″ LWL...
News and Curiosities
...life and her aim is to have an impact on reversing the high suicide rates found in her school district. Below are two videos, one is about the student kayaking program, and the other is a beautiful short film about her approach to teaching. Read more about the kayaking program that she’s launched on the Thames here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1KvrkTpgo8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mh3gPBmauZg...
News and Curiosities
...to create a multi-perspective and multi-path take on historical narrative, and to challenge assumptions about the importance of the commons and the role in society of people living at the fringe.” Read and see some beautiful stuff on his site, “A Secret History of American River People,” and catch a glimpse of his faithful companion Hazel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaSuQ_olP9c https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1245766964/a-secret-history-tennesee-river-expedition ...
Boat Profile
An engaging English dinghy
...website at www.ukmirrorsailing.com includes links to sites documenting particular Mirror constructions, and a YouTube search will quickly reveal posted videos of various build and restoration projects. The kits come with a comprehensive 50-page building manual. The boat’s spars all fit inside the hull (at least with the gunter rig), and that, combined with a relatively light hull weight, means that...
Boat Profile
A modern form of an old idea
...discover new islands in the vast ocean. John Marples is a yacht designer and marine surveyor (www.searunner.com) living in Penobscot, Maine. Outrigger Junior Particulars [table] Length/15′0″ Beam/12′0″ Hull weight/260 lbs Maximum payload/450 lbs Sail area/165 sq ft [/table] Plans and kits for the Outrigger Junior are available from Chesapeake Light Craft, 1805 George Ave., Annapolis, MD 21401; 410–267–0137; www.clcboats.com....
Boat Profile
A little camp cruiser for big dreams
Never mind that until grounding on a mudflat less than 30 miles from the finish line, SCAMP #4 breezed through a difficult year in the 300-mile Everglades Challenge adventure race a few years ago, pressing on comfortably when many bigger boats had to quit. Never mind that during the inaugural Race to Alaska earlier this year, SCAMP #11 completed a...
...handle solo. Frank Kieleszek The first completed Jewell hull was built upside-down over molds and bulkheads at French & Webb in Belfast, Maine. Frank Kieleszek Cut by computercontrolled routers at Hewes & Company in Blue Hill, Maine, the kit components came together quickly. In one spring afternoon sail, Kieleszek and I experienced just about everything. We sailed downwind out of...
Technique
A home-built go-anywhere cart
...aren’t identical but they aren’t critical. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pv_KL6aPXkM Christopher Cunningham is the editor of Small Boats. Afterword: 7/12/24—My YouTube suggestions turned up a video about the Rolligon, a cylindrical low-pressure tire invented 1951 by William Albee and patented in 1957. He had been inspired by Inuit using inflated rollers made of sealskins to roll boats ashore. Rolligon tires are currently being...
Boat Profile
Strip-built in cedar, spruce, and pine
...felt getting aboard diminished. Getting underway is best accomplished with short, smooth, even strokes. Once the boat was moving I never felt any lack of control. Spencer Leonard, www.spencerleonard.com Guideboat builder Justin Martin takes Erin out or summer row on the occasion of their engagement. She has her backrest up for comfort; Justin has his down for rowing. My rowing...
A charming house and camp boat
...trailer after retrieving, a small jack and a couple of boards will get her aligned properly. The original boat was completed in about 700 hours, spread over two years of weekends working outdoors from spring to fall. Roy estimates that with the comprehensive plans he has now prepared, the boat could be completed in about 600 hours. Costs are always...
...local foundry. The gate allows the main mast to be stepped quickly and easily. My overall impression of WAXWING underway is of gracious comfort and competence. The big rig and long waterline give her surprising speed for a 14′ boat, letting her keep company with Sea Pearls and Caledonias. The mainsail is simple to hoist, and once it’s up, its...
Product Reviews
A self-closing bag with a magnetic seal
...of air around the phone makes it difficult to operate, so the air must be squeezed out before the bag is closed. Once sealed, the bag is completely waterproof and is rated by the manufacturer for depths of up to 100 feet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRjtfFUEZJA The transparent TPU film allows full operation of the touchscreen, camera, and telephone functions of my phone....
Adventures
Bringing history back to life
...frequent. Art preferred to come around when there work was to be done. He told me about working after the war at General Dynamics Electric Boat in Groton, Connecticut. He was the chief procurement officer for the USS NAUTILUS, the world’s first nuclear-powered submarine. Only Art and Admiral Rickover had complete access to the boat during its construction. Art didn’t...
Technique
A guide to orderly storage and transport
...roof racks (visit www.hoister.com for details). For heavy loads and general utility, I made a boat hoist from a trailer winch. Its line leads from the winch up to the peak of the garage, and then down to a ring. Two lines attached to this rig each lead to a strongback with a bolt at its center. Attached to this...