March 2022 Archives - Small Boats Magazine

In our March issue we take a look at N. G. Herreshoff’s Colonia dinghy and Harry Bryan’s Handy Billy outboard launch. Mats Vuorenjuuri and his daughter cruise the islands clustered along Finland’s south coast and our editor gets reacquainted with his long-neglected sneakbox. Ben Fuller puts the Duckworks Small Boat Head System to good use and Kent and Audrey Lewis discover a trailer jack that has no moving parts. Our Technique feature offers stretch wrap and rubber strips as a way to clamp laminated paddles, oars, and spars. For the builder of HOPEWELL, an 11’ runabout, boatbuilding provides valuable lessons for meeting life’s challenges.

From The Editor

Reacquainted

Relaunching the sneakbox LUNA after a prolonged storage

Our editor built a sneakbox in 1984 and rowed and sailed it from Pittsburgh to Cedar Key, Florida, in the winter of the following year. Since then, it had been largely idle and hadn’t been afloat for about 20 years. It was time to spruce it up and get reacquainted.

Boat Profile

Handy Billy

An outboard out of sight

Handy Billy, Harry Bryan’s V-bottom launch, has classic lines inspired by William Hand’s deep-V inboards of the early 1900s but gets its power from a modern 4-stroke 25-hp outboard. Concealed by a housing over the motorwell, the outboard is hidden from view and as quiet as it can be.

Boat Profile

Colonia Dinghy

A 17' daysailer from N. G. Herreshoff

In 1901, N. G. Herreshoff designed a 17’ sailing dinghy for the steam yacht COLONIA. The boat proved successful, and 36 more Colonia dinghies were built by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. Sea trials aboard a 1975 copy suggest the design would be well worth reviving.

Adventures

Sailing the Archipelago Sea

A father-and-daughter cruise on Finland’s coast

Finland’s Archipelago Sea is dappled with countless islands, making it an idyllic setting for a cruise aboard a faering. Mats Vuorenjuuri and his daughter Inari sailed a crooked path to an island far from the mainland coast.

Technique

It’s a Wrap

Clamping with stretch wrap and inner tubes

Gluing laminates for spars, oars, and paddles can be fussy and messy jobs for clamps. Stretch wrap and rubber strips are a better way even if you have enough clamps, and inexpensive if you don’t.

Product Reviews

Quick Change Jack

An easy lift for roadside repairs

When a trailer’s tires or bearings fail, having the tools to make the change can save an outing from being turned into an ordeal. The Quick Change Jack has no moving parts and takes only seconds to use.

Product Reviews

Small Boat Head System

A compact way to leave no trace

The Small Boat Head System from Duckworks provides a convenient way to take a restroom break ashore without leaving a trace and afloat if you just can’t wait.

Reader Built Boats

HOPEWELL

Staying afloat

When an artist with an affection for boats suffered a heart attack, he was in the midst of a multi-year project of building a small outboard runabout. The challenges he faced in building boats gave him valuable insights about meeting the unexpected challenges of life.

Past Issues

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