Series

May 2020

The Race to Alaska, Almost

Trailing the fleet, keeping up with the leaks

Thor Belle found an old Swampscott dory rotting away under a tangle of blackberry bushes and decided to make it seaworthy again. He and Pax Templeton did their best to put the boat back to rights and entered it in the 2019 Race to Alaska. They soon discovered that the dory wasn’t really up to the task, but they pressed on in spite of the difficulties.

May 2020

Laughing Gull

A working sharpie redesigned for exciting sailing

Arch Davis designed the Laughing Gull with youthful sailors in mind. The gunter-sloop rig had traditional roots but it had to provide plenty of power for exciting sailing, even planing downwind. And with youth being as they are, the boat had to recover easily from capsizes.

May 2020

Grumman’s 17′ Double-Ender

An enduring and durable classic

Grumman, renowned for making fighter planes during World War II, began making canoes as the war came to a close in 1945. The same care that went into aircraft went into the canoes, and the tooling and jigs that were created at the beginning are still in use. Grumman’s 17’ Double Ender is a classic that still serves paddlers 75 years after it first went into production.

Small Boats Annual 2021April 2020

Carolinian Carolina Dory

An outboard skiff from Spira

Boats built to plans from Spira International are designed for readily available lumber and plywood and modest woodworking skills. The Carolinian design is no exception and produces an easily driven and versatile outboard skiff.

April 2020

Vermont Dory

A new guideboat in Kevlar

The Vermont Dory from the Adirondack Guideboat Company was developed to build upon the capabilities of the guideboats used in the Northeast since the 1800s. Its Kevlar hull can stand up to some hard use.

Small Boats Annual 2021April 2020

A Red-Lantern Journey

Ontario's Lake of the Woods

Tom Pamperin had Ontario’s Lake of the Woods in his sights for years. When he finally got underway at a launch ramp on the lake’s eastern shore, he was eager to venture into the maze of islets ahead of him and in no hurry to get back.

April 2020

Show Horses and Work Horses

Variations on the Krenov style

These do-it-yourself sawhorses can serve a lot of different purposes in the shop. They’re easy to build, quite solid, and you can make them to be taken apart to get them out of the way when they’re not needed.

April 2020

Odyssey PFD

A PFD with plenty of pockets

The Odyssey from Northwest River Supplies is a Type III PFD that’s comfortable to wear, even in hot weather, and equipped with lots of pockets and attachment points for keeping essential gear on your person.

Small Boats Annual 2021April 2020

GasOne’s Mini

A dual-fuel camp stove

Stoves that use gas cannisters are convenient to use and well suited to meals that require careful cooking. The GasOne Mini is a good deal more compact than the standard stove of its type and takes both butane and propane cannisters.

April 2020

AUDREY/JAMES

A Caledonia Yawl

Martin Casey was a rebellious teenager who often butted heads with his father, James, and it was only near the end of James’s life that the two were able to bridge the distance between them. The boat that Martin built after his father’s death revealed their common interest in the Caledonia Yawl.

March 2020

A Full-Featured VHF/GPS

Standard Horizon's HX890

The HX890 is a full-featured waterproof VHF that includes GPS navigation, Digital Selective Calling, FM radio, a rechargeable 1800mAh Li-Ion battery with an alkaline back-up, group monitoring, and a water-activated light. And it floats.

Small Boats Annual 2021March 2020

Weekender

A Stevenson project

The Weekender from Stevenson Projects is a plywood pocket yacht that made its debut in Popular Science in 1981. Its gaff rig, cuddy cabin, trail boards, and ship’s wheel give the little 16-footer the look of the Friendship sloops that inspired its designer.

Small Boats Annual 2021March 2020

PocketShip

Echoes of a British pilot cutter

Chesapeake Light Craft’s PocketShip is under 15’ long and trailers docilely behind a compact car and yet offers comfortable sleeping quarters for two in the cabin or cockpit and carries a powerful sailing rig. Stitch-and-glue makes construction amateur friendly.

