Boat Profiles - Small Boats Magazine

September 2023

Summer Breeze

The most boat from the least materials

An award-winning 11′ 8″ flatiron skiff designed by David Beede makes the most of three sheets of plywood for the hull and a poly tarp for the sail.

September 2023

Portage Pram

A towing tender for two adults and their gear

The Portage Pram is just 6′ 8″ long, weighs 35 lbs, is cartoppable, tows well, and can carry two adults and their gear.

August 2023

Hiwassee Wanderer

A simple and affordable solo canoe

The Hiwassee Wanderer from Maddox Boat Works is a stitch-and-glue solo canoe designed for quick construction from three sheets of plywood without the need for building forms.

August 2023

Centerboard Lugger

Paul Gartside's Design #166

Paul Gartside’s Design #166, a two-masted lugger, is a satisfying and sometimes challenging project for home boatbuilders, and its shoal draft makes it a versatile sail-outboard-and-oar cruiser.

July 2023

Cygnet 20

A trailer-sailer ideal for gunkholing

Designed and built in New South Wales, Australia, this versatile cruiser blends modern construction with traditional influences.

July 2023

Petrel Play SG

A kit-built kayak with range and versatility

The Petrel Play SG suits a wide range of paddling skills, can be used in calm waters and surf alike, and has sufficient cargo space for multi-day trips.

June 2023

Colorado River Dory

Fit to row the Grand Canyon

With six watertight compartments, the Colorado River Dory has plenty of room to stow gear and an abundance of buoyancy for running rapids.

June 2023

Seil 18

An 18’ pram for oar and sail

Designed by François Vivier for cruising French backwaters, the Seil 18 has a Norwegian pram hull form.

May 2023

Rhode Runner

A stitch-and-glue version of a mid-century classic

Designed for stitch-and-glue construction by experienced amateur builders, Chesapeake Light Craft’s Rhode Runner offers performance, comfort, and classic runabout looks.

May 2023

Didi 23

A Dudley Dix 23-footer with generous accommodation and fine sailing performance

A modern pocket cruiser with high-performance sailing pedigree, the DIDI 23 has a plywood hull that does away with angular chines by using Dudley Dix’s radius-chine plywood construction method.

April 2023

Lillie

Updating a classic design for modern construction

Designed for both strip-plank and stitch-and-glue plywood construction, Selway Fisher Design’s Lillie is a modern interpretation of the canoe yawls of late 19th-century England.

April 2023

14′ Whitehall

A composite version of a 19th-century classic

The Gig Harbor Boat Works Whitehall offers the good looks and versatility a traditional Whitehall in a light durable composite boat with rowing positions for tandem rowing, room for a passenger or two, and a sliding seat for those looking for powerful rowing and great exercise.

March 2023

New York Whitehall

An American classic

Whitehalls have been with us for 200 years and have evolved from working taxis to recreational rowing craft. A 14’ New York Whitehall reveals why the type is still so popular.

March 2023

Meaban

A trailerable Vivier sloop

At a little over 22', with berths for four, and a minimum draft of just 1'6” François Vivier's new design, Meaban, is ideal for shoal-water cruising.

February 2023

Hobie 16

More than fifty years old and as popular as ever

The Hobie 16, enjoyed by many as a summer recreational boat and raced in fleets all over the world, remains one of the most popular and enduring of small one-designs and is among the most successful of all racing catamaran classes.

February 2023

Fine

A sliding-seat pulling boat with excellent stability

The Fine from Oyster Bay Boats is an 18’ strip-built wherry that combines a sliding-seat rowing rig for speed and a hull with a 34” beam for stability.

January 2023

Nexus Planing Dory

A planing dory for home construction

Sleek but traditional, and with the versatility to serve a wide range of uses, the Nexus 21’ Planing Dory is an uncomplicated boat to build at home either as an open boat or with a cuddy cabin.

January 2023

Cape Henry 21

An expedition sailboat for adventurers

A 21’ plywood-lapstrake gaff cutter inspired by traditional sailing craft of the U.K., the Cape Henry 21 can appeal to sailors downsizing from a full-keel cruiser as well as camp-cruisers looking for more comfort while still adventuring in shoal waters.

December 2022

Salish Voyager

An expedition boat for sail and oar

With a hull form inspired by working skiffs of the New Jersey Shore, the Salish Voyager is a customizable fiberglass boat that can be equipped for long-distance coast cruising under sail and oar.

December 2022

North Shore Dory

A dory design from the 1900s

A 16′ dory built around 1900 on the North Shore of Massachusetts for summer rowing on the Maine coast found its way to a maritime museum where detailed drawings were made 80 years later so boatbuilders could give it new life.

November 2022

Drake 13

A Selway Fisher sharpie

The Drake 13 from Selway Fisher is a small sharpie designed to be propelled by oars, a lugsail, or an outboard and to serve as a tender, a daysailer, a beach cruiser, or a fishing skiff.

November 2022

L’Ark

A cozy canal cruiser

Phil Thiel’s Escargot canal boat plans come with an option for a roomier hull and a cabin with standing headroom. The modifications for L’Ark provide comfortable accommodations for four.

October 2022

A 17′ Outboard Runabout

Paul Gartside's Design #221

Paul Gartside’s Design #221 is an outboard-powered runabout with the look of a classic but more easily built using lapstrake-plywood or strip-plank construction.