To the Black Sea

Small Boats Annual 2013

The Spaulding 16

A tribute to a Bay Area designer

In 1923, young Myron Spaulding, who went on to an illustrious career as a San Francisco Bay yacht designer and builder, sketched a 16’ sailboat, which modern designers Tom Wylie and Doug Frolich helped bring to fruition last year at the Spaulding Wooden Boat Center in Sausalito.

Small Boats Annual 2013

TROUT

A camp utility garvey

TROUT, a “camp-utility garvey” designed and built by Harry Bryan, is meant to carry a load of gear and passengers to a remote lakeside home.

Small Boats Annual 2013

LUCIE

A Gil Smith catboat, in miniature

When Michael Tyler began his boatbuilding studies in March 2011, he knew he wanted to build something "a bit different."

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Small Boats Annual 2023October 2022

A 17′ Outboard Runabout

Paul Gartside's Design #221

Paul Gartside’s Design #221 is an outboard-powered runabout with the look of a classic but more easily built using lapstrake-plywood or strip-plank construction.

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October 2022

Nutshell

Joel White's little packet

The 7′ 7” Nutshell Pram was designed by Joel White to row easily, tow well, and be fun to sail. All of the planks for the glued-lapstrake plywood construction can be cut from 8’ sheets of plywood.

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October 2022

A Week on Georgian Bay

Thirty thousand islands, two small boats

On another sail-and-oar cruise of Ontario’s Georgian Bay, Tom Pamperin and his brother explore the islands clustered along the coast and the narrow, rocky inland waterways of the French River Delta.

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October 2022

Sail Care

Offseason maintenance for small-boat sails

Sails get you where you want to go without burning gasoline or calories and deserve to be treated kindly to give them a long and useful life.

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October 2022

An Old-School Folding Ruler

A pocket yardstick in brass and basswood

The brass-and-basswood folding ruler first gained favor among boatbuilders when it was introduced in 1851. Kent Lewis found it came in handy for building the new addition to his fleet of small boats.

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October 2022

Moldaway

A mold, mildew, and organic stain remover

After years of use and occasional abuse, sails can show their age. Shurhold’s Moldaway removes mildew, mold, and other organic stains without harming the sailcloth.

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October 2022

DERRY

A project for the pandemic

Most serial boatbuilders don’t really need another boat, they just need an excuse to build one. The pandemic provided just that for Gary Hardy of Melbourne, Australia: building a Skerry would be an important mental-health measure during a lockdown.

Small Boats Annual 2013

The Kaholo

A stand-up paddleboard you can build

Geoff Kerr reports that paddling a standup paddleboard is intuitive, requiring no more balance than does riding a bike. The experience, he says, is “a hoot.”

Small Boats Annual 2013

Murrelet

A svelte and versatile new kayak from Pygmy Boats

The Murrelet kayak has ample leg room but a very low after deck, which makes it easy to lie back when executing a roll.

Small Boats Annual 2012

Wittholz 11′ Dinghy

An ode to a simpler time

Charles Wittholz designed his traditional 11' catboat dinghy for protected waters. While fun to sail, she is also well suited to work under oars and to serve as a tender to a larger boat.

Small Boats Annual 2012

KINGFISHER

An almost-traditional Thames skiff

Colin Galloway built this 19' Thames skiff to an Iain Oughtred design. Oughtred’s plans specify glued lapstrake plywood; Galloway substituted solid wood—“The Real Thing,” says Oughtred. “She really is a superb piece of work.”

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Small Boats Annual 2023September 2022

Shellback

An easily built all-around skiff

The Shellback is a 11′ 2″ lapstrake plywood dinghy designed by Joel White for sailing, sculling, and rowing. A precut kit can pave the way for a novice boatbuilder.

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September 2022

Oonagh

A lapstrake plywood pram for oar and sail

The Oonagh was designed by Doug Hylan “to combine some of the best qualities of inflatables with the advantages of a traditional dinghy and put it into a package that is a little less hostile to the planet.”

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September 2022

A Portage Too Far

A tidal rapid, a beaver dam, and an impossible haul

Tom Conlogue and Delaney Brown took a shot at circumnavigating Maine’s Blue Hill Peninsula by rowing a dory along the coast, down the gullet of a tidal rapid, and across a salt pond to a portage used centuries ago.

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September 2022

A DIY Sling Tote

A handy carryall for small-boat gear

A sling bag is a project suitable for a home sewing machine and saves time and effort when loading miscellaneous gear aboard a boat at the beach or launch ramp.

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September 2022

Torrentshell 3L

A breathable rain jacket

The Torrentshell 3L from Patagonia is a trim, waterproof, and breathable jacket. It fits neatly under a PFD and when not in use stuffs into a zippered pocket.

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September 2022

Totes for Boats

Management for the miscellaneous

Even a short outing for sailing or rowing can involve a lot of gear, and Ben Fuller uses a sling bag or mesh scuba bag to get it all to the boat hands-free and keep it handy onboard.

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September 2022

DREADNOUGHT

A tarred-canvas curragh

When James Baker of England decided he needed a second tender for the 42′ wooden gaffer he built, a paddling curragh native to County Donegal in Ireland was his inspiration.

Small Boats Annual 2012

Lowell’s Amesbury Skiff

A traditional type developed for outboard use

“…a boat that will teach the newcomer nuances of powerboat handling and seamanship while rewarding the more experienced with its capabilities.”

Small Boats Annual 2012

The Rhodes 18

A racing daysailer

The Rhodes is the perfect daysailer for up to five people, or it can be raced by a crew of three in one-design fleets.

Small Boats Annual 2012

Redbird

A proven cedar-strip touring canoe

Over three decades, the Redbird canoe has proven to be an exceptionally fine model for wilderness tripping. While its bow and stern profiles are inspired by Ojibwa rice-harvesting canoes, the epoxy-sheathed, cedar-strip construction is contemporary. This example was built by Edmund Pozniak and photographed on Clear Lake, Louisiana.

Small Boats Annual 2012

Salty Heaven

A sprightly cat-yawl for daysailing or camp-cruising

The author’s Salty Heaven, JESS, singlehanded in a fresh breeze. Sailed solo, the 17’ cat-yawl is fast and responsive. She will also happily carry passengers or a load of camping gear.

Series

The Spaulding 16

TROUT

LUCIE

A 17′ Outboard Runabout

Nutshell

A Week on Georgian Bay

Sail Care

An Old-School Folding Ruler

Moldaway

DERRY

The Kaholo

Murrelet

Wittholz 11′ Dinghy

KINGFISHER

Shellback

Oonagh

A Portage Too Far

A DIY Sling Tote

Torrentshell 3L

Totes for Boats

DREADNOUGHT

Lowell’s Amesbury Skiff

The Rhodes 18

Redbird

Salty Heaven

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