Series

The 18′ 8″ Mackinaw Boat

A mini Lake Michigan workboat

From the 2008 Small Boats Annual - This boat is a pint-sized version of a well-known and respected type that worked Lake Michigan from the late 19th century until the beginning of World War I. It’s called a Mackinaw boat—though historically that name applied to a range of boats that have only tenuous family connections.

Living with Little Boats

A guide to orderly storage and transport

From the 2008 Small Boats Annual - Little boats are...well...little. By my definition, they can be towed by four-cylinder cars and ride on trailers without brakes. They are usually less than 400 lbs and often are powered by only wind, muscle, or both. The smallest ones can be placed on roof racks and carried atop a car. They are the…

The Melonseed Skiff

Daysailer and duckgunner

From the 2008 Small Boats Annual - This fine gunning skiff from the bays and coastal lagoons of southern New Jersey might have evolved from the lapstrake beach skiffs that worked the exposed Atlantic beaches of the Garden State. Similarities of line and construction between the beach skiffs and the melonseeds seem too powerful to ignore.

Dad’s Ol’ Outboard Skiff

A dreamboat for the rest of us

From the 2008 Small Boats Annual - In a sea of wooden boats that are out of reach for many of us, here is one that offers some respite—Dad’s Ol’ Outboard Skiff. She’s the brainchild of Michigan builder Mike Kiefer, who has been building boats and teaching wooden boat building at the Great Lakes Boatbuilding Company, for well over 20…

The Moosabec Reach Boat

New life for a striking 14-footer from the 19th century

From the 2008 Small Boats Annual - I never met John Gardner, but I’ve spent many an afternoon with him. Leafing from one chapter of his books to another, it’s easy to get distracted by the down-to-earth practicality, the enthusiastic descriptions of traditional boats, and the ringing call to action to see these boats built anew and put to use.…

Night Heron

A fast and handsome 18' kayak

From the 2008 Small Boats Annual - Have you noticed all of those kayaks riding along atop cars and trucks on their way to waterborne adventures? Their owners have seen the light. These slender double-ended boats require little initial investment, not much maintenance, and can be put on the water in seconds. In them we’ll cross open water, and when…

Skerry

A Norse-inspired kit boat

From the 2008 Small Boats Annual - My penchant for Scandinavian boatbuilding techniques once prompted Matt Murphy at WoodenBoat to tell me that it seemed as though I was trying to “get in touch with my inner Viking.” But when I look around, I see that I am hardly alone. Some aesthetics—think of Japanese architecture, Italian stonework, New England barns—have…

The Long Point

A center-console skiff

From the 2008 Small Boats Annual - There’s something nearly archetypal about the Long Point skiff. This 15-footer has high sides and a flat bottom, and is driven by a small four-stroke out- board motor. “It used to be that everyone had one of these things,” said the designer, Tom Hill, as we skipped across a modest chop on Penobscot…

Endeavour 17

A kayak for just about everybody

From the 2007 Small Boats Annual - The Steve Killing–designed Endeavour 17, a kayak built of cedar strip planks and fiberglass, combines beauty, fast lines, load-carrying capacity, and relatively easy construction. Let’s have a look at each of these points—the last one, ease of construction, in some detail.

The Gloucester Light Dory

A classic design for plywood construction

In the early 1980s, I bought Phil Bolger’s plans for the 15′ 6″ LOA Gloucester Light Dory. I was living in an apartment at the time, and I was intending this boat to be my first built to an “official” design. I had built furniture in my living room, and in those single-man days my dining room table was a…

The Lake Oswego Boat

A small lapstrake gem

From the 2007 Small Boats Annual - Few joys in life are simpler than a morning row. Oars over the shoulder, hollow footsteps along a wood-decked float, the boat quivering with the first step aboard, the sharp ring of the oarlocks as they slip into place, the soft purling of water against lapstrake planks as they leave the first wake…

Fiddlehead

A solo canoe for double paddle

From the 2007 Small Boats Annual - Harry Bryan, a boatbuilder and designer from New Brunswick, Canada, designed the Fiddlehead, a 10 1⁄2' double-paddle canoe, in 1992 after his sister-in-law introduced him to her Wee Lassie. The Wee Lassie is a small double-paddle canoe designed by J. Henry Rushton around 1893. Bryan had always rowed small boats, rather than paddled…

