June 2021 Archives - Small Boats Magazine

In this issue, the article by Kent and Audrey Lewis on repairing checked plywood veneers inspired our editor to examine the plywood he had used in boats built over the span of four decades. Our two boat profiles focus on the Expedition Rowboat designed by Colin and Julie Angus and a boxy sailboat with surprising speed—Michael Storer’s Oz Goose. Washington’s Baker Lake makes for a tranquil three-day cruise at the foot of a stunning glacier-covered volcano. A versatile pressurized water bottle and two compact Porta-potties are the subjects of our reviews, and a 9′ tug built during a weekend festival is our featured Reader Built Boat.

From The Editor

Checking my work

Plywood of a certain age

Our editor takes a look at how the plywood has held up in some of the boats he has built over the past four decades. The boatbuilding books he’d read had left out the most important factor in deciding what finish to apply to it.

Boat Profile

Expedition Rowboat from Angus

A sliding-seat cruiser from Angus Rowboats

The Expedition Rowboat from Angus Rowboats was designed by Julie and Colin Angus for their 2,600-mile journey from Scotland to Syria. The stitch-and-glue cruiser has the speed and seaworthiness to take on less ambitious adventures with ease.

Boat Profile

Oz Goose

A box that takes flight

The Oz Goose from Australian designer Michael Storer may look a bit like a sandbox but it is a high-performance sailer that can get up on plane and fly at speeds around 12 knots. Easy and inexpensive to build, it has achieved remarkable popularity as a racer, cruiser, trainer, and day boat.

Adventures

Baker Lake

The mirror of a mountain

Baker Lake is an 8-mile-long reservoir that lies at the foot of a 10,781’ volcano in Washington. On a summer weekend it can be crowded with hundreds of boats, campers, and beachgoers, but on a midweek cruise in May, our editor had the lake almost all to himself.

Technique

Fixing Checked Plywood

An epoxy cure for weathered plywood

When plywood hasn’t aged well, it can crack the paint covering it, letting water in and accelerating the damage. Kent and Audrey have restored several old plywood boats and share their methods for stabilizing the vulnerable veneer with epoxy.

Product Reviews

Porta Potties

Dometic 972 and Thetford 135

Adhering to the most difficult principle of the Leave-No-Trace ethic is a whole lot easier if you can bring a portable toilet along. We take a look at two compact porta-potties from Thetford and Dometic.

Product Reviews

Lunatec Spray Bottle

A better bottle under pressure

A built-in air pump equips Lunatec’s spray bottle with a lot of functions that ordinary water bottles don’t have. From cooling off in the heat of the day to taking a quick sip of water in the middle of the night.

Reader Built Boats

A Tubby Tug

From lumber to launch in 33 hours

John Lee, his father, and three friends rose to the Edensaw Boatbuilding Challenge to build a boat during the three days of the 2018 Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival. Their Glen-L Tubby Tug turned out to be a charming keeper.

June 2021