Boat Profile

Small Boats Annual 2021July 2019

Shenandoah Whitehall

Light enough to carry solo

Gentry’s Shenandoah Whitehall is a modern boat with traditional lines that’s large enough to take an adult and a kid camping, relatively seaworthy, efficient under oars, and light enough to toss on the roof of the car. For a few hundred dollars and a few dozen hours, it can provide a novice with both a manageable entry into boatbuilding and rowing adventures.

Small Boats Annual 2020July 2019

O’Day Day Sailer

A proven performer for 61 years

Famed designers Uffa Fox and George O’Day teamed up in 1956 to create the O’Day Day Sailer. The first Day Sailer was sold in 1958 and immediately became popular in the recreational and racing markets, with over 10,000 boats hitting the waterways. It is a very versatile boat, easy to rig, sail, transport, and store.

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Small Boats Annual 2020June 2019

Ed Monk Skiff

A working tender from 1943

Edwin Monk, a Seattle-based naval architect renowned for designing handsome motor-yachts for cruising, applied his talents to a number of handy small boats. His 13’6” flat-bottom skiff, drawn in 1943, is a no-nonsense workboat for oars and outboard.

June 2019

Salt Bay Skiff

Easy to build, impressively functional

Described by its designer as “a quick-and-dirty boat in swan’s clothing,” Chris Franklin’s Salt Bay Skiff is well suited to first-time boatbuilders and families looking to introduce kids to building, sailing, and rowing a small boat.

May 2019

Chester Yawl

A shapely pulling boat

The Chester Yawl from Chesapeake Light Craft is a 15’ Whitehall-type pulling boat with beautiful lines and a complexity in the building of it that is just enough to feel like an accomplishment without being daunting.

May 2019

Moccasin 14

A tripping canoe from B & B

Simply sweet and sweetly simple, the Moccasin 14 from B & B Yachts is a solo canoe for a double-bladed paddle. It is quick to build, easy to cartop, and a breeze to paddle.

Small Boats Annual 2020April 2019

Jumbo

A Tolman Alaskan Skiff for cruising

Renn Tolman designed three skiffs that have become quite popular in Alaskan waters. The largest of them, the Jumbo, offers economical motoring and comfortable cruising almost anywhere.

Small Boats Annual 2020April 2019

The Cosine Wherry

A strip-built pulling boat

The Cosine Wherry was designed on a computer by an engineer using a trigonometric curve as a starting point. The result is a strip-built pulling boat that is as easy on the eyes as it is at the oars.

March 2019

Sei

A Welsford double-ender

For the Sei, a 14’ 7” double ender, John Welsford found inspiration in the workboats of Norway’s southern fiords. He took away the keel, gave the hull a flat, beach-friendly bottom, and kept weight to a minimum with glued-lapstrake plywood construction.

March 2019

Whitehall 17

A classic form, strip-built, from Glen-L

Glen-L is well known for designs for plywood boat building, but their 17’ Whitehall is designed to be strip planked. The lightweight cedar hull is easily driven, runs straight, and can easily sustain 4 knots with a solo rower at the oars.

Small Boats Annual 2020February 2019

Belle Daysailer

A 16' daysailer

BELLE, a 16’ daysailer, was drawn up by Daniel Gonneau for his own use, but the lightweight glued-plywood lapstrake hull, combined with classic steam-bent coamings and gaff rig, commanded the interest of small-boat aficionados, and there will no longer be one BELLE but many.

Small Boats Annual 2020February 2019

Parker Dinghy

A shapely mid-century workboat

In the 1940s, Lindon Parker designed and built a carvel-planked boat for tending the herring weirs around Deer Island, New Brunswick. The design would have been lost if the last of the shapely carvel dinghies had not caught the eye of Harry Bryan, who cleaned it up and took its lines.

Small Boats Annual 2020January 2019

Classic 17

A snug outboard from Bateau.com

The Classic 17, a design for homebuilders from Bateau.com, is a compact outboard cruiser with a 1950s vibe and contemporary stitch-and-glue plywood construction.

Small Boats Annual 2020January 2019

Morbic 11

A new Vivier design

Gary Brown asked François Vivier if his Morbic 12 could be built strip-planked rather than lapstrake plywood, and he replied: “Yes, with some modification.” The simple question inspired a thorough redesign and the creation of the Morbic 11.

Small Boats Annual 2020December 2018

St. Ives Punt

Local boat, wide appeal

The tenders serving the fishing fleet of St. Ives, on the north coast of Cornwall, had a rough life. When the seas were breaking in the harbor, the tenders at anchor would get battered by breaking waves at the water’s edge with each turn of the tide. Jonny Nance designed his St. Ives sailing punt to be stout enough to survive.

Small Boats Annual 2020December 2018

Stickleback Canoe

An Oughtred canoe

If it’s true that smaller boats get used more frequently, Iain Oughtred’s wee Stickleback will rarely sit idle for long. It’s a featherweight canoe that’s easy to carry and well suited to backwaters few other boats can explore.

Small Boats Annual 2020November 2018

Rushton 109

A lapstrake pulling boat

The Rushton pulling boat, model 109, is a double-ender with nearly plumb stems, a lapstrake hull, and sweeping sheer. It has the good looks of an old-fashioned guideboat and rows easily whether going solo or bringing a passenger along for company.

Small Boats Annual 2020November 2018

Swallow

A Wolstenholme gunter-rigged dayboat

Andrew Wolstenholme's Swallow is a timeless design that offers an ideal compromise of lightness, speed, and roominess. It is very responsive under sail and light on the helm. The hull offers a good turn of speed, reassuring stability, and a dry ride in choppy conditions.

Small Boats Annual 2020October 2018

Ruth Wherry

Quick to build, fast to row

It’s hard to beat skin-on-frame construction for light weight and ease of construction. Dave Gentry’s Ruth is well suited for rowers eager to get on the water with an easily driven wherry.

Small Boats Annual 2020October 2018

Winter Wren II

A pocket yacht for two

The great joy of the Winter Wren II, Sam Devlin’s trailerable mini cruiser, is its responsiveness. Every nuance of change in air or water conditions translates into some sensation transmitted directly through the tiller, sail controls, or seat of pants.

Small Boats Annual 2020September 2018

Taal SUP

A board for touring

Most stand-up paddleboards (SUPs) look a lot like outsized surfboards, but most of the people paddling them are not surfing. Michael Storer designed the Taal SUP with a hull more like a boat, making it better suited for paddling pursuits.

Small Boats Annual 2020September 2018

Albion Pacific Power Dory

A power dory from Spira

Jeff Spira’s Albion is a 19’ outboard skiff designed along the lines of the surf-launched fishing dories of the Pacific Northwest. While capable of taking on rough water, the Albion is a comfortably stable and roomy platform for more relaxing outings.

August 2018

Ilur

Classic form in plywood

The Ilur is the most popular of François Vivier’s sail-and-oar boats and has classic form designed for modern computer-assisted design and glued lapstrake plywood construction. His plans offer several options for the sailing rig.

Small Boats Annual 2019August 2018

Nauset Marsh Skiff

Console and casting platforms

The Nauset Marsh Skiff, a 16’ stitch-and-glue outboard fishing boat, was designed and built by Walter Baron of Old Wharf Dory for working shallow waters.

Small Boats Annual 2019July 2018

Ski King

A fast inboard in plywood from Glen-L

Glen L. Witt, the founder of Glen-L, could have had any of the countless boats he designed for his company’s offerings of plans and kits, but it was the Ski King he chose to build for his own use. Among the first boats he designed, it is once again in the Glen-L catalog, 65 years later.