Boat Profile

June 2018

Crabbing Skiff

A Chesapeake Bay working boat from Chapelle

The traditional craft documented in Howard Chapelle’s books are well known, but a number of his drawings are tucked away in the Smithsonian Institution. Among them is a handsome 18’ crabbing skiff with many of the characteristics of the turn-of-the-century working skiffs used by Chesapeake Bay crabbers. With plywood construction, it is easy to build and lively under sail.

June 2018

Hitia 17

A beach catamaran, a micro cruiser

James Wharram’s Polynesian catamaran designs have inspired countless backyard boatbuilders with dreams of ocean voyaging to exotic tropical destinations. His Hitia 17, with its dry-storage holds and kayak-like cockpits, features real camp-cruising capability for sailors who don’t mind roughing it a bit.

May 2018

Beer Beach Boat

A workboat for pleasure

Beer is a village located in the middle of England’s Lyme Bay coast and the boats built there have evolved over many years. They come in various shapes and sizes, but they are seaworthy enough to cope with exposed coast and durable enough to be hauled up the steep, pebbled beaches there.

May 2018

Spring Run

A versatile kayak from Redfish

This lively performer has enough cargo space for multi-day cruising, and when you’re not out paddling it, the fine workmanship and decorative touches make it something you might want to hang in your living room.

April 2018

Runabout 14

A plywood speedster from Bateau.com

If the Runabout 14 looks like a classic, its designer, Jacques Mertens-Goossens, the founder of Bateau.com, has hit his mark. The boat’s appearance was inspired by a 1950s design, but its structure is a contemporary blend of plywood, fiberglass and epoxy.

April 2018

First Mate

A Lillistone beach cruiser for sail, oars, and outboard

The Phoenix III is Ross Lillistone’s most popular design, but its glued-lapstrake construction, with its bevels and gains, was not the easiest method for novices to take on. His First Mate is a stitch-and-glue equivalent of the Phoenix III with the same hull, rigs, and cockpit layout. It provides an easier path to the launching and the same performance afloat.

March 2018

Ebb

Easy, efficient rowing

WINONA, a pulling boat built for a mountain lake in New York State's Adirondack Mountains, inspired Tom Regan, a boatbuilder living on the tidelands of Washington State, to create a version of his own. We take a look at the Ebb from Grapeview Point Boat Works.

March 2018

Tiki 21

A Wharram catamaran

James Wharram is well known for his catamarans. His Tiki 21, designed in 1981, it took advantage of stitch-and-glue construction and has proved itself in ocean crossings and has remained a popular trailerable gunkholer.

February 2018

Nova Scotian

A Grand Banks dory from Spira Boats

Kevin Power's grandfather was born in Nova Scotia and grew up using locally-built dories. The affection for the Banks-style dories was passed down to Kevin's father and to Kevin, so when he decided to build a boat it was fitting that he ordered plans for Jeff Spira's Nova Scotian.

February 2018

Drascombe Lugger

In production for 50 years

The Drascombe Lugger turned 50 years old last year. John Watkinson designed it for his own use and built the first in plywood. The design caught on and in 1968, Luggers went into production in fiberglass and have since done everything from afternoon outings to ocean crossings.

January 2018

Minahouët

A well balanced sail-and-oar dinghy

François Vivier’s Minahouët has two maststeps, so it can be rigged either as a sloop with the mast set in the aft position, or cat-rigged with the mast in the forward position. Either way, the boat is lug-rigged and there’s no need for stays, so rigging is simple and fast.

January 2018

Penobscot 14

An Arch Davis Classic

The Penobscot 14 is a versatile sail, oar, and motor boat designed by Arch Davis in the early ’90s. His goal was to design a boat that was easy to build, had pleasing lines, and offered excellent sailing and rowing performance.

December 2017

Eel

A William Garden canoe yawl

The Eel is an 18’ 6” canoe yawl designed by William Garden as a slightly shorter and much lighter version of the original Eel designed by George Holmes in 1895. Holmes was one of the pioneers of the canoe yawls that became popular in England at the end of the 1800s, when recreational boating was then in its early stages.

