Series

September 2024

A Sail-and-Oar Cruise in the San Juans   

Two days away in a Haven 12 1⁄2

A fair forecast provided the ideal opportunity for an early-season shakedown cruise in a Haven 12 1⁄2 through the northern chain of the San Juan Islands.

September 2024

Eun Mara

A trailerable coastal cruiser from Iain Oughtred

Influenced by the canoe yawls of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Iain Oughtred’s Eun Mara is a comfortable coastal cruiser for one or two adventurers.

September 2024

Saving JANIE JANE

Restoring a home-built Reuel Parker Sharpie 19

Harald Hefel launched his Reuel Parker–designed Sharpie 19 in 2013, but eight years later, after she started leaking badly, he laid her up in his yard. In 2023 he decided to resurrect her, replacing the original carvel-planked spruce topsides with marine plywood, polyester cloth, and epoxy.

Small Boats Annual 2009

ADVENTURE

A camp-cruiser from Bill Garden

The author's initial outings in his boat, ADVENTURE, were on Western rivers. In the summer of 2009, he plans an expedition along the Maine coast. The boat sleeps two and has ample dry stowage.

Small Boats Annual 2009

Marblehead Gunning Dory

A boat that almost builds itself

Under sail, the Marblehead gunning dory is both fast and responsive, though it's intended to be rowed.

Small Boats Annual 2008

Nancy’s China

A 15' hard-chined pocket cruiser

The Nancy’s China design is a marriage of the big and the small. It’s the biggest boat you can fit in a garage and the smallest boat you would want to sleep on.

August 2024

Home-Built Elegance

Reimagining the Duck Trap Launch

German-born Brazilian Oliver Ilg found an outlet for his hands-on boatbuilding abilities first in a corner of his production-yacht manufacturing site, and then in a narrow piece of his backyard between the house and a stone wall.

August 2024

Airflo Sun Hat

Tilley's ever-evolving adventure hat

Named for its founder, sailor Alex Tilley, the Tilley line of hats has been around for more than 40 years. The Airflow Sun Hat blocks the sun while letting a cooling breeze flow through.

August 2024

Return to the Texas 200

In 2017, Roger Siebert took part in his first Texas 200 and completed the challenging 200-mile course. While he returned in 2024 with more experience and first-hand knowledge of the waters he would be sailing, it was no guarantee of success.

August 2024

Adirondack Guideboat

A classic rowboat updated for modern construction techniques

Newfound Woodworks’ Adirondack Guideboat, based on guideboats of the late 1800s, is a strip-planked kit version of this fine-ended rowboat with traditional elegance and can carry one or two passengers in style.

August 2024

Sunfish

A simple sailboat from the 1950s

Derived from the popular Sailfish, the Sunfish was a collaborative creation from two sailors and two designers. Since the first 20 plywood boats were built in 1952, it has been in continuous production in fiberglass and more than 500,000 have been built and sailed worldwide.

August 2024

Teak-Nu

Restoring weathered teak

The Snappy Teak-Nu system restores weather-faded or discolored teak to its original color and protects it.

Small Boats Annual 2008

The 2007 Small Reach Regatta

A portfolio of small boats

For the 2007 Small Reach Regatta, the waters off WoodenBoat swarmed with small boats for three days. Read the recap of that inaugural event.

Small Boats Annual 2007

The NorseBoat

A Cadillac of a camp-cruiser

The NorseBoat requires more study time per foot than most small craft. Besides an attractive hull and an unusual sail plan, she has more bells, whistles, and unexpected features than a 1970s conversion van—certainly more than any boat in her class.

August 2024

Water-Sails for Small Boats

Adding sail area to a small-boat rig to give that extra push in light airs isn’t always straightforward, but the water-sail is not only simple to set up, it’s also easy to make from inexpensive materials.

July 2024

Taku Essential Jacket

A waterproof and breathable jacket kept simple

Mustang’s jacket for inshore and coastal use provides waterproof comfort without the addition of more features than you may really need.

July 2024

Paddle Pump

A space-saving innovation for small boats

Designed by seaplane pilots, the Paddle Pump is a space-saving innovation that serves two purposes vital to small-boat users: propelling the boat and dewatering the bilge.

July 2024

A Walkway for a Trailex Trailer

Modifying a trailer for dry-feet launching

For owners with smaller rowing and paddling boats that can be launched at a ramp without submerging the trailer, having a central walkway along the trailer is a useful modification.

July 2024

Boatbuilding in the Woods

Off the road and off the grid, a scow takes shape in the forest

First-time boatbuilder Greg Goodman set up camp on a family-owned piece of land in the heart of a western-Michigan forest, created a workshop under a tarp, and built a flat-bottomed scow of his own design, learning valuable lessons along the way.

July 2024

From Sailboat to Motorboat

Converting a tired sailboat hull into a new family motor cruiser

When Vancouver Island resident Quentin Verhaegen went in search of an inexpensive motorboat for his family, he found the choices limited and beyond his budget. Not to be thwarted, he bought a 40-year-old fiberglass sailboat and repurposed it as an outboard cruiser.

July 2024

The Friend·Ship Canal Boat

A comfortable cruising boat for sheltered waters

Phil Thiel’s canal boat, suitable for at-home building by moderately experienced woodworkers is a comfortably appointed boat for long, leisurely trips on sheltered lakes, rivers, and canals and can accommodate six adults overnight.

July 2024

The Shrike Kayaks

CNC’s modern sea kayaks steeped in Inuit tradition

Based on an original Inuit Disko Bay kayak in the collection of the Canadian Museum of Civilization, the Shrikes, from CNC Kayaks, are designed to be built as simply and as lightly as possible. The result is a range of boats that connect the paddler with the environment and reward the user with speed, agility, and grace.

June 2024

From the Dumpster to the Launching Ramp

A rescued kit becomes a much-loved family boat

When Polly Robinson was offered a lapstrake plywood dinghy kit that was about to be thrown out, she didn’t hesitate. She took it home and built the boat for her family.

June 2024

The Erie Canal by Canoe

A solo voyage along the 19th-century commercial waterway

Hugh Rand launched his solo canoe at the westernmost end of the Erie Canal and paddled the 363 miles to its easternmost end. The 19-day voyage took him through 19 guard gates and 35 locks.

June 2024

The Scout 10

The “smallest camp-cruising sailboat” from Duckworks

The new Duckworks sailing dinghy, the Scout 10, is within the reach of first-time builders and has some innovative construction techniques to make the boat light and strong.