The Sailing Skiff 15

A simple, striking, affordable boat

From the 2007 Small Boats Annual - All youngsters might begin their waterborne adventures in flat-bottomed rowing/sailing skiffs. Easy to build, but difficult to design properly, these honest little boats teach lessons in seamanship and self-reliance. At the other end of life’s voyage, a good skiff will take gentle care of old folks as they sail comfortable miles to nowhere…

The Macomber 15

A fast and heavy skiff from Westport, Massachusetts

From the 2007 Small Boats Annual - You can walk across the Westport River in southern Massachusetts at low tide. It's a mile or so across in some places, but the depth at full ebb is only 4′. If you want to cross that water with dry feet, then you need a shallow-draft boat. If you want to venture on…

The WindSprite 26

An easy-to-build, multichined hull for performance daysailing

From the 2007 Small Boats Annual - Frank Pedersen designed a light-displacement planing hull, and WINDSPRITE's abilities as a performance daysailer have been anything but a disappointment to him. With basic accommodations and without expensive electrical or mechanical systems, she’s all about fast daysailing at minimal cost.

The Annapolis Wherry

Quick to build, fast to row

From the 2007 Small Boats Annual - Faster than a typical skiff, yet more stable than a recreational shell, the light (65 lbs) Annapolis Wherry from Chesapeake Light Craft offers healthy exercise and satisfying speed. The Wherry goes together LapStitch fashion, which produces a clean interior with few frames.

The Ben Garveys

Simple boats for work or play

From the 2007 Small Boats Annual - Boats don’t always need to have pointy forward ends. Here we have two easily built, square-ended workhorses that will handle all sorts of waterfront chores—and look just fine while they’re about it. Designed by Maine boatbuilder Doug Hylan, the 15' 9" and 19' 0" Ben Garveys will earn their wages.

The Norwalk Islands 26

Fast, shoal-draft, and self-righting

From the 2007 Small Boats Annual - The sheet-plywood Norwalk Islands Sharpie can easily be built in the backyard, yet it outperforms more expensive yachts. Its simple cat-ketch rig needs no standing rigging (wire shrouds and stays that support the masts). The outboard-motor lifts into its own house when idle—no ugly mounting bracket, no hydrodynamic drag.

To the Black Sea – Episode 16

Reflecting on their adventure

In this final video of their series, Finn and Teresa are at their journey’s end: Constanta, a Romanian port on the west coast of the Black Sea. With their boat...

To the Black Sea – Episode 15

A beautiful day on the Black Sea.

A Beautiful Day on the Black Sea: - Watch Now The final week on the Danube brought Finn and Teresa to a short-cut to the Black Sea. Small boats aren’t allowed on the 40-mile-long canal, so they hitched a ride aboard a cargo-carrying motor barge. Join them for their last miles as they relaunch JILL at the end of the…

To the Black Sea – Episode 14

Ukrainian Merchantman Comes to the Rescue

Ukrainian Merchantman Comes to the Rescue: - Watch Now Joined by a schoolmate for the lower Danube River through Bulgaria and Romania, Finn and Tereza, draw near the Black Sea. One last barrier stands in their way-a canal that doesn’t welcome small boats. Watch as a Ukrainian merchantman comes to the rescue.

To the Black Sea – Episode 13

Towed Alongside a Barge Doing 7 Knots

Towed Alongside a Barge Doing 7 Knots: - Watch Now Still descending the Danube, Finn and Tereza found the going slow on a stretch of the river between Serbia and Romania. Rather than struggle for meager miles against a headwind, they did what any resourceful wayfarer would do: stick out a thumb and hitch a ride.

To the Black Sea – Episode 12

Through the Iron Gates

Tacking Downstream Through the Iron Gates: - Watch Now Finn and Tereza enter the Iron Gates where the Danube passes between ranges in Serbia and Romania. Funneling between the steep slopes, the wind is often on the nose. Watch as they tack downstream under a reefed sail.

To the Black Sea – Episode 11

Croatia to Serbia, Two Months Into the Journey

Entering Croatia, Two Months Into Their Journey: - - Watch Now The Danube carries Finn and Tereza through Croatia to Serbia and a stop at Belgrade. Fall brings shorter days, nearly freezing nights, and rain. See how they’re holding up two months into the voyage.

To the Black Sea – Episode 10

Cold Weather, Beach Camping and Strong Winds

Cold Weather, Beach Camping and Strong Winds: - Watch Now Finn and Tereza make their way across Hungary, and visit the capital city of Budapest. There they pick up a crewmate, Karl, and carry on down the Danube. Get ready for some wild river sailing!