To the Black Sea

Dave made paddles for the canoe and decorated them with the same insignia he put on the canoe. He and his friend Andy Look won the wooden canoe division of the 13.5-mile Abe's RIver Race on the Sangamon River in Illinois

August 2016

Hope and Memories

A canoe to live for

An Illinois man given a second chance at life decided to recreate some of the best times of his youth by building a canoe. Working side-by-side with his 82-year-old father, he created a vessel for the future he almost lost.

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The Small Hatchet is small enough to be tucked into a pants pocket.

August 2016

Gränsfors Hatchets

Hand-forged Swedish steel

Hand-made Gränsfors Bruk hatchets are a pleasure to use and uncommonly beautiful.

August 2016

Sounding Off

Signal horns for small boats

We take a look at five horns that you can use to make yourself heard.

After steam bending and scarf-jointing a full length chine log, Andy and I finished the precise compound angle end-cuts to fit it tightly into the hull.

August 2016

Dories Down Under

From the Grand Canyon to the Whanganui River

When a New Zealand guide wanted to offer his clients better boats for rowing the revered Whanganui River, he had two American boatbuilders set up shop in a sheep shed and build a pair of Grand Canyon dories.

Devlin writes that “duckboats are overloaded most of their lives, are used in inclement weather most of the time, are run in waters too shallow most of the time, and encounter sea conditions that would turn a normal boats hair white. They also have to maneuver well in tight conditions and have passengers constantly boarding and exiting the boat with lots of weight and gear.”

August 2016

Honker

Eminently adaptable

Sam Devlin’s Honker can be pressed into service as an open boat for fishing, a floating blind for waterfowling, or a cold-weather coastal cruiser with a removable pilothouse and cabin.

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The plans call for a motor mount on the boomkin, at nearly right angles to the normal orientation. Most builders use a conventional bracket fastened to the transom.

August 2016

Navigator

A beach-cruising centerboard yawl

The Navigator started out as a sailing club’s racing trainer, but it became John Welsford's most popular design after he turned it into a long-range cruising dinghy.

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The Candlefish has comfortable seating for the family and plenty of freeboard.

July 2016

LADY LOUISE

A Candlefish 13

Small Boats Monthly reader Scott Rowley read about the Candlefish outboard skiff in our April 2015 issue and decided it not only would be a good tender for his sailboat, but also better suited than his car for taking his family of four, not to mention the dachshund, out to dinner and visiting friends near his South Puget Sound peninsula home.

The water-cooled stone makes quick work of sharpening tools without affecting their temper.

July 2016

Makita Blade Sharpener

Quick, sharp edges

Sharp edge tools can save you a lot of time when you’re working with wood, but sharpening your blades by hand can nibble away at those savings. The Makita wet-wheel sharpening tool can give you razor-sharp edges in a fraction of the time.

The SynMat Mega is inflated by means of a bag called a Schnozzel Pumpbag. It takes about 90 seconds and three fillings of the Schnozzel to bring the SynMat Mega up to a firm pressure

July 2016

Exped Mats

Uncommon comfort

Getting a good night’s sleep is the best way to get your day off to a good start. Two sleeping mats by Exped that are as good as any mattress at home.

I used the Siwash system frequently with my Gokstad faering on a second cruise up the Inside Passage. The anchor is ready to drop over the side with the retrieval line secured to the stock and the chain, rode, and painter joined to the shank.

July 2016

Tsimshian anchoring

Dropping the anchor while standing ashore

When you come ashore for a quick stop or for an overnight stay, Tsimshian anchoring is a simple way to keep your boat afloat and off the beach.

July 2016

The Race to Alaska

High Hopes, Dogged Determination

In a race as long and as arduous as the 2015 R2AK, coming in last can be counted as a victory. The weather took a heavy toll on the race fleet—many of the boats withdrew and a few needed to be rescued.

The boom and the foot of the jib are both set high, providing a clear view forward and eliminating the need to tell passengers to duck when coming about.

July 2016

Glen-L 15

Building experience

When Kelsey Johnson decided he wanted a boat for exploring the lakes near his British Columbia home, he had never sailed a boat, let alone built one. The Glen L-15 turned out to be the perfect introduction for both boatbuilding and sailing.

