Series

October 2023

Reverse-Reading Compass

Getting an accurate heading while looking astern

Most boat compasses are designed to be used while you’re facing forward. The Ritchie Rowing Compass is designed for aft-facing rowers.

October 2023

An Electric Journey to Knight Inlet

Exploring the wild beauty of British Columbia

Two friends explore the islands and inlets of the British Columbia coast in a solar-powered 20’ Whitehall.

October 2023

Candlefish 16

A stitch-and-glue skiff with plenty of volume

Sam Devlin’s Candlefish 16, a stitch-and-glue open outboard skiff, is a good introduction to boatbuilding and an excellent boat in which to go camp-cruising with the family.

October 2023

Joe Lanni’s LUCKY DUCK

The ultimate built-on-a-shoestring racer

Joe Lanni had thought of building a boat with graceful curves, but he built a Puddle Duck Racer instead. Despite its boxy hull, he was impressed by its ease of construction and its performance under sail.

Small Boats Annual 2014

The Mirror

An engaging English dinghy

With an open-cockpit layout, relatively high boom, and lots of seating, the Mirror is ideal for taking kids out.

Small Boats Annual 2014

The Point Comfort 18

A modern deadrise skiff

Doug Hylan’s Point Comfort 18 offers the seaworthiness and lineage of a Chesapeake deadrise skiff with the light weight and ease of construction a plywood hull provides.

October 2023

The Laker Canoe

An all-purpose strip-planked canoe

Gil Gilpatrick designed the 16’ strip-planked Laker Canoe with good stability for relaxed family paddling.

Small Boats Annual 2014

The Ipswich Bay Skiff

Built by eye and shaped by batten

The Pert Lowell Co. in Amesbury, Massachusetts, designed the Ipswich Bay Skiff for a customer who wanted a lightweight but rugged skiff that he could launch from the beach on a dolly.

Small Boats Annual 2014

The Ultimate Freight Canoe

The wood-and-canvas Moosehead Laker

Abundant cargo-carrying capacity was uppermost in Francis “Mick” Fahey’s mind when he designed a wood-and-canvas freight canoe for his own use in the 1960s. The canoe’s versatility has made its successors, including this Jerry Stelmok–built Moosehead Laker named FIELD OF STREAMS, popular among camp owners and fishing guides in the Maine lakes.

September 2023

Summer Breeze

The most boat from the least materials

An award-winning 11′ 8″ flatiron skiff designed by David Beede makes the most of three sheets of plywood for the hull and a poly tarp for the sail.

MUSTELID – Episode 7

Introduction to the Venture

In this installment, we are getting ready to cruise, intending to row and sail around Chichagof Island, a distance of about 450 nautical miles—if we were to limit ourselves to the straight and narrow. But first we recap a change of venue, from the Southern Admiralty Wilderness site where we built MUSTELID to our home port of Tenakee Springs, Alaska,…

September 2023

John Greiner, His Way

Fulfilling a dream on the Great Lakes

When approaching his mid 80s, John Greiner decided it was time to graduate from racing to cruising, so he designed and built his dream sailboat for exploring the Great Lakes.

September 2023

Flex Tape vs. Densyl Tape

Finding the right tape for emergency repairs

Tapes for on-the-go temporary repairs to hulls should adhere to wet, curved surfaces, but not all tapes are created equal.

September 2023

A Universal Marine Compass

A steering compass that also serves for hand-held bearings

Silva’s 70UN can be mounted on a bracket for steering a course or hand-held as a bearing compass.

September 2023

A DIY Light Bar

Keeping trailer lights out of the water and in the line of sight

The electrical system is arguably the most vulnerable part of any boat trailer. A removable light bar raises the lights to increase their visibility, keeps them out of the water, and can be used on more than one boat and trailer.

September 2023

Jim Schroer

An inexhaustible spirit

The late Jim Schroer took the road less traveled and gathered a wealth of skills and experiences that far exceeded what most would even dream possible.

November 2023

Centerboard Sloop #226A

A new traditional rig on a proven Gartside hull

Paul Gartside’s 16′ Centerboard Sloop was designed as a daysailer and cruiser for one or two. There are three options for sailing rigs, including a gaff main with topsail.

September 2023

Portage Pram

A towing tender for two adults and their gear

The Portage Pram is just 6′ 8″ long, weighs 35 lbs, is cartoppable, tows well, and can carry two adults and their gear.

Small Boats Annual 2014

Rescue Minor

From military rescue vessel to family electric launch

Shallow draft, center console, room for a family, and an electric motor make this Rescue Minor, built by students at the Great Lakes Boat Building School, an ideal boat for Michigan’s Les Cheneaux Islands.

Small Boats Annual 2014

The Peterborough Nomad

A cottage runabout reborn

This 15' cedar-strip Peterborough Nomad by Woodwind Yachts was built on a mold created from an original Nomad launched by the Peterborough Canoe Company in 1958.

August 2023

Plastimo Fog Horns

Two fog horns from Plastimo float, aren’t adversely affected by the marine environment, and are impressively loud.

August 2023

WaveFront’s TillerClutch

When the rudder is set to hold the course you want, WaveFront’s TillerClutch can mind the tiller while you tend to other tasks or take a break.

August 2023

TIME–TRAVELER

Building a Salt Bay Skiff

Senate Hills has been an enthusiastic and prolific do-it-yourselfer from an early age; TIME–TRAVELER is his first rowing skiff.

August 2023

Hiwassee Wanderer

A simple and affordable solo canoe

The Hiwassee Wanderer from Maddox Boat Works is a stitch-and-glue solo canoe designed for quick construction from three sheets of plywood without the need for building forms.

August 2023

Centerboard Lugger

Paul Gartside's Design #166

Paul Gartside’s Design #166, a two-masted lugger, is a satisfying and sometimes challenging project for home boatbuilders, and its shoal draft makes it a versatile sail-outboard-and-oar cruiser.