July 2025 Issue – Small Boats Nation

In this month’s Small Boats, we feature the 13′ Boston Whaler, a family favorite for almost 70 years; and the Lowell Dory Skiff, a substantial rowboat from the early 1900s. A young couple head out in their folding kayak for a romantic journey through the gentle countryside of Burgundy. John Goodell describes how to protect marine plywood using a technique much favored in the working semi-dories and drift boats of Oregon. Christopher Cunningham reviews a lightweight shower with its own pump. Kent and Audrey Lewis reveal why they like Kirby’s marine paints. And a bereaved son tackles his first solo boatbuilding project without his father.

Featured on our front cover is an original 13′ Boston Whaler built in the 1960s and still working as a chase boat for the Southport Yacht Club in Southport, Maine. Photograph by Jenny Bennett.

From The Editor

A Weekend with Boat People

The editor visits the 33rd WoodenBoat Show

Over the last weekend in June, Mystic Seaport welcomed thousands of boat enthusiasts to the annual WoodenBoat Show: the editor was among them.

Boat Profile

The 13′ Boston Whaler

The original “unsinkable” powerboat

They’ve been used as harbor tenders, kids’ first powerboats, yacht-club chase boats, and all-around stable workboats. Almost 70 years after the first of its type was launched, the 13’ Boston Whaler remains a favorite around America’s coasts.

Boat Profile

Lowell Dory Skiff

John Gardner’s “substantial rowboat” for fishing

A sturdy rowboat based on an early 20th-century working boat and drawn up by John Gardner, the 14′ 9″ flat-bottomed, shallow-drafted Dory Skiff is suited to fishing, general recreational, and workboat use.

Adventures

A Civilized Adventure

Kayaking through Burgundy and Nivernais in the 1980s

Lured by the gentle countryside, the expectation of easy camping, and the promise of good French food and wine, a young New England couple explore the waterways of Burgundy in a 17′ Klepper Aerius II kayak.

Technique

Oiling Plywood

Extending the lifespan of plywood-on-frame boats

In the Pacific Northwest it’s not always practical to epoxy-coat or varnish marine plywood. An alternative solution, tried and tested among Oregon coastal fishermen, is to saturate the wood with a homemade recipe known as “boat soup.”

Product Reviews

Kirby’s Marine Topside Hull and Deck Paint

Custom paint production since the mid-19th century

The George Kirby Jr. Paint Company has been hand-mixing top-quality marine paints to order for the past 179 years. As viable today as they were in the 1840s, the paints are user-friendly, durable, and available in any color.

Product Reviews

Flextail Max Shower

Keeping clean while cruising

When you’re small-boat cruising, you shouldn’t have to forego all the luxuries of modern living. With its own pump, the Flextail Max Shower delivers good flow for refreshing bathing even in remote camps and anchorages.

Reader Built Boats

PETRICHOR

Building a Northeaster Dory

In his youth, Dylan Spaulding had built two boats with his dad. After his father died, Dylan decided to build a third, a Northeaster Dory, in his memory.

Past Issues

From The Archives

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