Boat Profile

February 2026

Seahopper Lighter

A flatpack boat for sail, oar, and outboard

Nic Compton reviews the Seahopper Lighter, a small folding boat that has been around for more than 50 years and has proved itself as a sailboat, rowboat, motorboat, and load-carrying family tender.

February 2026

Chestnut Kruger

A sporty 16′ canoe from Newfound Woodworks

At 16′, the Chestnut Kruger from Newfound Woodworks is, perhaps, the ideal canoe size. Ben Fuller reviews the strip-planked kit-built canoe suited to both tandem and solo paddlers.

Small Boats Annual 2013

Hazel 18

A brand-new classic daysailer

Small Boats Annual 2013

The Cross Island Skiff

Ready to carry just about anything, just about anywhere

For exploring backwaters and uncharted beaches and islands, if there is an "all-terrain vehicle" of the marine world, this boat might well be it.

Small Boats Annual 2013

ELLAJEN

A sailing canoe

The early Prospector was developed to carry a load of gear, to cope with choppy waters, and to be maneuverable.

Small Boats Annual 2013

Rangeley Boat

A nimble rowing craft from Maine’s lake country

Developed in the late-19th century for Maine lake fishing camps, the Rangeley type has long been admired as a capable small craft with excellent rowing characteristics.

January 2026

Gartside Design #261

A double-ended launch

A classic double-ended launch with open cockpit, Paul Gartside’s Design #261 was designed to be built with two layers of glued fore-and-aft planking and powered by an inboard diesel motor. Nigel Sharp reviews a new build that retains all the aesthetic appeal of the original but combines a strip-planked, cold-molded hull with an electric motor.

January 2026

BayCruiser 23

Water ballast creates two boats in one

The fiberglass-hulled sloop-rigged BayCruiser 23 is suitable for coastal cruising, but with its water-ballast system and lightweight rig, says Nic Compton, it also offers sailing performance more often associated with smaller sailing dinghies.

Small Boats Annual 2013

Drifter

Yacht tender, daysailer, trainer

Designed as an able yacht tender, Drifter's wider aft sections favors buoyancy and stability over pure rowing.

Small Boats Annual 2013

Sea Flea Hydroplane

Small boat, big fun

There's no telling how many of these little hydroplanes have been constructed, but their appeal is as fresh now as it was 50 years ago.

December 2025

Nexus Marine San Juan Dory

A plywood skiff for crabbing, trolling, and overnight camping

A workaday skiff that can plane with ease and has space for passengers and lobster traps, the San Juan Dory is a challenging but satisfying build for amateurs.

December 2025

Malahini

A classic 16′ runabout from Glen-L Marine

Even though it’s powered by an outboard motor, Glen-L’s Malahini looks like a classic runabout from a bygone era, but its hull is of plywood on oak frames, and it’s designed to be built by amateurs with some experience.

Small Boats Annual 2013

Phoenix III

A sail-and-oar beach cruiser

Sailing to windward, reaching, running, the heading doesn't seem to matter; the Phoenix III slips easily through the water.

Small Boats Annual 2012

Amphibi-ette

The camper bus of sailboats

The Amphibi-ette is aimed squarely at young families for whom absolute practicality is more important than traditional aesthetics.

Small Boats Annual 2012

St. Ayles Skiff

Inspiring the community rowing revival

This double-ender is sleek, with a finer bow than stern, and both ends flowing to flatter floors as one moves toward amidships.

November 2025

Whitmore Peapod

A classic working boat built the traditional way

Originally conceived as working boats for the lobstermen of Maine, peapods are appreciated for their maneuverability, load-carrying capacity, and good looks. A new replica build of a 1920s original proves the type’s long-lasting appeal.

November 2025

Guppy 9

An all-around dinghy for a first-time builder

An all-around small boat that looks good, performs well, and can be sailed, rowed, and motored, the Guppy 9 is also a fine introduction to the technique of stitch-and-glue plywood boatbuilding.

October 2025

Liz Pulling Boat

A boat suited to amateur builders and novice scullers

An elegant rowboat for sliding-seat rowing, the Liz offers good stability combined with pleasing performance. And, although originally designed for lapstrake construction, it can now be strip-planked.

October 2025

Candu E-Z Mini Tugboat

An easily built family boat that brings smiles and joy

A tugboat nearly always raises a smile, and the Berkeley Engineering Candu E-Z Mini Tugboat is no exception. Fun to look at, the boat is also easy to build and well-suited to family use.

September 2025

Turnabout/N-10

A much-loved sail-training boat

The Turnabout was once a widely popular sail-training dinghy in the U.S. Northeast. More than 60 years since it was first adopted in Ipswich Bay, the class is still loved by many for its versatility, simplicity, and above all, its offering of social sailing for children.

September 2025

Annapolis Wherry Tandem

A robust shell for one or two rowers

Developed from Chesapeake Light Craft’s successful Annapolis Wherry, the Tandem version can be solo- or double-rowed and be fitted with either fixed or sliding seats.

August 2025

Newfound Woodworks’ Otter

A playful solo canoe

The sweet-lined Otter may be one of Newfound Woodworks’ smallest strip-planked boats, but this solo canoe has space enough for a paddler and a dog, a child, or overnight camping gear.

August 2025

The Tango 17

A durable two-person rowboat

Built of modern materials but with lines that hark back to the 19th century, Whitehall Spirit’s Tango 17 is equally suited to double performance rowing and solo camp-cruising.

Small Boats Annual 2011

Beg-Meil

A small yacht, whether under sail or oars

Inspired by the workboats of Brittany, France, François Vivier designed Beg-Meil as a safe and seaworthy daysailer.

July 2025

Lowell Dory Skiff

John Gardner’s “substantial rowboat” for fishing

A sturdy rowboat based on an early 20th-century working boat and drawn up by John Gardner, the 14′ 9″ flat-bottomed, shallow-drafted Dory Skiff is suited to fishing, general recreational, and workboat use.