February 2017 Archives - Small Boats Magazine

Driftwood and Windfalls

Sawing driftwood for my review of the Silky Bigboy in the February issue struck a chord that has resonated deeply through most of my life. My father used to take me to the beach near our home in Edmonds, Washington, to gather red cedar driftwood for a fence that would eventually surround our 1/3-acre lot.

Maine Coast Peapod

Joel White’s classic

The peapod might be one of the most easily identifiable, traditional small craft found on the coast of Maine today and Joel White’s classic take on this timeless design is perfectly suited for both sailing and rowing.

Tadpole Tender

Cottrell's 10' Whitehall

The Tadpole Tender from Cottrell Boatbuilding is a scaled-down Whitehall that can do well as a tender, a rowing trainer for kids, or a lightweight rowboat you can carry by cartop.

The Wedding Canoe

A grand gift

After Dave MacDonald finished his first boat, a strip-built kayak, he couldn't wait to start another boatbuilding project. With two of his friends getting married in just six months, he started work on the perfect wedding gift for them: a canoe.

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.

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.

The angled arms of the system pivot to allow the clamps to accommodate work up to 6" thick as well as apply pressure to the faces of the boards being clamped.

4-Way Clamping System

Quick, accurate edge-gluing

WoodRiver’s system produces flat panels by applying pressure on the faces as well as the edges of the boards being glued together.

This 12" Alaskan yellow cedar log wasn't too big a job for the Bigboy. It cut through in five minute.

Bigboy

A saw for the out-of-doors

Whether you’re gathering wood for a campfire or salvaging windfalls for boatbuilding projects, Silky’s Bigboy cuts quickly and cleanly and is a lot more portable than a chainsaw.

The yawl rig has advantages beyond those for sailing. The two masts support a fly that can be set open for shade and a cooling breeze, or...

FIRE-DRAKE

A sail-and-oar cruiser

When Alex Zimmerman decided to build a camp-cruising boat for himself, he applied his mechanical engineering training to use and started by crunching numbers. What he ended up with, FIRE-DRAKE, is a lapstrake boat that is as much a work of art as of science.

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