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March 2020

Cruising the Broughton Archipelago

Four for oar and sail

Eric Hvalsoe and his three cruising buddies headed to the north end of Vancouver Island, each with a sail-and-oar boat they’d built, and set out to wander among the islands of the Broughton Archipelago. Tides, currents and whales kept them on their toes.

Small Boats Annual 2021March 2020

A DIY Cagoule

Cocoon-like comfort

A full-length cagoule is a simple, inexpensive sewing project that provides a refuge from rain and cold. There’s room enough to retreat turtle-like from the hood and sleeves to enjoy the still air inside, often over 20 degrees warmer than it is outside.

March 2020

Wen Band File

Detail work on wood and metal

We boatbuilders are by nature do-it-yourselfers, and when we finish a boat and it’s time to rig and outfit it, there are a lot of small parts we can make instead of buy. Wen’s compact ½” x 18” belt sander makes quick work of metal and wood fittings.

Small Boats Annual 2021March 2020

The Yeung Canoe

Sisters, science, and cedar

Strip-building a canoe was an easy project for two sisters in Seattle. As amateur scientists, they’d already designed and built a craft to send cameras to an altitude of 18 miles to record the sweep of the moon’s shadow across the earth during a solar eclipse.

Small Boats Annual 2021February 2020

A Gaff Sloop

Paul Gartside's design No. 218

Paul Gartside’s 16’ Gaff Sloop has its roots in double-ended Scandinavian work boats. The New York-based designer created several different versions of the type and the final iteration kept the traditional construction but adopted a transom and, at a builder’s request, took on a bowsprit.

February 2020

Lighthouse Tender Peapod

A Maine classic updated

The original Maine peapods were well adapted to fishing and hauling lobster traps, but their full, round bilges made them difficult to build. Designer John Harris took an interest in the type decades ago, and recently drew his 13’ 5” Lighthouse Tender Peapod; Chesapeake Light Craft now offers his peapod in an easy-to-build kit.

Small Boats Annual 2021February 2020

Sunday Pass

A Texas winter getaway

Sunday Beach was a popular spot for sun-worshipping Texans until it was obliterated by Hurricane Harvey in the fall of 2017. Now known as Sunday Pass, the 1000’ gap in the land at Matagorda Island offers new cruising and beach camping opportunities for small boat. Roger Siebert takes us there for a weekend getaway aboard his 15’ Flint.

February 2020

DIY Gantry Cranes

For lifting and rolling a heavy hull

When Earl Boissonou built his 18′ pocket cruiser, he had to figure out how to roll the hull over in the confines of his shop, and then lift the finished boat onto its trailer. He devised and built a pair of gantry cranes to do the work easily and safely.

February 2020

Colonial’s Marlinspike Knife

United States Navy issue

The U.S. Navy introduced the Marlinspike Knife in the First World War and it has been used by sailors ever since then. Its stainless-steel sheepsfoot blade and locking marlinspike are as useful now as they were a century ago.

Small Boats Annual 2021February 2020

Jackery Explorer 160

A portable power station

Electronic devices have become essential tools for our daily life and when our boats break us free from the grid, it’s handy to have a portable power station to recharge them. The Jackery 160 is a compact unit with lithium-ion batteries, several charging ports, and a built-in flashlight.

Small Boats Annual 2021February 2020

FALCONE de PALÙ

A Dias Harrier, Venetian style

When Antonio Dias designed his 17’ camp-cruisier, the Harrier, he had accommodations for rowing in mind, but almost certainly didn’t expect that one builder, Detlef Arthur Dueker, would rig his Harrier for

January 2020

Across an Ocean

Rowing the Atlantic

After Christophe Papillon served as a paratrooper, he retired from the military and needed to find other ways to slake his thirst for adventure. He had done a bit of kayaking and some freshwater sailing, so the challenge he set for himself was a daunting one: rowing solo across the Atlantic Ocean.