February 2016 Archives - Small Boats Magazine

From The Editor

Make Way

Ron Frenette of Canadian Canoes emailed me after he’d seen the Dragonfly rowing shell featured as the Reader Built Boat in our January issue. He elaborated on the reasons the Dragonfly wasn’t developed more for home builders: “At one time we thought this would be a great project for many, but I suspected the amount of space required would be a deterrent.”

Boat Profile

Passagemaker Dinghy

A rich man's tender, a poor man's yacht?

What started out as a design for a motor-yacht tender finished up as a versatile pram that is as well suited for motoring, sailing, and rowing as it for gracing a pair of davits.

Boat Profile

Storm 23

A stylish and distinctive double-ender

Tacking off the timeless, craggy coast of Devon, the Storm 23 looked decidedly unconventional, even kooky, and yet there was something about her that inspired confidence: a purposeful air, a look of intent, almost of defiance.

Raquette River, Adirondacks. Lining, like portaging and upstream hauling, became comfort measures. When paddling simply wasn’t working, I fell back on what would. Progress was slow, but anything that kept me moving was enough to boost my spirits.

Adventures

Crossing the Northeast by Canoe

Paddling the Northern Forest Canoe Trail

The Northern Forest Canoe Trail stitches together 740 miles of lakes, streams, rivers, and portages that lie along the boreal fringes of New York and New England. Donnie Mullen was the first to paddle the full length of the trail he and his wood-and-canvas canoe survived the trip, both a bit worse for the wear.

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

Technique

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.

The only quibble I had with the Milwaukee was the belt clip is too stiff and too tight against the drill body to slip over the edge of a belt.

Product Reviews

Milwaukee M12 Drill/Driver

Compact and Capable

The M12 lithium-ion battery provides plenty of power without bulk.

Product Reviews

Skwoosh Seat Pads

A Seat-of-the-Pants Assessment

Fluidized gel takes the takes the pressure off sitz bones.

The skiff's concave run is as effective as trim tabs in keeping the bow down at speed.

Reader Built Boats

A Lapstrake Jericho Bay Lobster Skiff

Designed for Maine, Built for North Carolina

True to the shape of the original carvel-planked hull, this lapstrake version has an intentionally hogged bottom to get it up on plane quickly and keep the bow down.

Past Issues

From The Archives

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