To the Black Sea

Furling sail after riding the surf in on our first day out, I looked at the wind driven waves and wondered what conditions were to come. We had scheduled the voyage around our outside lives and responsibilities rather than weather patterns, but later locals all agreed that December was notoriously windy in the Sea of Cortez.

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.

The 6mm Vendia planking has four of its five veneers running lengthwise; it easily twisted to meet the stems.

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.

Reaching in about 12 mph wind, with whitecaps beginning to form. It will soon be time to reef. The upper yard is suspended from a pair of ‘lifts’ that spread load on the spar and also raise the pivot point. The downhaul next to the mast can tension the lower spar as needed and transfers sail thrust to the hull, reducing strain on the pair of sheets attached to the lower corners.

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.

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The long cockpit provides seating for up to eight adults.

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.

The smooth and slender shape of the blades allows them to slip in and out of the water cleanly, adding power to the stroke.

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.

As the rollers partially flatten under the weight of the boat they broaden their area in contact with the ground and glide over it, conforming to its contours rather than plowing into it.

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.

Two circular saws and the curves they cut through common 3/8" CD plywood: The smaller blade of the cordless saw made the cut at right with a tighter radius.

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.

Torqeedo's outboards with ratings up to an equivalent of 8 hp, are designed without anti-ventilation plates. The foil-sectioned shafts of all but the smallest outboard aid in keeping surface air from getting to the prop.

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.

The put-in on Lobster Stream is just upstream of its confluence with the West Branch of the Penobscot River. We were all excited, a tad anxious, and already tired following the long journey from home. The 2-mile paddle up to Lobster Lake is, strictly speaking, upstream but in practice it’s an easy flat water trip. TINTIN, in the foreground, carries gear for a family of four.

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?

With his brother at the helm, the author enjoys the results of his 5-year project.

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.

A handhold at the board's balance point makes carrying easy.

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.

The author’s Original Bug Shirt is still going strong after 17 years. Folded up, the shirt fits in the zippered front pocket.

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.

A batch of clamps going into my foam steam box will be ready for cleaning in about 5 minutes.

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!

Small Boats Annual 2016August 2015

Made in Vermont

The journey of a dory from logging to launching

Charles Johnson’s adventure begins with harvesting trees that have grown in the woodlands in his home state of Vermont, and in the years that follow, he gathers both wood and wisdom from friends who help him on his way to launching NONA BELLE.

With a single rower aboard, the Saajuu is perfectly trimmed. The rocks in the distance are common along Finnish lake shores and require boats like the Saajuu to be easily and quickly steered.

Small Boats Annual 2016August 2015

Saajuu 470

A craft for many purposes

In a country riddled with thousands of interconnected lakes, it’s no surprise that rowing would be a time-honored tradition. The glued-lapstrake Saajuu 470 is a modern take on workboats once rowed by Finland’s farmers, fishermen, and loggers.

Small Boats Annual 2016August 2015

The E.M. White Guide Canoe

A classic design from the 19th century

Sharon and Paul LaBrie celebrated their first wedding anniversary with a canoe trip on Maine’s Narraguagus River. For years they paddled an aluminum canoe but in the 40th year of their marriage they worked with canoe guru Jerry Stelmok to build the canoe they had always wanted, an E. M. White Guide.

July 2015

PILGRIM

A Karl Stambaugh Redwing 18

Every time she goes out on the water, PILGRIM draws compliments, and equally often the builder's wife says to him, “This is the best thing you have ever built.”

July 2015

Rope Fenders

A Norwegian Tradition

In Stavern, Norway, manila-rope fenders serve to adorn and protect the boats. During whale-hunting days, discarded towing lines were put aside by crewmen aboard the whalers and in their spare time, they used these spent lines to produce fenders.

July 2015

The Matsu Drysuit

Affordable cold-water protection from Mythic Gear

The Matsu doesn’t have all the details often found in more expensive drysuits, but the basics are all there and they do their jobs well.

any larger than the pot it's heating. The Emberlit keeps the fire small and contained, minimizing the impact on the wilderness.

July 2015

The Emberlit Original

A wood stove that's compact, efficient, and versatile

The Emberit fires up with any burnable material at hand: small branches, sticks, and even dry leaves.

Series

The Boat, the Boy, and Baja

WENDY

Square Rigs for Small Boats

SCAMP

The Caracal

Oars by Grapeview Point Boat Works

Aeré Beach Rollers

SAOIRSE

Homemade Rivets and Roves

The Taming of the Sheet

Torqeedo’s Travel 1003

Investing in Memories

Clam Skiff

The Sand Bar by Tidal Roots

GOOD’NUFF

The Original Bug Shirt

Steam-Cleaning Cured Epoxy

The Norwegian Tiller

Made in Vermont

Saajuu 470

The E.M. White Guide Canoe

PILGRIM

Rope Fenders

The Matsu Drysuit

The Emberlit Original

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