Series

November 2022

L’Ark

A cozy canal cruiser

Phil Thiel’s Escargot canal boat plans come with an option for a roomier hull and a cabin with standing headroom. The modifications for L’Ark provide comfortable accommodations for four.

November 2022

Two Tramps and a Lady

A 280-mile row across France along the Two Seas Canal from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean

For over 150 years, the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts of France have been connected by a series of canals and locks that were nearly two centuries in the making. In 2022, a couple from England were the lone rowers on the canal in the company of motorboats.

November 2022

French Whipping

A quickly whipped grip

While ropework can be made very complex to be especially decorative, it can be kept simple and still be attractive and functional. A French whipping’s spiral of hitches looks good and provides a non-slip grip.

November 2022

DeWalt’s Cordless Power Planer

A brushless motor and 30,000 cuts per minute

Cordless and weighing under 8 lbs, DeWalt’s 20-volt planer goes where the work is and is easy on the user. The brushless motor makes quick work of removing wood.

November 2022

Clampdesk

A weatherproof writing organizer

Cruising is a fine way to get away from the office, but it’s good to have a way to manage a little paperwork aboard a boat for navigating, journaling, and letter writing.

November 2022

AL DEMANY CHIMAN

A skin-on-frame outrigger canoe

Tim Shaw grew up by the water in Manchester, Massachusetts, and has never drifted too far from boats. After building a few small boats, he was intrigued by the outrigger canoes he saw in Hawaii and years later designed and built one for his family.

October 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

September 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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

August 2022

Shrimper 19

A trailer sailer from Cornish Crabbers

Built in Britain by Cornish Crabbers, the Shrimper 19 is a fiberglass production boat with a traditional lapstrake look, a gaff-sloop rig, and a flush-deck cabin.

August 2022

Firefly

Grace and ease in a quickly built hull

The 18’ Firefly is a performance rowing boat that has a combination of stability and speed that’s well suited for novices getting into sliding-seat rowing.

August 2022

Sailing to Denton

Two canoe yawls on the Choptank River

Two 18’ Autumn Leaves canoe yawls follow in the wake of 19th century cargo schooners to ascend Maryland’s Choptank River under sail and oar.

August 2022

A Folding Outboard Stand

An easy, inexpensive shop project

A folding, shop-made stand makes it easy to work on a small outboard motor and then can be stowed out of the way when it’s not needed.

August 2022

Sailor’s Tool

Myerchin's rigger's knife with pliers

Rigging knives usually have a blade for cutting cordage and a marlinspike for splicing lines. The Sailor’s Tool has pliers that make it even more useful.