November 2025

Guppy 9

An all-around dinghy for a first-time builder

An all-around small boat that looks good, performs well, and can be sailed, rowed, and motored, the Guppy 9 is also a fine introduction to the technique of stitch-and-glue plywood boatbuilding.

October 2025

Wooster Shortcut Brush

An inexpensive short-handled brush

The Wooster Paintbrush Company has been in business since 1851. In 1999 they introduced the Shortcut, a synthetic-bristle brush with a short flexible handle and suitable for all paint types.

October 2025

Cressi’s Minorca Shorty Boots

Neoprene booties with style, comfort, and practicality

Christopher Cunningham enjoys sailing barefoot, but when it comes to going ashore he reaches for his favorite neoprene booties.

October 2025

Liz Pulling Boat

A boat suited to amateur builders and novice scullers

An elegant rowboat for sliding-seat rowing, the Liz offers good stability combined with pleasing performance. And, although originally designed for lapstrake construction, it can now be strip-planked.

October 2025

Winterizing Small Boats

A quick and easy guide to laying up boats for winter

Ben Fuller offers some tried and tested tips on what to do—and not do—when it comes time to lay up your boat for the off-season.

October 2025

From Hope Cove to the Helford River

Dinghy-cruising off England’s southwest coast

When someone gave him an old 11′ Heron dinghy, Alex Latham knew the time had come to learn to sail. Two years and two more boats later, he embarked on his first overnight solo voyage off the south coast of Devon and Cornwall.

October 2025

Candu E-Z Mini Tugboat

An easily built family boat that brings smiles and joy

A tugboat nearly always raises a smile, and the Berkeley Engineering Candu E-Z Mini Tugboat is no exception. Fun to look at, the boat is also easy to build and well-suited to family use.

October 2025

The Voilier Nord Bassin

How one man’s dream built a boat and a community

Michel Sailhan, a retired journalist, passed the time in a Covid lockdown designing a sailing scow suitable for the shoal waters of Arcachon Bay near his home in southwest France. When people could again gather, he inspired a group of volunteers to build the boat for their community.

How to Shelter a Wooden Boat for the Winter

A good cover will shed snow and rain, give room to work—and most important, allow ventilation.

Maintaining the right moisture content is Goal No. 1

September 2025

LARK

Building a Bob’s Special from Plans

When Justine and John Diamond decided to build a canoe from plans, neither of them had built a boat before and John had only been in a canoe once.

September 2025

Harpswell Island Designs

Handcrafted boat pillows

Harpswell Island Designs’ pillows look good, wear well, and come in myriad styles from club burgees and state flags to abstract and whimsical designs.

September 2025

Project M23 Waterproof Field Bag

A protective bag from Expedition/Units with inserts for a camera

For years, Bill Thomas has sought a small waterproof bag to keep his camera equipment safe and dry on small boats. The Field Bag with Camera Block is rugged, waterproof, and just the right size.

September 2025

Modifying Trailers

Adding posts and platforms can make a trailer more versatile

Ben Fuller describes how to modify a trailer using easy-to-find materials and common tools, so it can be used in different ways and for multiple boats.

September 2025

A Shakedown Cruise in Tampa Bay

Sailing a new homebuilt Angus RowCruiser in Florida

When Bill Hutton set sail in his new homebuilt Angus RowCruiser, he hoped to explore Tampa Bay from east to west. The breaking of his centerboard made upwind sailing impossible, so instead he kept to the eastern shore and explored under sail and oar.

September 2025

Turnabout/N-10

A much-loved sail-training boat

The Turnabout was once a widely popular sail-training dinghy in the U.S. Northeast. More than 60 years since it was first adopted in Ipswich Bay, the class is still loved by many for its versatility, simplicity, and above all, its offering of social sailing for children.

September 2025

Annapolis Wherry Tandem

A robust shell for one or two rowers

Developed from Chesapeake Light Craft’s successful Annapolis Wherry, the Tandem version can be solo- or double-rowed and be fitted with either fixed or sliding seats.

Three Solutions for Indoor Boat Storage

Be sure to check local building codes and regulations before beginning any of these projects.

Sufficient indoor boat storage is a rare commodity in most locales, and it can be expensive to rent. Consider these three solutions.

August 2025

The CLC Nymph

Seven lessons in building a strip-planked canoe

Bill Griffin had helped his friend, Charlie Flanagan, to restore two small boats, but when he decided to build his own strip-planked canoe, their roles were reversed.

August 2025

NRS Float Bags

Inflatable flotation for small boats

Not all small boats have built-in buoyancy, but flotation is important. NRS Float Bags are available in a range of sizes, made from tough, long-lasting materials, and come with a lifetime warranty.

August 2025

W.L. Fuller Countersinks

A popular tool approaches 100 years of longevity

Tapered drill bits with countersinks may not be the most glamorous tools in the workshop, but no boatbuilder would be without them. W.L. Fuller has been making countersinks and special-purpose drill bits of unbeatable quality and durability in Rhode Island since 1930.

August 2025

Making a Spar Carrier

Support for spars when trailering

When trailering a sailboat, it’s not always easy to support the spars and keep them stable. Bill Jordan solved the problem by building his own custom spar carrier.

August 2025

Newfound Woodworks’ Otter

A playful solo canoe

The sweet-lined Otter may be one of Newfound Woodworks’ smallest strip-planked boats, but this solo canoe has space enough for a paddler and a dog, a child, or overnight camping gear.

August 2025

Rowing the SEVENTY48

One boat, four oars, seventy miles

In 2019, when Basin Herbertson first heard about the SEVENTY48, he didn’t know how to row, nor did he have a boat in which to learn. He designed and built a performance boat for the event, and in June 2025 he and his son, Ben, completed the 70-mile race.

August 2025

The Tango 17

A durable two-person rowboat

Built of modern materials but with lines that hark back to the 19th century, Whitehall Spirit’s Tango 17 is equally suited to double performance rowing and solo camp-cruising.

Small Boats Annual 2011

Beg-Meil

A small yacht, whether under sail or oars

Inspired by the workboats of Brittany, France, François Vivier designed Beg-Meil as a safe and seaworthy daysailer.