February 2017

From The Editor

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.

Boat Profile

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.

Boat Profile

Whitehall Tender

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.

Adventures

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.

Technique

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.

Product Reviews

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.

Product Reviews

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.

Reader Built Boats

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.