August 2021 Archives - Small Boats Magazine

In the summer of 1972, three teenage friends designed and built a sailing hydrofoil. Our boat profiles feature the Oughtred Penny Fee and the Bedard Sponge Docks Skiff. Cord-wrapping oarlocks is an easy DIY project that provides economical protection for oars. Xtratuf boots and Cen-Tec’s vacuum accessories get a close look in our gear reviews. Our editor muses about the connections between building boats and making models of them, and a jet ski with a mahogany makeover is our extraordinary Reader Built Boat.

From The Editor

Inches to Feet and Feet to Inches

Building boats and making models

Making models and building boats have had a practical connection for centuries. While technology has changed the nature of models used to develop designs, a handmade model will always have roles closer to the heart.

Boat Profile

Sponge Docks Skiff 13

An easily built outboard garvey

J.F. Bedard’s Sponge Docks Skiff is a 13′ outboard-powered garvey designed for first-time boatbuilders. It will accommodate a crew of three, take a motor up to 29 hp, and, with a 15-hp motor, zip along at about 20 mph.

Boat Profile

Penny Fee

A glued-lap plywood dinghy for oar and sail

The largest of Iain Oughtred’s half-dozen dinghies, Penny Fee was designed for efficient rowing and sailing with one of four rigs ranging from a simple lug rig to a gaff yawl.

Adventures

A Wright Brothers Moment

1972, three friends, and a homebuilt hydrofoil sailboat

Mike Jacker, along with his friends Louis and Marty, had just graduated from high school and would have spent the summer of ‘72 sailing Lake Michigan at a local club, but a book on hydrofoils set them on a quest to design and build their own sailing foiler.

Technique

Cord-Wrapped Oarlocks

Quick and simple protection for oars

Wooden oars usually get protected from metal oarlocks by sewn-on leathers or slip-on rubber sleeves. Wrapping the oarlock with cord adds a protective surface that is inexpensive and easy to apply.

Product Reviews

Xtratuf Legacy Boots

XtraTuf traces its roots to rubber boots designed and built for commercial fishermen in 1950. The durable slip-resistant soles and flexible neoprene-lined uppers make today’s models well suited to small-boat cruising.

Product Reviews

Cen-Tec’s Quick Click

Dust collection for small power tools

Cen-Tec’s vacuum hose and adapters provide an effective means for collecting dust generated by small power tools and help create a cleaner, safer workshop.

Reader Built Boats

Metamorphosis

The elevation of a jet ski

Dale Brevik is a dedicated amateur woodworker who enjoys a project that will challenge and add to his formidable repertoire of skills. His latest was to give a 2002 jet ski a mahogany makeover with all the elegance of a classic runabout.

Past Issues

From The Archives

Small Boats Annual 2023

March 2017

March 2024

June 2021

View All

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