Series

Small Boats Annual 2017December 2015

Penguin

The comforts of home in a 21' trailer yacht

John Welsford designed this trailer-yacht to be a roomy and comfortable cruiser with aesthetic appeal and excellent seakeeping ability. The gaff rig elicits images from a bygone era, but there is nothing old-fashioned about the Penguin.

November 2015

A Diminutive Fantail Launch

A kayak fisherman's fantasy

Sandy MacKenzie enjoys fishing from kayaks, but putting his fishing rod down to pick up the paddle began to wear on him. He scouted about, without success, for plans for a canoe or a kayak with pedal or electric power that would leave his hands free for fishing. He had built a few kayaks and felt confident in his boatbuilding abilities, so he decided to take a chance on coming up with a design himself, something quite different from anything he’d seen.

November 2015

Shinto Rasps

Sharp-toothed tools

The Shinto Rasp has been out for many years now and if you have one, you know how well it works. We’ll take a close look at it, from its wavy sides down to the cut of its teeth to explain why it works well and why you should have one if you don’t already.

Small Boats Annual 2017November 2015

A Canvas Bunk

Simple comfort built around a camping pad

WoodenBoat’s senior editor Tom Jackson tells of a miserable night at anchor aboard his No Mans Land boat and the canvas bunk he made soon afterward, inspired by Lord Nelson’s lavishly embroidered bed aboard HMS VICTORY.

November 2015

Whitehalls on the Colorado

Following John Wesley Powell through the Grand Canyon

John Wesley Powell is well remembered for his daring descent of the Colorado River through the entire length of the Grand Canyon. The run is challenging enough in modern whitewater rafts; confronting the rapids, rocks and bus-sized standing waves in Whitehalls, boats once used as New York harbor taxis, made even experienced river guides nervous.

Small Boats Annual 2017November 2015

Southwester Dory

A dory for sail, oars, and outboard

It’s unfortunate that “Jack of all trades” is so often followed by “master of none.” It is possible to do a number of things quite well, and versatility is often of more value than virtuosity. The new Southwester Dory from Chesapeake Light Craft was designed to serve not only as a sailboat and a rowboat, but also as a motor launch, and it does well in all three capacities.

Small Boats Annual 2017November 2015

Inlet Runner

A versatile fisherman-friendly outboard

Kevin Agee wanted an easy-to-build outboard skiff he could use for catching baitfish in narrow inlet and shallow coves, so Dudley Dix came up with 16’ garvey that Kevin, a first-time boatbuilder, could build in his spare time over the winter and have ready to launch when summer rolled around.

October 2015

The Boat, the Boy, and Baja

Rowing and sailing the Sea of Cortez

Bands go on the road; mom/artist types with a kid in tow usually do not. Hannah Viano sorely needed to look at life from a different vantage point, and to reconnect with beau and babe in a not so 9-to-5 way. So they cut through all of the excuses not to, trailered their skiff 2,000 miles to Baja, and went off adventuring on the Sea of Cortez.

October 2015

WENDY

A Gartside rowing skiff made of an unusual wood

The laminated planking from Finland seemed like the future of lapstrake boatbuilding, but it may have been an idea whose time has not yet come.

October 2015

Square Rigs for Small Boats

An update for an ancient rig

With a few subtle modifications the hallmark of tall ships can be put to good use on small boats. The evolution from square rig to lug rig inspired a sail that can make that transition.

Small Boats Annual 2016October 2015

SCAMP

A little camp cruiser for big dreams

It's an odd duck, both in appearance and in its strange synthesis of big and small, but it’s plenty of boat no matter where your interests lie, whether it’s puttering around a lake in a breeze or taking on the challenges of the Inside Passage to Alaska.

Small Boats Annual 2016October 2015

The Caracal

Born by a beautiful bay

The customer's request was for a boat suitable for a crowd of kids, a cockpit with seating for eight, a cuddy with space for a portable toilet and room to take a nap, and inboard electric auxiliary power; a boat well suited to day-sailing, racing, and making the crossing to Martha’s Vineyard.

October 2015

Oars by Grapeview Point Boat Works

Proper oars for pleasurable rowing

Grapeview Point's finely crafted oars use a minimum amount of wood to achieve their maximum efficiency.

October 2015

Aeré Beach Rollers

Moving heavy loads over soft surfaces

Getting a cruise-laden boat out of the water and moved up the beach can be a drag in more ways than one. Aeré’s inflatable rollers will support up to a ton and ease the way ashore.

September 2015

SAOIRSE

A sharpie skiff

A Reuel Parker sharpie skiff was the realization of a New York boy’s dream to have a boat of his own. For a half century the dream was only a dream, but when a pile of lumber was delivered to his Florida home, it was finally time to do something about it.

September 2015

Homemade Rivets and Roves

Hammering common copper into shape

There are times when you just need just a handful of copper rivets, or some longer than those available.

Small Boats Annual 2016September 2015

The Taming of the Sheet

Sawing plywood made easy

Not many home shops have the space or the machinery to facilitate cutting sheets of plywood down to size. A sturdy sheet of insulating foam is an inexpensive and versatile solution to the problem.

September 2015

Torqeedo’s Travel 1003

Clean, quiet outboard power

Torqeedo's Travel 1003, a sophisticated electric outboard that delivers clean, quiet power for small boats, will tell you how fast you're going and how far you can go; it will even charge your cell phone.

September 2015

Investing in Memories

Canoe camping in northern Maine

Donnie and Erin Mullen were seasoned wilderness travelers, trained at Outward Bound and hardened by long forays into remote regions, but how would they hold up on a northern Maine’s canoe trip that required carrying toys and diapers?

Small Boats Annual 2016September 2015

Clam Skiff

A Bolger-designed workboat

The 18’ flat-bottom clam skiff Phil Bolger designed for Harold “Dynamite” Payson had to be “a solid skiff that could stand generous power, carry a big load, and have flat footing right out to the side. Nothing about it should be hard to explain.

Small Boats Annual 2016September 2015

The Sand Bar by Tidal Roots

A Maine-built cedar SUP board

Kyle Schaefer and Kent Scovill are avid fly fishermen and four years ago, when a friend left a stand-up paddleboard with Kyle, they immediately used the board to give them a better way to find fish. A light went on: What if they designed a board for stability rather than speed, one that was built in Maine out of local materials, and built it of wood? They now make stand-up-paddle boards in a weathered, three-bedroom house in Eliot, Maine.

August 2015

GOOD’NUFF

A customized Caledonia yawl

Five years in the making, it was part of a Wisconsin man’s 10-year plan to prepare himself for retirement, but before he could get started on the yawl he had to build a bigger garage.

August 2015

The Original Bug Shirt

Armor against airborne arthropods

In bug country you can protect your skin and your sanity with clothing instead of chemicals.

August 2015

Steam-Cleaning Cured Epoxy

Cleaner clamps and faster clamping

Clamps coated with epoxy from gluing jobs soon become useless but there's a quick way to get them fully functional again.

August 2015

The Norwegian Tiller

User-friendly steering

Norwegian tillers—they're not just for faerings. They'll go where the helmsman goes and free up space in the stern. Depose your conventional tiller and reoccupy your sternsheets!