Series

May 2015

Trailex SUT-350-S

Lightweight Aluminum Trailers

I learned early on that most damage to boat hulls is caused by improper transport, launching, retrieval and/or storage. To avoid any problems while I transported boats, a proper trailer was in order. At races and boat shows the most well-cared-for boats were transported on Trailex Trailers, with the SUT-350-S the apparent favorite.

Small Boats Annual 2016May 2015

A Lapstrake Livery Boat

A Whitehall for quick construction

What was left of the boat rotting in the brambles on the north shore of Clear Lake in Western Washington was once a very fast under oars. Back in the 1930’s John Thomas “could row it across the lake, fill up two gallon jugs with spring water and row halfway back on one cigarette.” When John Sack, Thomas’ nephew, took over the lakeside family cabin in the 1960s the boat had been sitting at the base of the largest pine tree on the property, unused for a decade.

May 2015

In Stevenson’s Wake

The Rivers and Canals of Belgium and France

Two aspects of Robert Louis Stevenson’s book touched me immediately: first, the course, which I found wonderful and even exotic despite its geographic proximity to my home in Bordeaux; and, second, its vagabond spirit, which struck me as reawakening an ethic of leaving much to chance, a dance with luck, relying on unplanned encounters and unfolding episodes.

Small Boats Annual 2016May 2015

ROSINA MAY

A Thames River Skiff

Thames skiffs were an evolution of the wherries used to transport cargoes and passengers up, down and across the Thames for many years before bridges and other forms of transport put them out of business. Built in a shop with limited space available, ROSINA MAY is 3' shorter than the century-old skiff that inspired her builder.

May 2015

DOCKHOUSE QUEEN

A 16’ Electric Mini-Tug

Terry Everman grew up in a Columbia River tugboat family, and after a 30-year career in the shipbuilding industry, he built a tug for himself. It wasn’t big, like the tugs that he’d seen as a boy, but it was the biggest tug he could build in a one-car garage.

Small Boats Annual 2016May 2015

Making a Wood and Leather Scoop Bailer

What a cut-up bleach bottle wishes it were

A few bits of scrap wood, a piece of leather, and a handful of copper tacks will bring elegance back to bailing.

April 2015

MA CHERIE, a François Vivier Ebihen 16

Plywood, epoxy, and life lessons

Wind & Oar Boat School is a Portland, Oregon, nonprofit that teaches boatbuilding not only for its own sake, but also to give meaning to math, science, design, and practical problem solving. As part of a workplace readiness program in the summer of 2013, students were tasked with building François Vivier’s Ebihen 16.

April 2015

SolLight’s RailLights

Solar-charged lighting for camp and cockpit

Solar charged lights that come in handy in underway, at anchor, and in camp

Small Boats Annual 2016April 2015

The Escargot Canal Cruiser

As a wooden boat, the Escargot is an unlikely charmer. It has a hull like a shoebox, only one curve to speak of, and is entirely bereft of brightwork and brass. Nonetheless, it has an ineluctable appeal inside and out. The cabin with its arched roof and stovepipe has the look of a gypsy wagon and the lure of running away from it all, in comfort. My father said of it: “The moment I step aboard, I’ve arrived.”

April 2015

BoundaryTEC’s ShowerCoil

Campfire Water Heater and Shower

Roughing it has its merits, but do yourself a favor and take a hot shower.

April 2015

Wiping Varnish

Final coats fast and close to flawless

I had just finished again sanding out the wiggly, wavy, saggy results of my latest brushed varnish attempt on my wherry interior. I’d bought yet another quart of expensive marine spar varnish and was discouraged that I could expect most of it to wind up in the shop vacuum. In the dusty reaches of my memory I recalled an article by a furniture maker describing his efficient wipe-on varnishing technique.

April 2015

The 2015 Everglades Challenge

A race that wasn't

After rescuing a dozen WaterTribers in distress, the Coast Guard canceled the race and requested that racers proceed to Cape Haze Marina and make arrangements to be picked up. I felt bad for him. He’d paid the entry fee, took time off from work, and traveled to Florida, only to have the race canceled. We pulled into Cape Haze Marina about 8:30 p.m. and over dinner decided to continue to Key Largo.

