Small Boats Annual 2013

Editor’s Page: Small Boats, Big Reach
Small boats, it may seem, are limited to local adventures. With their simple rigs or small motors, light weight, and general lack of space for an expedition’s-worth of provisions, many of the boats on these pages, one might think, should not venture too far from home … Continued on Page 5 of PDF version.

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Golden Gate Bridge with fog.

How to Choose the Best Small Boat Trip Destination

San Francisco Bay Area

The San Francisco Bay estuary is a great inland waterway, reaching 60 miles from San Jose north to the Napa River valley, and extending from the Pacific eastward through several watersheds almost as far as Stockton.

Two paddlers position their rowboat on the water in the Bahamas with an island in the distance.

How to Choose the Best Small Boat Trip Destination

The Bahamas

While the Bahamas are a well-known cruising destination for large boats, they also present great opportunities for exploration in small boats.

Small sailboat with white sails on Lake Champlain.

How to Choose the Best Small Boat Trip Destination

Lake Champlain, Vermont

Lake Champlain, the “West Coast” of New England, offers three distinct regions that are ideal for exploring in small boats.

Sailor cruises in a small white sailboat in front of the South Haven South Pierhead Light in Michigan.

How to Choose the Best Small Boat Trip Destination

South Haven, Michigan

South Haven, Michigan, offers sailing on Lake Michigan, near a sheltered harbor with marinas and launching ramps.

Small wooden sailboats near a beach on the Wye River.

How to Choose the Best Small Boat Trip Destination

The Wye River, Chesapeake Bay, Maryland

The Wye River has 16 miles of deep channels, unspoiled shoreline, and uncountable marshy tributaries for a lifetime of gunkholing enchantment.

Man tends to gear in his small sailboat on a sandy beach next to a large rockface.

How to Choose the Best Small Boat Trip Destination

The North Channel, Lake Huron, Ontario

The islands of the North Channel, which extends about 95 nautical miles east to west, are best accessed from the Canadian mainland or Manitoulin Island.

Group of people sit at their campsite next to a wooden sailboat.

How to Choose the Best Small Boat Trip Destination

The Stockholm Archipelago, Sweden

The Stockholm Archipelago stretches more than 90 miles north to south and 50 miles east to west, with a wide variety of cruising destinations

White sailing yacht towing a small white dinghy with a rocky, tree-lined beach in the background.

How to Choose the Best Small Boat Trip Destination

The Maine Island Trail

The Maine Island Trail runs from the New Hampshire border eastward to Machias Bay. It includes more than 190 islands and mainland sites.

Man sits under a colorful umbrella on a sandy beach.

How to Choose the Best Small Boat Trip Destination

Cayo Costa, Florida

Cayo Costa is a barrier island south of Charlotte Harbor and west of Pine Island.

Three small sailboats in the water near a rocky shore with mountains in the background at sunset.

How to Choose the Best Small Boat Trip Destination

The San Juan Islands

Frequent ferries from Anacortes serve nearby islands and numerous public parks and camping grounds, providing both easy-to-reach and more adventuresome destinations.

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Boat Profile

Hazel 18

A brand-new classic daysailer

Boat Profile

The Cross Island Skiff

Ready to carry just about anything, just about anywhere

For exploring backwaters and uncharted beaches and islands, if there is an "all-terrain vehicle" of the marine world, this boat might well be it.

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Sailor and a dog aboard the ELLAJEN sailing canoe.

Boat Profile

ELLAJEN

A sailing canoe

The early Prospector was developed to carry a load of gear, to cope with choppy waters, and to be maneuverable.

5

Boat Profile

Rangeley Boat

A nimble rowing craft from Maine’s lake country

Developed in the late-19th century for Maine lake fishing camps, the Rangeley type has long been admired as a capable small craft with excellent rowing characteristics.

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Two young girls wearing lifevests ride aboard a small white sailboat.

Boat Profile

Drifter

Yacht tender, daysailer, trainer

Designed as an able yacht tender, Drifter's wider aft sections favors buoyancy and stability over pure rowing.

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Boat Profile

Sea Flea Hydroplane

Small boat, big fun

There's no telling how many of these little hydroplanes have been constructed, but their appeal is as fresh now as it was 50 years ago.

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Small white Phoenix III sailboat sits moored along a sandy shoreline in the water.

Boat Profile

Phoenix III

A sail-and-oar beach cruiser

Sailing to windward, reaching, running, the heading doesn't seem to matter; the Phoenix III slips easily through the water.

Boat Profile

The Rambler 18

A runabout for adventure

The Rambler 18 is for people seeking comfortable cruising, not the exhilaration of speed. Riding in this boat is a pleasant and relaxing experience.

Boat Profile

The AS-17

A working class skiff

It’s an advantage for a work-boat that will be used by many different operators to be dead simple, and this boat is.

Boat Profile

Lyman Runabout

A 1950s classic in lapstrake plywood

"Some things from the 1950s are indeed worth keeping operational, if not outright restored.”

Boat Profile

ELSON PERRY

A sailing treasure from the past

Under the supervision of the museum’s resident boatbuilder, Eamonn Doorly, the staff of the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax, Nova Scotia, volunteered their time to build the ELSON PERRY. Their hours of work were well rewarded, though, as the museum uses the boat to teach staff how to sail.

Boat Profile

Heritage 23

A kit boat inspired by the Great Lakes Mackinaw

Conceived as an adaptation of successful programs for rowing and sailing elsewhere, the Heritage 23 was designed by Richard Pierce, to be worked up for kit construction by Jordan Boats.

Boat Profile

Manitou 18

A classic plywood runabout

Starting with plans of the Downeaster 18 by Charles Wittholz, Copper Harbor Boat Works built this stunning interpretation seen here on Lake Superior near Copper Harbor, Michigan. Five coats of varnish cover the deck and interior.

Boat Profile

FAIREHOPE

A 21' hard-chined adventurer by Nelson Zimmer

Straight sides and her V-bottomed design give the 21-footer a “hard chine,” or intersection where the topsides and bottom meet. Done right, the resulting shape is pleasing to the eye.

Boat Profile

ZEEK

Designed and built for Alaskan waters

Dave Seaman designed ZEEK to be fast and comfortable in Kachemak Bay's choppy waters. A chop of 3' is not uncommon. The 90-hp outboard will drive her to a maximum speed of 30 knots.

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