To the Black Sea

Small Boats Annual 2009

GRACE’S TENDER

Easy to love, easier to build

GRACE’S TENDER is a kindly little plywood boat that Arch Davis designed to build with his daughter, Grace. This handsome and capable craft is an exceptionally good first boatbuilding project.

Small Boats Annual 2009

The Hird Island Skiff

Comfortable—and quiet

The reedy shallows of Georgia call for a shoal-draft boat that can easily navigate the channels—and with its electric motor, the Hird Island Skiff can do so without disturbing the peace and quiet.

Small Boats Annual 2009

Sunshine

A much-admired yacht tender

With excellent load-carrying capacity and rowing characteristics, low weight, and great looks, the Sunshine makes a wonderful yacht tender.

Small Boats Annual 2009

MARCUS NOER

A Danish four-sail double-ender

MARCUS NOER is a particularly fine example of a traditional double-ender from Denmark, with a shapeliness to her hull that will take your breath away. The design is one descendant—one of many—of a Nordic boatbuilding tradition that should properly stand beside the great cathedrals of the world and the sculptures of antiquity as among the loveliest creations ever made by…

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October 2021

Meeting in the Middle

A strip-lapstrake hybrid

Paul and Sharon LaBrie have been enjoying boating together for their 40-plus years of marriage; a difference of opinion between the two led to a novel hybrid hull that combines two different types of construction.

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October 2021

The Hornet-Lite

A packraft from Kokopelli

For small camp-cruisers that are better left at anchor instead of beached, a tender can come in handy, but most would take up too much space. An inflatable packraft can serve the purpose and yet be easily stowed.

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October 2021

A Quiet Time in a Big Estuary

A Columbia River cruise

Bruce Bateau takes a California couple cruising on his home waters, the tidal reaches of the Columbia River that form the border between Oregon and Washington.

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October 2021

Alamitos

An outboard V-bottom skiff from Spira International

The Alamitos is a 15’ V-bottom dory designed by Jeff Spira for quick and affordable construction. Its ample 7’ beam provides plenty of stability for fishing and taking on a bit of offshore chop.

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Small Boats Annual 2022October 2021

The Rhodes 19

An uncommonly enduring one-design

The Rhodes 19 didn’t catch on when the design was introduced as a wooden boat in the late ‘40s, but when it was reproduced in fiberglass in the ‘50s by George O’Day, the daysailer gave rise to a popular and enduring one-design class.

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October 2021

New Life for a Vintage Kayak

Replacing fabric with plywood

Reuel Parker offers a way to transform an old fabric-covered kayak by giving the frame a new skin of plywood.

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October 2021

Chef’s Knife and Floating Sunglasses

Offerings from MSR and Rheos

Floating sunglasses from Rheos reduce the risk of loss and a camper’s chef knife from MSR is a capable addition to the galley.

Small Boats Annual 2009

RETRO-ROCKET

Glen-L’s Super Spartan makes a splash

RETRO-ROCKET was built from Glen-L Marine Design’s plans for Super Spartan, a three-point hydroplane. Constructed in marine plywood, RETRO-ROCKET weighs less than 100 lbs and darts across the water, mostly on a cushion of air.

Small Boats Annual 2009

Fenwick Williams’s 18’ Catboat

A frisky little cat

Fenwick Williams designed 17 catboats from 8' to 30' in length. All of them are legendary; but his first, an 18-footer created during the height of the Great Depression in 1931, stands out as a little gem.

Small Boats Annual 2009

Duckling

A sliding-seat skiff

When Sam Devlin of Devlin Designing Boat Builders was commissioned to build a rowing skiff to be carried aboard a 45' motoryacht, he was given two requirements: it had to be short enough to fit on the yacht’s cabintop, and it had to be equipped with a sliding-seat rowing rig.

Small Boats Annual 2009

BUFFLEHEAD

A high-end hybrid for paddle and sail

While you may not want to try building BUFFLEHEAD without some experience under your belt, when ready, your hard work will pay off in an eye-pleasing, seaworthy craft for daysailing or extended coastal passages.

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September 2021

Patrick’s Scow

A boat for Bliss Creek

Patrick Blake of Vicksburg, Mississippi, is 11 years old and the sixth generation of his family to take a serious interest in boats. In the company of his little brother, father, and grandfather, he built a little scow for the creek that runs through the family land.

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September 2021

Downshifting Oars

Snap-on oar sleeves for rowing into a headwind

Rowing into a headwind can put a strain on the rower. Jim Tolpin devised a clip-on plastic sleeve and button that gives the oars a lower gear to provide them with a greater mechanical advantage.

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Small Boats Annual 2022September 2021

Bobcat

Bolger's adaptation of the Beetle Cat for tack-and-tape construction

Phil Boger designed the Bobcat as an adaptation of the legendary Beetle Cat for tack-and-tape construction to put a small, stable catboat within the reach of amateur boatbuilders.

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Small Boats Annual 2022September 2021

Ellen 12

Pretty in plywood

This 12’ glued-lapstrake skiff, designed by John Brooks for oar, sail and outboard, is a complex boat, but detailed plans and a comprehensive 281-page book devoted to it pave the way for a first-time builder.

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September 2021

Fifteen Years of the Small Reach Regatta

A retrospective

After 15 years, the Small Reach Regatta has come to the end of a long and successful run. Tom Jackson was there from the very beginning and takes a look back at the popular Maine Coast cruise.

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September 2021

C-Tug

An easily stowed cart for canoes and kayaks

The C-Tug from Railblaza has wide non-pneumatic tires for easy rolling over sand and knocks down for stowing in a small space.

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September 2021

Ballast Bags

Heavy-duty water bags for ballast or flotation

Heavy-duty water bags made for keeping canopies from blowing away are well suited for adding ballast to a small boat in need of fine-tuning of trim. Filled with air, they can provide buoyancy for safety.

Small Boats Annual 2009

Diablo

A fast and stable outboard-powered skiff

BONITO’s Diablo design is derived from the Amesbury skiff—itself a dory-derivative. The plywood hull is easily built, and easy on the eyes. A narrow bottom and wide, angled bilge panels combine to give Diablo an efficient planing surface and predictable banking in turns. She has great dynamic stability at speed.

Small Boats Annual 2009

Beetle 14

Sequel to a legend

The Beetle 14 (14'4") is the big sister of the 12' 4" classic. Lest you think 2' is not much of a difference, consider the designer’s observation that “You could fill two [original] Beetles with water and empty them into this boat.”

Small Boats Annual 2009

BEATRICE

A modified Saint-Pierre Dory

BEATRICE is a modified Saint-Pierre dory—a type once common on the waters of Canada’s Maritime Provinces. Born on the islands of Saint-Pierre et Miquelon off the coast of Newfoundland (French possessions to this day), the Saint-Pierre dory was a local response to a French government requirement for cheap, durable, and safe fishing craft for local fishermen.

Series

GRACE’S TENDER

The Hird Island Skiff

Sunshine

MARCUS NOER

Meeting in the Middle

The Hornet-Lite

A Quiet Time in a Big Estuary

Alamitos

The Rhodes 19

New Life for a Vintage Kayak

Chef’s Knife and Floating Sunglasses

RETRO-ROCKET

Fenwick Williams’s 18’ Catboat

Duckling

BUFFLEHEAD

Patrick’s Scow

Downshifting Oars

Bobcat

Ellen 12

Fifteen Years of the Small Reach Regatta

C-Tug

Ballast Bags

Diablo

Beetle 14

BEATRICE

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