Series

Small Boats Annual 2020October 2018

BUTTERFLY

A makeover for a metal boat

Beneath her warm, bright-finished cedar decks, BUTTERFLY is, at her core, an old boat with a heart of…aluminum. If Patrick MacQueen hadn’t saved her, she might have been recycled into cans, pots, and pans.

Small Boats Annual 2020September 2018

Taal SUP

A board for touring

Most stand-up paddleboards (SUPs) look a lot like outsized surfboards, but most of the people paddling them are not surfing. Michael Storer designed the Taal SUP with a hull more like a boat, making it better suited for paddling pursuits.

Small Boats Annual 2020September 2018

Albion Pacific Power Dory

A power dory from Spira

Jeff Spira’s Albion is a 19’ outboard skiff designed along the lines of the surf-launched fishing dories of the Pacific Northwest. While capable of taking on rough water, the Albion is a comfortably stable and roomy platform for more relaxing outings.

September 2018

Fogbound

The Bustard Islands of Georgian Bay

Tom Pamperin takes us back to his Georgian Bay cruising grounds, this time to be trapped by fog among the complex archipelago of the Bustard Islands. The more the visibility diminished, the more he saw.

September 2018

Five Handy Tips

Ingenuity at work

We take a look at a handful of useful tips: detailing clay for imperfect paint and varnish jobs, cinch straps made of rope, saw horses for varnishing oars, farrier’s rasps for woodworking, and a slotted deck for raising a mast.

September 2018

No-Spill Gasoline Can

A better gas can

Filling a small outboard motor’s internal fuel tank can be a messy task. The No-Spill Gas Can helps eliminate spills and overfilling with its push-button valve and automatic flow stop.

September 2018

eTape16

A digital tape measure

The standard tape measure may be to blame for the adage “measure twice, cut once.” A digital tape measure can read the hashmarks correctly and remember the measurement so you can get it right the first time.

Small Boats Annual 2020September 2018

Nesting Boats

Tom Hepp's take-aparts for travel

Tom Hepp had had boats growing up, served in the Navy, and chose a career as a merchant mariner, so it’s not surprising that he wanted to take a boat with him when he drove across the country on his vacations. He didn’t want to haul a boat on a trailer or a roof rack, so he decided to make a sectional boat he could pack inside his van.

August 2018

Ilur

Classic form in plywood

The Ilur is the most popular of François Vivier’s sail-and-oar boats and has classic form designed for modern computer-assisted design and glued lapstrake plywood construction. His plans offer several options for the sailing rig.

Small Boats Annual 2019August 2018

Nauset Marsh Skiff

Console and casting platforms

The Nauset Marsh Skiff, a 16’ stitch-and-glue outboard fishing boat, was designed and built by Walter Baron of Old Wharf Dory for working shallow waters.

August 2018

The Voyage of the MARY SAVAGE

Memories of boyhood

Nick Blake was 10 years old when his father launched a 31’ boat reminiscent of a 16th century caravel. Nick, his father, and his mother set out from Vicksburg on the Mississippi River with no particular destination in mind. The family cat, Luciano, caught up with the Blakes in the Delta.

August 2018

Insignia Sailcloth

Adhesive adornment

You might not need a number and a logo on your mainsail to set your boat apart from others, but you can add a distinctive decorative touch with adhesive-backed sailcloth. It’s easy to apply and needs no sewing.

August 2018

Force 5K Power Dolly

A power dolly from Parkit360°

Trailers carrying heavy boats can be difficult if not impossible to move by hand. The Force 5K power dolly from Parkit360° can move your trailer in tight quarters where there’s not enough room for your vehicle.

August 2018

Barry King Hammer-Style Mallet

More than setting grommets

With its nylon head and leather-and-brass handle, the 48-oz Hammer-style Mallet from Barry King Tools is ideal for setting grommets as well as doing many other jobs in the boatshop and it’s as pretty as it is persuasive.

August 2018

A Sturgeon-Nose Canoe

Tradition brought forward

The Sinixt, a First-Nations people of southwest British Columbia and northern Washington, developed sturgeon-nosed canoes with reversed prows for traveling and fishing the rivers lakes of their homeland. When Paul Montgomery was asked by a member of the Sinixt tribe to build a reproduction of the canoe, he set his other projects aside and went right to work.

Small Boats Annual 2019July 2018

Ski King

A fast inboard in plywood from Glen-L

Glen L. Witt, the founder of Glen-L, could have had any of the countless boats he designed for his company’s offerings of plans and kits, but it was the Ski King he chose to build for his own use. Among the first boats he designed, it is once again in the Glen-L catalog, 65 years later.

10

July 2018

Periwinkle

A camp-cruiser for oar, sail, and outboard

When one of Ross Lillistone’s regular customers asked for a fast camp cruiser for sail, oars, and motor, Ross drew up a 17’ lug-rigged cat ketch for glued-lap plywood. The Periwinkle hit the mark and is a great all-rounder.

July 2018

TORNGAT

Biography of a trailblazer

In 1979, Dave Getchell bought an aluminum skiff that he could use as a base for a climbing expedition to the Torngat Mountains at the northern tip of Labrador. He never reached the mountains, but the boat, christened TORNGAT, found its destiny along the Maine coast in the creation of the Maine Island Trail.

Small Boats Annual 2019July 2018

Transom Extensions

Adding buoyancy and planing surface

Most small outboard skiffs carry a lot of weight in the stern—skipper, outboard, and fuel tank—and suffer the consequences. Homemade transom extensions add both buoyancy and planing surface that can improve trim and performance over a wide range of speeds.

July 2018

Blackbird XLC and Thunderfly

A hammock system from Warbonnet

Hammocks provide minimum-impact shelter ashore and can be set up on wooded terrain that's too steep or uneven to accommodate a tent. We take a look at a system that includes a hammock, bug net, winter cover, and rain fly.

July 2018

Knipex Plier Wrench

Getting a grip

The Knipex plier wrench is a versatile and well-designed tool with extraordinary gripping power. It’s a worthy addition to an on-board tool kit.

July 2018

ARGUS

A family-built Chester Yawl

Born to a family of Alabama river folk, James Fullton grew up around boats. His interest in them waned when his parents moved him and his sisters inland, but when he started a family of his own in New Haven, Connecticut, he felt the impulse to build a boat of his own.

June 2018

Crabbing Skiff

A Chesapeake Bay working boat from Chapelle

The traditional craft documented in Howard Chapelle’s books are well known, but a number of his drawings are tucked away in the Smithsonian Institution. Among them is a handsome 18’ crabbing skiff with many of the characteristics of the turn-of-the-century working skiffs used by Chesapeake Bay crabbers. With plywood construction, it is easy to build and lively under sail.

June 2018

Hitia 17

A beach catamaran, a micro cruiser

James Wharram’s Polynesian catamaran designs have inspired countless backyard boatbuilders with dreams of ocean voyaging to exotic tropical destinations. His Hitia 17, with its dry-storage holds and kayak-like cockpits, features real camp-cruising capability for sailors who don’t mind roughing it a bit.

June 2018

The Canoes of Guna Yala

Panama's sailing dugouts

The Guna people of Panama have been building dugout canoes, called ulus, in the same way since they populated these waters two centuries ago, and still rely on them for their livelihood. When visiting yachties brought a sport-sailing mentality to the islands, the Guna crews took to racing their ulus.