Technique

January 2020

Making a Slicker Trailer

HDPE for less friction

Carpet is a common surface treatment for trailer bunks, meant to protect the boat and ease loading and unloading, but it gathers abrasive grit and creates friction. Replace it with high-density polyethylene and using the launch ramp is no longer such a drag.

December 2019

Quick Whippings

Admiralty and West Country

You don’t need a needle and sewing palm to apply secure whippings to the ends of your boat’s lines. The Admiralty whipping dresses up laid line and the West Country whipping holds braided line together.

November 2019

Long-Reach Clamps

Big jaws with bite

When you have a job to do that’s beyond the reach of the clamps you have, it’s easy enough to make longer clamps. Some scrap lumber, two bits of plywood, a bolt, and a length of cord are all you need.

October 2019

Cleating the Main

Two quick-release options

When you’re sailing solo, you’ll often have one hand on the tiller and the other on the sheet. Ben Fuller has two ways of secure the sheet if the wind is steady and moderate and both can be released quickly if a gust hits.

September 2019

Four Practical Tips

We have four new tips on tap: coiling tie-down straps, folding tarps, using IKEA wooden bed slats for a small-boat sleeping platform, and putting a portable thickness planer on wheels to handle long stock in a short shop.

August 2019

Anchors Astray

Unsticking stuck anchors

Anchors are meant to dig into the bottom and hold tight until it’s time to get under way, but they’ll occasionally hook something and won’t let go no matter how hard you pull. Fortunately, you can rig your anchor so you can get it back.

July 2019

A Cartop Water Tank

Rinsing at the ramp

When you get back to the launch ramp after an outing, a quick fresh-water rinse of your boat and trailer, and even a warm shower, are possible if you make a pressurized, plastic-pipe water tank for your vehicle’s roof rack. Leave the salt and sand at the beach.

June 2019

Maintaining Trailer Bearings

Greasing the wheel before it squeaks

Trailer bearings have a difficult job to do. The weight of the trailer, the boat, and everything in it bears on handful of steel rollers and races that have to endure dunkings at the ramp and high speeds on the road. We take a look at bearing care and replacement.

May 2019

Sharpening Files

Putting acid to work

A file is like any other boatbuilder’s cutting tool: its edges get dull with use and eventually need to be sharpened. Chemistry has a solution for putting the bite back in a file’s countless tiny teeth: pitting acid against iron.

April 2019

Knots and Toggles for Bungee Cord

The Zeppelin Bend and the Angler's Loop

Bungee cord is useful stuff but it doesn’t take kindly to the most commonly used knots. We take a look a couple of very old knots that do work, one anglers tied when fishing line was made of gut and the other used for mooring Zeppelins.

March 2019

Fender Washers

Beyond the reach of clamps

You can never have too many clamps, but there are some jobs that clamps simply can’t do. Screws and fender washers put the pressure on those places where clamps can’t reach.

Small Boats Annual 2020February 2019

Fillet Brazing for Custom Boat Hardware

DIY custom fittings

Mark Kaufman wanted deck fittings that were a good match for the runabout he’d built to plans published in 1938. There were no suitable fittings he could buy and casting them was not in the cards. He shows us how he made his own with brass, bronze, and brazing alloy.

January 2019

Boxing a Bigger GPS

A bit bigger, a lot better

A handheld GPS is a valuable tool for the small-boat cruiser, but its small screen can be hard to read. Ben Fuller took a larger GPS that’s meant to be built into a console, combined it with a waterproof box and battery, and made a system that’s nearly as portable as a handheld and much more practical.

December 2018

Shop-Made Riveting Hammers

The right tool for the job

If sanding is the most tedious boatbuilding task, peening rivets has to be a close second. A hammer made for the job is easier on the wrist and less prone to buckling the rivets.

November 2018

Padook

Paddle + Boat hook

Two things come in handy when you’re shoving off or docking: a paddle and a boat hook. A

October 2018

DIY Bronze Blocks

Bronze cheeks and ball-bearing sheaves

If you take pride in making your own boat or would like reduce the expense of outfitting it for sailing, you can make your own traditional-looking bronze blocks with ball-bearing sheaves. You probably already have all the tools you’ll need.

September 2018

Five Handy Tips

Ingenuity at work

We take a look at a handful of useful tips: detailing clay for imperfect paint and varnish jobs, cinch straps made of rope, saw horses for varnishing oars, farrier’s rasps for woodworking, and a slotted deck for raising a mast.

August 2018

Insignia Sailcloth

Adhesive adornment

You might not need a number and a logo on your mainsail to set your boat apart from others, but you can add a distinctive decorative touch with adhesive-backed sailcloth. It’s easy to apply and needs no sewing.

Small Boats Annual 2019July 2018

Transom Extensions

Adding buoyancy and planing surface

Most small outboard skiffs carry a lot of weight in the stern—skipper, outboard, and fuel tank—and suffer the consequences. Homemade transom extensions add both buoyancy and planing surface that can improve trim and performance over a wide range of speeds.

June 2018

Trailer Tires

Age before wear

It’s easy to take trailer tires for granted—they don’t log many miles and don’t usually show much wear—but they deserve more attention than a glance to see if they appear to have enough air in them.

April 2018

Eton Oar Stands

Quick work without clamps

A 1950s newsreel offered a glimpse of English craftsmen making racing shells and oars in the Eton Boathouse on the River Thames. The system they used to hold the oars while working on them did away with clamps and was fast and efficient.

March 2018

Copper Guards

Traditional protection for oars

Oar blades, ideally, should only come in contact with water, but they often do battle with rocks, sand, and barnacles in our comings and goings to and from landings. Copper tips will take the abuse and not show their age as easily as paint and varnish will.

February 2018

Power Carving

Working wood with an angle grinder

Angle grinders are standard tools for working metal, but they can be equipped with special wheels designed for working wood, and spinning at over 10,000 rpm, they can move wood very quickly.

January 2018

Doughnut Fenders

Distinctive and easy to make

The basic principle of most rope fenders is to create a core and then wrap it prettily. The core of the doughnut fender is a coil and the wrap is a type of loop hitching. Using a darker line for the core has the pleasing effect of contrasting with a lighter-colored line on the outside.

December 2017

Sliding-Seat Conversion

A longer stroke without outriggers

Sliding seats are commonly associated with outriggers and long oars, but Ben Fuller found he could rig some of his boats with a sliding seat and add power to his rowing without changing oars or gunwale-mounted oarlocks.