December 2017

Pooduck Skiff

An able dinghy by Joel White

The Pooduck skiff provides a good feel for traditional boatbuilding. After it leaves the shop, it is easily trailered, well suited for rowing, and gorgeous under sail. It carries a lug-rigged mainsail that can be sailed with or without a jib. A cleverly designed mast partner allows the mast to be angled forward or backward to keep the rig balanced whether raising the main alone or the main and jib.

November 2017

19′ Bartender

A seaworthy outboard

The Bartender was designed by George Calkins during the 1950s to negotiate the river bars along the Oregon coast and the outboard-powered double ender quickly earned a reputation as a capable rough-water hull. We take a look at the 19-footer, the smallest in the series of six sizes and configurations.

November 2017

Noank

A sliding-seat pulling boat

While Nick Schade of Guillemot Kayaks has been building boats since 1993, the strip-built Noank is his first boat with a sliding seat. With watertight compartments in each end and generous freeboard, it is designed for light and fast camp-cruising and recreational rowing in exposed and choppy water.

October 2017

15′ Sailing Dinghy

An evolution in design

The 15’ Sailing Dinghy from Stirling & Son is the biggest boat in their range of lapstrake dinghies and the only one equipped with a deck to adapt it for coastal voyaging and adventure sailing.

October 2017

Glen-L Zip

A twin-cockpit runabout

Glen-L’s Zip was designed in 1954 and can be built from fir plywood and painted as a utilitarian boat or dressed up with varnished mahogany to give it the look of a classic runabout.

September 2017

Milford 20

A New Zealand Sharpie

The Milford 20 design appeals as a very elegant, classic craft for home building, and gives a great sailing experience for both experienced and inexperienced sailors. It also would be a suitable craft for a couple or family of four; a delight to sail and appealing to those who want a safe boat for leisure and pleasure.

September 2017

Drake Raceboat

Easy speed under oars

The Raceboat is designed “for the greater speeds in race conditions,” but you don’t have to compete to appreciate the boat. It will give you an exhilarating workout and reward improvements in your stamina and technique.

August 2017

Tango 13

A twin-tailed transom

The Tango Skiff has interesting hull extensions that create an attention-grabbing geometry aft of the transom. The additional running surface and buoyancy of the extensions appealed because of previous experience in small outboard-powered boats. When operated solo, many of them with a conventional transom will squat under the weight of the motor and the skipper and set the bow pointing skyward.

August 2017

Tenderly Dinghy

An able boat to row, tow, motor, and sail

When John Harris of Chesapeake Light Craft came to WoodenBoat School here in Brooklin to lead a six-day class in building his newly designed Tenderly Dinghy and brought two finished boats with him, there was an opportunity to see the progress on the student-built boats, and to take the finished ones for a spin in Great Cove.

July 2017

Peeler Skiff

A lightweight fishing and utility skiff

The requirements were simple. The boat had to be light enough to tow behind a four-cylinder SUV, small enough to fit in a garage, and capable of getting two and gear the 50 miles from the south end of Lake Chelan to the north end and back again in the afternoon when the lake gets rough. Although there are many affordable aluminum and fiberglass boats that would serve the purpose, the boat had to be something distinctive.

July 2017

RoG

Microcruiser and Adventure Racer

RoG was designed, in some part, for the 300-mile Everglades Challenge, a Florida thin-water endurance voyage, but for less grueling adventures the RoG is a charming miniature cruiser. It is just 15′ 3-1/2″overall, yet it has a deep, comfortable, private cabin with built-in bookshelves forward, obviously designed for a contemplative sailor. The cabin has sitting headroom and offers a chart-sized nav/dining table that drops down to seat level to form two full-sized berths.

June 2017

Penobscot 17

An Arch Davis cruiser for sail and oar

Arch Davis drew the Penobscot 17 with three rigs—gunter sloop, ketch, schooner—and we take a look at his sloop-rigged version. The plywood lapstrake cruiser sails and rows well and is well suited for meandering among small islands and along convoluted coasts.