Technique Articles - Page 5 of 6 - Small Boats Magazine

May 2017

Trim and Ballast

Movable weight for easier rowing and sailing

Dory stones were once common fixtures in working boats; a bag of buckshot or a soft-sided water container serves as well without doing any damage. Ben Fuller walks us through the benefits of movable ballast aboard small rowing and sailing boats.

Four blades on a single arbor increase accuracy and dramatically shorten working time.

April 2017

Gang-sawing

Quicker preparation for strip-building and laminating

Strip-built boats built from scratch start with a long, tedious task—ripping scores of cedar strips. Setting up a tablesaw to make four cuts at once saves time and improves accuracy.

A push-pull tiller requires a different kind of keeper than one for a conventional tiller.

March 2017

A Norwegian Tiller Keeper

Hands-off steering for push-pull tillers

Yawl rigs have become quite popular for small sail-and-oar cruisers. The Norwegian push-pull tillers call for a different kind of tiller minder; we take a look at a simple shop-made device that does the job.

Tom Shepard poles a railbird skiff in the shallow waters of the Delaware River basin. The skiff is in the collection of Independence Seaport Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

February 2017

Exploring the Poles

Propulsion where motors, oars, and paddles fail

When the water is deep enough to float a small boat, but too shallow for motors, oars, or paddles, try poling. We take a look at poles and how to use them.

January 2017

Joe’s Roller Cart

Take a load on

Moving boats around can be difficult, but homemade rollers can be used on everything from pavement to soft sand.

January 2017

Pogies

Warm Hands in Winter

Rowing in winter with bare hands can be quite unpleasant. Warm gloves help, but can compromise grip. Pogies wrap around both hand and oar, providing warmth without coming between hand and handle.

The placement of a melonseed skiff's mast so far forward, rules out setting the topsail while afloat. Other boats that have the mast set farther aft and offer the sailer good footing and stability won't have to be rigged while ashore.

December 2016

Topsails for Sprit Rigs

A classy addition to a classic rig

Barry Long has always liked sailing in light air—ghosting along close to shore on a quiet evening feels like magic, especially in a small boat. But light-air sailing, though relaxing, is surprisingly challenging. In moderate winds, any boat competently handled can attain hull speed, but light wind requires sharp skills and careful attention to detail to get the most out of what’s available. Sail shape and trim make a big difference. Beyond skills, having a little extra canvas adds a sharp arrow to the quiver.

At Nubble Beach on Maine’s Butter Island, the tide exposes several hundred feet of beach at low ebb. Here, the anchor was set just beyond the low tide mark, and the extra warp was walked out the rocky promontory to secure the boats. With this adaptation of the Pythagorean system, the boats can be pulled into water even deeper than it is where the anchor is set.

Small Boats Annual 2018November 2016

Pythagorean Mooring

Variations on anchoring

The Pythagorean mooring technique appeared in Roger Barnes’s delightful and informative book, The Dinghy Cruising Companion, when it was published in 2014. It is a simple and clever way to anchor a dinghy without using a clothesline loop or outhaul set up. As described, a Pythagorean mooring, named after geometry’s theorem of right triangles, is most useful in settings where tidal range is modest and where there is fairly deep water close to a shoreline.

This apple-crook breasthook is in a New York Whitehall built in 1983. Well cured before it was installed, it hasn't checked or separated from the surrounding structure.

October 2016

Knees and Breasthooks

Function and form

These angled pieces are important structural elements, but their potential as grace notes in a boat’s composition of curves is often overlooked. Ben Fuller shows us how they can be made both strong and graceful.

Lowering the centerboard and "tacking" can make rowing to weather easier than fighting the wind head on.

September 2016

Tacking for Rowing

An unusual use for a centerboard

Ready about? Centerboards and tacking aren’t just for sailing. If you’re rowing against a strong wind, dropping the board and taking a ziz-zag course may be easier than fighting your way straight upwind.

Dyneema rope, with spliced in stainless-steel thimbles and simple lashings, makes strong, do-it-yourself standing rigging.

August 2016

Synthetic Fiber Rigging

Stronger than steel

If your boat has standing rigging, stainless-steel wire and the special tools it requires aren’t your only option. John Marples introduces us to high-strength Dyneema rope. It’s every bit as strong as steel and you can install all the fittings by yourself.

I used the Siwash system frequently with my Gokstad faering on a second cruise up the Inside Passage. The anchor is ready to drop over the side with the retrieval line secured to the stock and the chain, rode, and painter joined to the shank.

July 2016

Tsimshian anchoring

Dropping the anchor while standing ashore

When you come ashore for a quick stop or for an overnight stay, Tsimshian anchoring is a simple way to keep your boat afloat and off the beach.

Stout ski poles offer a way to move upstream in the shallows while kneeling rather than standing in a canoe.

June 2016

Double Poling

A different take on a traditional technique

Poling a canoe is a skill that requires good balance and lots of practice. Peter Macfarlane took a hint from cross-country skiers and applied double-poling to working a canoe upstream in shallow water.

May 2016

Living with Sprit Sails

Brailing, Reefing, and Furling

The sprit rig’s simplicity works well for boats that are frequently launched and recovered.

Careful drilling of the pilot hole is required to recess the screw head. The gap in the collar assures that it can be drawn up tight.

April 2016

Quick Collars, Simple Buttons

Easy alternatives to leather collars

A kitchen cutting-board produced a simple collar and bits of hardwood led to a quick-shifting 3-speed oar.

This full footboard is in a late 19th-century wherry built in Shrewsbury, England. Four slats offer three positions to adjust for leg length.

March 2016

Foot Braces

Rowing's firm foundation

You can’t really pull on oars if your feet have nothing to push against. Ben Fuller offers a number of ways we can brace ourselves.

The curves of this cutter match two Dremel grinding bits. It took only a couple of minutes to repurpose this bit of hacksaw blade.

February 2016

Profile Scrapers

Adding Accents to Edges

With a simple shop-made tool you can bring out the best of your boat’s curves with a decorative touch, a tradition that goes back a thousand years.

Author Dale McKinnon, in her sliding-seat equipped light dory, makes her way into a headwind and waves,

January 2016

Rowing Rough Water

When the going gets tough, relax

Hard-won lessons from an experienced long-distance rower may come in handy when you’re struggling to reach a safe haven.

This small fence of locust wood took about five minutes to make.

December 2015

Planing Edges Square

Shop-made fences for planes and routers

When you give a plane a sharp edge and set it to make a fine cut, it’s easy to come neatly up to the pencil line you’re cutting to. It’s not so easy to keep the plane square to the work, especially if its sole is teetering on a narrow edge.

With the sleeping bag in place, the bunk is ready for the night.

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.

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.

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.

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.