Small Boats Annual 2016April 2015

The Candlefish 13

Three Men in a Boat (to say Nothing of the Moose)

Sam Devlin drew up plans to a customer’s specs and in the process imagined how he might adapt the design the boat for his own use: “a couple of weeks of moose hunting on a far northern lake with my friends Sven and Ollie.” To that end, the Candlefish 13 he’d build for himself would be able to carry three successful hunters and a half ton of moose meat, and still have about a foot of freeboard.

March 2015

Two Nights on ZEPHYR

A Spring Solo Cruise in a Garvey Box

Only when you've devoted over two decades to kayaks is a boat shy of 12' a step up to posh accommodations. Harvey Golden, a long-time kayaker, built Chapelle's smallest garvey as his first camp-cruiser and thoroughly enjoyed his shakedown cruise, even though he spent his days and nights in a cockpit not much bigger than a bathtub.

March 2015

Quick-Release Tension Knots

Small-Boat Rigging on a Shoestring

There are lots of jobs aboard the boat and in camp that can be performed well with a bit of line, and a few variations on a simple quick-release tension knot. Tension is easy to achieve and adjust even without blocks and the absence of fittings keeps things cheap and quiet.

March 2015

PEARL, an Iain Oughtred Wee Rob

A bit of keeping up with the Joneses led Lorenz Rutz to build PEARL, a 12’ Wee Rob canoe designed by Iain Oughtred. His wife Shari enjoyed kayaking but struggled with her 60-lb plastic kayak. Lorenz would help her load the boat on their truck’s canopy roof rack, but she would return with it slid in on the truck bed.

Small Boats Annual 2016March 2015

The International 12-Foot Dinghy

100 Years as a Class

In 1913 England’s Boat Racing Association, a small club of sailing enthusiasts, called for a design to comply with the following requirements: length 12’, beam 4’8”, and a single 100-sq-ft sail with no battens; she should be a capable rowing boat as well as a good sailing craft, suitable as a tender for larger yachts. The winning design was submitted by an amateur designer named George Cockshott.

Small Boats Annual 2016March 2015

The Færder Snekke

A racing workboat from Norway

“I first encountered a lone Færder snekke at a maritime festival in Oslo. She was small and open, but did not fit in with the similarly scaled, rough, and hardy oiled workboat from the north. On the other hand, the boat had shadows of an appealing older working aesthetic that didn’t fit in with the larger, yachty Meter boats or varnished cruisers, either.”

March 2015

Nemo’s Bugout Screen Room Tarp

Take shelter from bugs, sun, and rain without retreating to the confines of a tent.

March 2015

DeWalt’s Concealer safety goggles

A ski-goggle approach to safety glasses is a step up in protection, comfort and clarity.

February 2015

WHIO, a Welsford pocket cruiser

Ralf Schlothauer first tried to build a boat when he was 6 years old. He scavenged bits of plywood and lumber from the neighborhood and then enlisted the help of his sandbox playmates. The result was not a boat but a collection of even smaller bits of plywood and lumber.

February 2015

Greenfield’s Sky Winch

There’s a little balancing act down the trailer tongue I have to do when hauling my boat up on its trailer. Sky Winch put an end to this nonsense.

February 2015

Kokatat’s Launch Socks

When I heard about Kokotat’s Launch Socks I was pretty excited. The first time I tried them, I waded into the water, got aboard my kayak and my feet were still dry! It was a cold day paddling in the wind and rain, but my feet stayed happily warm.

February 2015

Thermos cooking

Hot meals cooked while you're under way

When I'm out cruising I’m generally too lazy to do anything fancy to feed myself. Then I discovered thermos cooking. It’s so simple that I now regularly cook hot meals.

February 2015

Lake Nipigon

Sailing solo in the Ontario wilderness

The morning on Lake Nipigon brought cool air, clear skies, and a few faint wisps of cloud to color the sunrise. I unzipped the tent and saw a line of fresh moose tracks between me and the water’s edge, barely three feet from my front door. So much for thinking of myself as a light sleeper.