January 2016

From The Editor

The Wagner Education Center

I met Dick Wagner in 1976. I was fresh out of college, living in Seattle, and boatless; Dick and his wife Colleen ran a boat livery out of their home on Lake Union. Their home is indeed on Lake Union: It’s a white clapboard-sided houseboat afloat on a raft of western red cedar logs.

Boat Profile

The Cackler

A 14' hunting skiff

The Cackler from Devlin Designing Boat Builders is a contemporary outboard hunting skiff that can carry a heavy load, manage rough water and get hunters, dogs, and decoys out and back at a good clip. Its uncluttered cockpit make it a versatile utility skiff.

Boat Profile

The Adirondack Guideboat

Strip-built in cedar, spruce, and pine

The original Adirondack guideboats were designed in the middle of the 19th century to take paying customers hunting and fishing the interconnected lakes, ponds, and streams of Upstate New York. The elegant strip-built version of this swift rowing boat makes rowing for its own sake a profitable venture.

Adventures

Handing Over the Helm

A father and son take to the South Salish Sea

Bruce Bateau takes his teenage son on a weekend sail among the islands in Washington’s South Puget Sound and watches his love of boats and water take hold in the next generation.

Technique

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.

Product Reviews

The iBall Wireless Trailer-Hitch Camera

Getting hitched hassle-free

If you have to back your vehicle up to the trailer, the iBall wireless trailer hitch camera will get you on target in no time.

Product Reviews

The Small Craft Nav-Aid

Going analog for a quick fix

With a chart and a little low-tech device called a Nav-Aid you can set a course faster than you can plug in a waypoint.

Reader Built Boats

A Dragonfly Rowing Shell

Speed with a dash of stability

This Steve Killing-designed shell was built by an Arkansas retiree with an interest in learning to row and the patience to plane rolling bevels on every 23’-long strip.