Product Reviews
A steering compass that also serves for hand-held bearings
...is conveniently placed for use as a steering compass and easily to hand if needed to take a bearing. The underside of the bowl has a flat area that allows the compass to lie flush with the surface beneath it. While most of the boats had small bulkhead-mounted steering compasses, one or two had handheld compasses that had to be...
Boat Profile
Paul Gartside's Design #166
...head poking through the companionway. With the hatch closed, however, and vented washboards in place, the cabin is dry, quiet, and cozy. A small fan forward adds to the luxury as I stretch out on the spacious berth. Paul Gartside’s Design #166 has many of the attributes and even comforts not often associated with small boats. He calls it a...
Technique
Lifting a boat with a winch and a cordless drill
...thus turns the winch. The installation is neither complicated nor costly—roughly $200 in 2014. The key component is the loop-drive Dutton-Lainson worm-gear winch with a split reel that has a capacity of 21′6″ of cable on each side of the centered divider. On a second board, also long enough to span three ceiling joists and mounted 12′ from the winch...
Boat Profile
More than fifty years old and as popular as ever
...comes over the bows because of the way they cut through the water, do not expect to stay dry because the trampoline does not offer protection from spray coming directly from underneath. Jan Anderson, Jan’s Marine Photography The Hobie 16 is designed for a crew of two. Even with both crew members on the trapezes, it’s possible to fly a...
Product Reviews
A life jacket with built-in harness
...of time, it has to be comfortable! Photographs by the author The Salus Coastal comes with built-in harness—two D-rings attached to a webbing belt. The optional leg strap is equipped with a swivel snap hook that clips to one of the D-rings. The attention to detail—multiple storage pockets, fleece-lined handwarmers, mesh shoulders, and neoprene collar—results in a life jacket that...
Product Reviews
Purpose-built straps for safe transport
...have recently come across an answer for all of our tie-down needs: purpose-made straps from CustomTieDowns. A well-designed strap for a small boat will secure the load without damaging the boat. We have come to prefer straps of 2″-wide webbing because they distribute loads evenly across the decks and gunwales of lightly-built small boats. A common ratchet strap with 1″...
Designs, Sailing & Pulling,
At just 63 lbs., Annabelle is well-suited for cartopping.
When it comes to building a small wooden boat it’s hard to beat a skin-on-frame (SOF) for economy of time and materials, and ease of use when the boat is finished. Dave Gentry’s 10’ SOF-built Annabelle skiff is for sailing and rowing. Weighing just 63 lbs, it’s well suited for cartopping, and about as easy to carry and launch as...
Boat Profile
A proven performer for 61 years
...1990 by the O’Day Company in Fall River, Massachusetts. The DS I and modified versions of it were later built by Can-AM Sailcraft, Rebel, Spindrift, Precision, McLaughlin, Sunfish/Laser Inc. The current builder of the DS I+ is the Cape Cod Shipbuilding Company (CCSC) in Wareham, Massachusetts, holder of the exclusive license since 1994. The Day Sailer Class Association owns the...
Boat Profile
A stitch-and-glue pulling boat from Pygmy
Pygmy Boats The Wineglass Wherry, a plywood pulling boat, takes its inspiration from the beach-launched working craft of Seabright, New Jersey, and Penobscot Bay, Maine. It is available in kit form from Pygmy Boats of Port Townsend, Washington. Paddling for long stretches of time has never been my thing. I like the convenience of my kayak perched atop the car...
Designs, Powerboats,
Deep-V bottomed, open runabout built of plywood over sawn frames.
...74 & 75 PLANS DATA No. of sheets: 5 Level of detail: Above average Cost per set: $90.00 WB Plan No. 71 Completed 18′ Downeaster Images George D. Jepson The Manitou 18, a contemporary rendition of the Downeaster 18, is built by Copper Harbor Boat Works. George D. Jepson The runabout handles Lake Superior nicely, providing a dry, comfortable ride....
Boat Profile
An easily built skiff for sail and oar
...kit. The primary considerations in Sandpiper’s design were the ease and speed of construction. The Sandpiper is intended for sheltered, shallow water, and inland sailing or rowing. The weight was kept to a minimum to make trailering and launching quick and easy. My 17-year-old son, Kyle, built the Sandpiper as his senior project that he needed to complete for graduation...
Product Reviews
Shelter on board and ashore
...thoughtfully designed, light, and made of tough composite parts. I purchased a Swing Liteflex, a 7.4-oz medium-sized non-telescoping umbrella that is 25″ tall and 39″ across. This one I originally intended for hiking, but it has seen use on my boats as well. I also purchased the extendable Swing Handsfree, which is 30″ tall in the retracted position, 43″ tall...
From The Editor
I never saw Frank Prothero smile. He was a gruff, imposing figure with enormous beat-up hands who looked like he had strayed here from the 19th century. He was revered in Seattle’s wooden boat community for his lifelong career as a shipwright and, even beyond the respect due for his inestimable accomplishments, he had an air about him that commanded...
Designs, Daysailer,
An Oughtred faering designed for sheet-plywood construction.
...$204 (Elf), $225 (Elfyn) Related Publications: Clinker Plywood Boatbuilding Manual How to Build Glued-Lapstrake Wooden Boats Completed Elfyn Images Rami Salle Under oars, the Elfyn slides effortlessly with proper longitudinal trim. Rowing alone, some ballast, about 20 to 30 lbs, put where it’s needed, whether in the bow or stern, will keep the keel level. Rami Salle The centerboard case...
Boat Profile
The 1928 “Flattie” is all about speed and simplicity
...the heyday was the ’40s and ’50s. The ’60s and ’70s saw the arrival of fiberglass and other composites and more competitive boats like Lasers. It was time for a change, says Eckrote. “If they didn’t do something with the class, it was going to die out.” George Cardas Racing is the central purpose for the Geary 18, and races...
Designs, House & Canal,
A house/canal boat designed for slow, enjoyable journeys in protected waters.
If you’d like to extend your cruising season, putting a roof over the your head to block the rain, and placing windows around you to divert the wind, can make manning the helm in inclement weather tolerable and perhaps even pleasant. Phil Thiel equipped his Friend-Ship canal cruiser with a shelter for the shoulder seasons; it comes apart in sections...
Designs, Cruising,
A heavily built smart sailer with accommodations for two.
...trunk which combines with a high coaming carried well aft. But for all the traditional detailing, the sail plan is a modern marconi rig of manageable size, in both the yawl and sloop versions. Here, too, it is a credit to Crocker’s skill that he could set those sails on this hull and still keep it all in character. You...
Canoes & Kayaks, Designs,
A general use wood-and-canvas canoe.
...height permits more powerful strokes. And their far forward and aft locations provide better steering. Body plans This historic Morris canoe will carry a larger load than any comparable decked competitor, and it will do so while giving sharp control in shallow and tight streams. Most necessary repairs can be made with materials at hand. Used in its native inland...
Boat Profile
A Sparkman & Stephens classic
...and my parents thought that sailing was something the kids should learn. In 1963, we drove down to Bay Head, New Jersey, to the Hubert Johnson Boat Yard. The unfinished Blue Jay we went to look at that day was the yard’s first, and it looked little compared to the other boats in the shop; a deal was struck, and...
...just a few image samples. Should we decide to pursue your idea, we’ll ask for a partial manuscript, especially for narratives. If, however, your manuscript is already complete, send it along. We’re friendly people, and will be happy to bend the rules for a good story prospect. Please send all queries, by e-mail only, to Jenny Bennett, Editor, at jenny@woodenboat.com....