Reader Built Boats Articles

6

November 2025

Building a Piranha

A young Polish woodworker tackles his first boatbuilding project

Stanislaw Klupś was 13 when his parents gave him a set of boat plans and some plywood for Christmas. The ensuing building project came together in the family’s backyard, and after many hours of hard work Stan had built a 10’ sail-and-oar boat that he could enjoy alone or with his younger sister.

7

October 2025

The Voilier Nord Bassin

How one man’s dream built a boat and a community

Michel Sailhan, a retired journalist, passed the time in a Covid lockdown designing a sailing scow suitable for the shoal waters of Arcachon Bay near his home in southwest France. When people could again gather, he inspired a group of volunteers to build the boat for their community.

7

September 2025

LARK

Building a Bob’s Special from Plans

When Justine and John Diamond decided to build a canoe from plans, neither of them had built a boat before and John had only been in a canoe once.

9

August 2025

The CLC Nymph

Seven lessons in building a strip-planked canoe

Bill Griffin had helped his friend, Charlie Flanagan, to restore two small boats, but when he decided to build his own strip-planked canoe, their roles were reversed.

6

July 2025

PETRICHOR

Building a Northeaster Dory

In his youth, Dylan Spaulding had built two boats with his dad. After his father died, Dylan decided to build a third, a Northeaster Dory, in his memory.

5

June 2025

EMMA

Building a Mayfly 14

When a grandson asks for help building a boat, what grandfather can resist? Kippen and his grandfather Ken work together to build a Jim Michalak–designed Mayfly 14 that Kippen can call his own and will sail with his friends.

6

Small Boats Annual 2011

BLACK GHOST

A fisherman's friend

Walter Ansel built BLACK GHOST to Weston Farmer’s Kingfisher plans. Traditional construction and a seaworthy result make her an enticing project for any experienced builder.

9

May 2025

The Garsharp-14

The Garlasco family establish a boatbuilding tradition

Four generations of the Garlasco family come together to build a sailboat designed by great-grandfather Felix.

8

April 2025

Building the Haven 12 1/2

Strip-planking a 12 1⁄2 for trailer-sailing

When Bill Jordan started building his carvel-planked sailboat, he thought it was going to live on a mooring where the seams would have a chance to swell and become watertight. But, when he realized he’d be trailer-sailing, he decided to strip-plank the hull instead.

7

March 2025

Building a Goat Island Skiff

A Goat Island Skiff is launched in Germany

Gerald and Petra Trumpp learned to sail in a Northeaster Dory, but for river and lake cruising in their native Germany and across the border in France, they were looking for a boat with more size, more stability, and more speed.

7

February 2025

Converting a Kayak for Sail

Building outriggers for a Pygmy Osprey Double

Dick Vermeulen enjoyed his kayak, but he still wanted to go sailing; he built some outriggers, had spars and a sail made, and it took off like a rocket.

8

January 2025

The Paddle Wheel Boat

Building a simple boat from “Mechanix Illustrated”

Inspired by childhood memories and the discovery of a 1960 copy of “Mechanix Illustrated,” Davi Rodrigues built a paddleboat just like the one he’d enjoyed with family and friends 60 years ago.

8

December 2024

Building an Adirondack Guideboat

A first-time boatbuilder tackles a classic

In 1969, Gary Carbocci promised to build an Adirondack guideboat so he could take his friend, Rich, fishing. Fifty-five years later, with no previous boatbuilding experience, he had built and launched a 16′ guideboat.

5

November 2024

An Echo Bay Dory Skiff

Building a rowboat for Pam

When 92-year-old Pam Ayres told her daughter and son-in-law that all she wanted was a rowboat, they decided they should all build one together.

6

October 2024

C.D. Mower’s Snow Bird

Building a traditionally planked boat

Retired mechanical engineer Geoff Hart had built a strip-planked Wee Lassie but dreamed of trying his hand at traditional boat construction. His next build was a lapstrake sailing dinghy designed in the 1930s—a challenging four-year project.

7

September 2024

Saving JANIE JANE

Restoring a home-built Reuel Parker Sharpie 19

Harald Hefel launched his Reuel Parker–designed Sharpie 19 in 2013, but eight years later, after she started leaking badly, he laid her up in his yard. In 2023 he decided to resurrect her, replacing the original carvel-planked spruce topsides with marine plywood, polyester cloth, and epoxy.

8

August 2024

Home-Built Elegance

Reimagining the Duck Trap Launch

German-born Brazilian Oliver Ilg found an outlet for his hands-on boatbuilding abilities first in a corner of his production-yacht manufacturing site, and then in a narrow piece of his backyard between the house and a stone wall.

10

July 2024

From Sailboat to Motorboat

Converting a tired sailboat hull into a new family motor cruiser

When Vancouver Island resident Quentin Verhaegen went in search of an inexpensive motorboat for his family, he found the choices limited and beyond his budget. Not to be thwarted, he bought a 40-year-old fiberglass sailboat and repurposed it as an outboard cruiser.

10

June 2024

From the Dumpster to the Launching Ramp

A rescued kit becomes a much-loved family boat

When Polly Robinson was offered a lapstrake plywood dinghy kit that was about to be thrown out, she didn’t hesitate. She took it home and built the boat for her family.

5

May 2024

Building a Squirt

A retired woodworking teacher builds his first boat

When his friend sold the boat they’d used for fishing, Bill Bains decided to build his own, and found himself returning to teenage memories of a small mid-century speedster.

9

April 2024

RIPPLE

Building a sailboat with three sheets of plywood and some foam board

When his two children started learning to sail, Nathan Greenawalt designed and built a simple three-sheet plywood dinghy they could use by themselves.

9

March 2024

Sailing DORCAS

How a canoe built for paddling was reimagined for sail

Erik was happy paddling the strip-planked canoe he’d built, but he still longed to sail. He made his daydream a reality by designing and building an outrigger and a simple sail rig.

10

February 2024

Building CLEAR SKIES

A Newfoundlander goes back to his roots

Derrick Burry built a 17’ 6” Newfoundland punt by eye and then asked his father, a retired mariner from Greenspond Island, to teach him how to sail.

12

January 2024

SOME PIG!

Jim Conlin builds a daysailer

Jim Conlin has always had a love for small double-ended keelboats with a classic style. When he found Joel White’s Fox Island design, he decided the time had come to build his own.

11

November 2023

FOPA

Building a rowboat for the family

Steve Petty had built two skiffs, one for himself and one for his son; when he was looking for an excuse to build another boat, he recalled a conversation he’d had with his daughter years ago.