Rollin has a long history of sharing his designs and hires young builders so he can pass along his knowledge. He has licensed his Atkinson Traveler design to a handful of other builders, among them Jeanne Bourquin in Ely, Minnesota. She has been building the Atkinson Traveler since the 1990s and believes the Traveler is “as close to perfect as possible.”

Small Boats Annual 2017July 2016

Atkinson Traveler

The pinnacle of wilderness canoes

The Atkinson Traveler is Rollin Thurlow’s favorite canoe, and that’s saying something because Rollin has been building canoes in Maine for 38 years. We’ll take a look at what makes this wood-and-canvas canoe stand out among all the others he has built.

June 2016

ELLANDELL

After his kids were grown, Elliot Arons had plenty of free time but spent a lot of it planted in front of the TV. A dream of building a sailboat and a Penobscot 17 kit from Arch Davis got him off the couch.

June 2016

Pocket Puller

Safe, easy hauling of pots and anchors

The Thomas Pocket Puller can help you haul crabpots and anchors aboard without dragging a line over the rail and wearing through your boat's finish.

The Pro Model is recommended by NewGrip for rowing: the wrist strap is said to relieve the strain that causes sore wrists and carpal tunnel syndrome. The wrist strap is made of cotton webbing for better comfort against the skin.

June 2016

NewGrips

Cool comfort

Rowing is hard on the hands and most gloves only exacerbate the problem. NewGrips aren’t anything like gloves, and that’s why they work to prevent blisters.

Small Boats Annual 2017June 2016

Hvalsoe 18

A new design for solo cruising

Seattle boatbuilder Eric Hvasloe was asked to draw up a boat for cruising the Inside Passage under sail and oars. We put his latest design, the Hvalsoe 18, through its paces.

Small Boats Annual 2017June 2016

Squirt

A Glen-L runabout

The 11’ Squirt runabout was the biggest boat Art Atkinson could build in his basement, but it didn’t come up short on the performance it delivered. He gives us a good look at this offering from Glen-L.

Stout ski poles offer a way to move upstream in the shallows while kneeling rather than standing in a canoe.

June 2016

Double Poling

A different take on a traditional technique

Poling a canoe is a skill that requires good balance and lots of practice. Peter Macfarlane took a hint from cross-country skiers and applied double-poling to working a canoe upstream in shallow water.

June 2016

Rowing the North Atlantic

Two friends, one old boat

When Australians Peter Fletcher and Tom Hudson decided to row across the North Atlantic, they chose an old wooden boat for the voyage. It had already made the crossing three times and the duo spent 15 months on repairs to make the boat seaworthy enough to get them from New York to England.

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When Sean's friend Robert saw the lines for the little double ender, he said: "We have to build that!" And together they did.

May 2016

SWEET PEA

An idea takes shape

Reader Sean Russell has been designing boats for a long time, at first drawing by hand and then using computer programs. Our Reader Built Boat is SWEET PEA, a peapod-like boat he designed and built to fit in his van.

May 2016

Cutting Corners

Tools for rounding edges

Make quick work of rounding corners without the noise of a router and the dust of a sander.

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Small Boats Annual 2017May 2016

Chaisson Dory

More than a tender

The Chaisson dory was designed a century ago as a tender, but it still has a lot to offer even if you don’t have a yacht to attach to the other end of its painter.

Small Boats Annual 2017May 2016

The Isles of Finland

Solo cruising in a Herreshoff Coquina

The Finnish coast is speckled with small forested islands rimmed with glacier-worn granite. A modified Herreshoff Coquina is quite at home here, an ocean away from its native waters.

Small Boats Annual 2017May 2016

Arctic Tern

A modern yoal

Iain Oughtred’s Arctic Tern is in the middle of the range of his popular double-ended beach cruisers that were inspired by the workboats of the Shetland Islands.

Series

Hope and Memories

Gränsfors Hatchets

Sounding Off

Dories Down Under

Honker

Navigator

LADY LOUISE

Makita Blade Sharpener

Exped Mats

Tsimshian anchoring

The Race to Alaska

Glen-L 15

Atkinson Traveler

ELLANDELL

Pocket Puller

NewGrips

Hvalsoe 18

Squirt

Double Poling

Rowing the North Atlantic

SWEET PEA

Cutting Corners

Chaisson Dory

The Isles of Finland

Arctic Tern

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