Boat Profiles | Small Boats

5

March 2025

Herreshoff/Gardner 17

A lightweight, fixed-seat rowboat for one or two people

Designed by L. Francis Herreshoff in 1947 and modified by John Gardner in 1980, the Herreshoff/Gardner 17 is a rowboat with pedigree, good looks, and excellent performance. It’s also suitable for amateur construction with modern materials.

6

Small Boats Annual 2011

Lili 6.10

A balanced trekker from France

Lili 6.10 is an able boat for two to cruise in complete independence for a few days in a lifestyle as simple and inexpensive as the boat is to build and use, and she can easily be towed to the next shore for the next exploration.

4

Small Boats Annual 2011

Martha Jane

Comfort and stability in a plywood lug yawl

Martha Jane is a big, simple, well-performing boat. She has a good seakeeping ability, and can also be poled up into shallow creeks.

6

February 2025

The Kokopelli Platte-Plus

An inflatable kayak for tandem or solo paddling

The inflatable Platte-Plus kayak folds into an easily carried backpack, can be paddled by one or two people, and offers versatility with good performance.

5

February 2025

The Drascombe Dabber

A 15' lug yawl for sail, oar, and outboard

Designed more than 50 years ago, the Drascombe Dabber can be sailed, rowed, or motored, trailered behind an average family car, and stands upright on a drying beach; the design is as popular today as it has ever been.

4

Small Boats Annual 2011

Glen-L Sea Knight

A 1957-vintage outboard cabin cruiser

Boats are the stuff that dreams are made of—sometimes of dreams recaptured, in places unexpected. Such is the case with the Sea Knight, a graceful 17′ retro cabin cruiser, a boat that Bill White claims, “anyone comfortable with basic tools can build in the space of a two-car garage.”

3

Small Boats Annual 2011

OTTER: Fast Outboard Launch

A fast and rugged power launch

The OTTER is a Pete Culler designed cold molded, launch outboard that was adapted and constructed by Bill Perkins. She has a "file-bottom", common in the Chesapeake, with the addition of a "Rhode Island" shelter.

6

Small Boats Annual 2011

The Northeaster Dory

A modern traditional boat for sail and oar

The Northeaster Dory is a glued-lapstrake-plywood interpretation of the Banks dory. It is available in kit form from Annapolis, Maryland-based Chesapeake Light Craft.

7

January 2025

The International Optimist Dinghy

How a simple pram dinghy changed the face of kids’ sailing

Under 8′ long, and with a single sprit-rigged sail, the Optimist was designed as an affordable boat for kids in Clearwater, Florida; it went on to become the most popular kids’ sailboat around the world.

5

January 2025

The Gorran Haven Crabber

A traditional sprit-rigged yawl from Cornwall

Based on the traditional 19th-century crabbers of a small Cornish fishing village, the shallow-drafted Gorran Haven crabber is a sailboat well suited for coastal day-sailing and camp-cruising.

5

Small Boats Annual 2011

The International Fireball

A fast racer for today’s home boatbuilder

The International Fireball is a development class of racing sailboats that allows builders to incorporate new technology and a variety of rigging options enabling sailors to stretch the limits of their abilities.

3

Small Boats Annual 2010

The Newfound Rangeley

A strip-planked rowboat for sport and recreation

The Newfound Rangeley is a strip-planked interpretation of a well-known western Maine guideboat.

7

Small Boats Annual 2011

Ninigret

A timeless bassboat

John Atkin designed Ninigret for the pursuit of striped bass and bluefish in the choppy waters of Block Island Sound and the Gulf of Mexico. Regardless, she is well suited to a wide range of uses including family outings, picnics, weekend cruising, or any other activity that benefits from quiet, economical operation, lots of room, and a smooth ride.

6

December 2024

Sea Wolf

A fast and stable kayak from Newfound Woodworks

The Sea Wolf kayak can be built from plans or a kit, has good stability for novice paddlers, and displays impressive performance that suits multi-day cruising.

5

December 2024

Gartside’s Spitfire

A 10′ pram for sail and oar

Paul Gartside’s 10′ pram was drawn with children in mind but is also appealing to adults looking for a sail-and-oar boat of traditional construction and sweet lines.

6

Small Boats Annual 2011

NEWT Canoe

You can paddle it in a puddle

This compact and easy-to-build canoe from designer Warren Jordan is a fine choice for a first-time builder who wants a lightweight craft for exploring shallow inlets, streams, and other calm waters.

4

Small Boats Annual 2011

Schooner 18

An 18' camp schooner from Shell Boats

The Schooner 18 is an iconoclastic camp-cruiser from Shell Boats of St. Albans, VT. She's the largest in Fred Shell’s Swifty line and is quick to handle and accelerate, with a nice turn of speed for such a small boat.

5

Small Boats Annual 2011

Bay Pilot 18

A garage-built pocket cruiser

The Bay Pilot 18, designed by Arch Davis, is a swift cruiser that accommodates up to four adults during day outings, or two for overnight excursions.

4

Small Boats Annual 2010

Coquina

A classic yacht in a small package

Nathanael Greene Herreshoff designed the original Coquina for his own use. Excellent balance and sailing characteristics—and above all, simplicity—made the 16’8” LOA boat one of his favorites.

4

Small Boats Annual 2010

Columbia and Catspaw Dinghies

One original, one adaptation—and both classic dinghies

A pairing of ancestor and offspring: the Columbia tender developed by Nathanael Greene Herreshoff in the last year of the 19th century, and the Catspaw dinghy drawn by Joel White in the 1970s. The similarities are striking, but the differences are clear—nevertheless, either boat would be a fine choice for construction and use.

6

November 2024

The Wittholz 15

A plywood catboat for home construction

A New England–style catboat, the Wittholz 15 is suitable for home-building and offers excellent sailing, a spacious cockpit for as many as six adults, and admiring looks wherever it goes.

6

November 2024

A United Nations Flat-Bottomed Skiff

An 18′ wooden skiff designed for Lake Malawi

This simple outboard-and-oar skiff was designed for fishing in Lake Malawi, southern Africa. Having built one from free U.N. plans, a young New Yorker proves the boat’s worth on the shallow waters of Great South Bay, Long Island.

6

Small Boats Annual 2010

The Albury Runabout

A magic carpet for the water

The Albury Runabout is a classically fine outboard, famous for her smooth ride, speed and sea-worthiness. She was designed by Willard and Benny Albury and were first built in the 1950s.

5

Small Boats Annual 2010

The Delaware Ducker

A blue-collar performance boat

The Delaware Ducker evolved as a bird-hunting boat on the tributaries of Delaware Bay. A study in simplicity and performance, it deserves close attention as a recreational boat.

5

Small Boats Annual 2010

The Haven 12 1/2

A trailerable classic

A handsome daysailer based on the Herreshoff 12 1/2, but modified for a centerboard.

Herreshoff/Gardner 17

Lili 6.10

Martha Jane

The Kokopelli Platte-Plus

The Drascombe Dabber

Glen-L Sea Knight

OTTER: Fast Outboard Launch

The Northeaster Dory

The International Optimist Dinghy

The Gorran Haven Crabber

The International Fireball

The Newfound Rangeley

Ninigret

Sea Wolf

Gartside’s Spitfire

NEWT Canoe

Schooner 18

Bay Pilot 18

Coquina

Columbia and Catspaw Dinghies

The Wittholz 15

A United Nations Flat-Bottomed Skiff

The Albury Runabout

The Delaware Ducker

The Haven 12 1/2

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