Product Reviews
A satellite messenger from DeLorme
...messengers have been in existence since the release of the SPOT in 2007, and while they are relatively common now, not all are created equal. The one I chose is a Delorme InReach SE. The device is about 6″ x 2 1/2″ x 1″, about the size of a mobile phone but twice as thick. It comes with an AC...
News and Curiosities
You may already know about the Library of Congress’s nearly 30,000 copyright free images available on Flickr, and if you’ve enjoyed those then you’ll definitely enjoy the British Library’s collection of Ships & Boats. Among the fully rigged ships you’ll find great examples of vernacular small boats in use, with snippets of text around them that give clues about the...
News and Curiosities
...it. You can find the various download options here. If you’d prefer to add a print copy of the book to your library, it’s available at the WoodenBoat Store. Have you used The Ashley Book of Knots to complete projects aboard, add a Bristol touch to your boat, or to learn the basics? Tell us your stories in the comments....
Marc Davies profiled the Milgate Duck Punt in the December 2016 issue of Small Boats Monthly, and it also appeared in our annual print anthology, Small Boats 2018. The designer, John Milgate, has gracefully allowed Small Boats Monthly to include his plans here for the use of our readers. Readers may download these plans and build this boat without paying...
News and Curiosities
The chart of charts has been updated. This article at NOAA’s website details the revisions that appear in the new version. As always, the chart is available for free download through NOAA’s site, and they say that you can buy the new printed version through four approved printers and distributors. Chart No. 1, “describes the symbols, abbreviations, and terms used...
Boat Profile
A study in simplicity
...rowed comfortably with two adult passengers in calm water without undue concern or incident. The flat bottom, combined with subtle rocker, makes for a very stable little boat—one perfect for beginners. But speed does suffer from the immersed transom when carrying a passenger aft. A second pair of oarlocks forward would help keep Bevin’s closer to her lines when carrying...
Boat Profile
Forty years a classic
...bronze fastened. The completed boat was to weigh around 175 lbs. Responding to demand for even lighter boats, Walt created 14′ and 15′ glued-lapstrake plywood versions that come in under a magic 100-lb mark. They were drawn with the amateur builder in mind and require about 300 hours of labor. Photographs by Pepe Mélega The rowing version of the wherry...
Boat Profile
A traditional working skiff
...cross-planked bottoms caulked with oakum, originated in the United States around 1880, likely in the Long Island Sound oyster industry. Soon after my wife Susan and I relocated to Blue Hill, Maine, I realized that we would need a boat to get to the sailboat that we’d moored in Blue Hill Bay in front of our house. Shortly after moving...
Boat Profile
CNC’s modern sea kayaks steeped in Inuit tradition
...off the dynamics of these responsive craft. A block of foam is suggested for a footrest. More Minicell or a commercial back band can be used behind the seat. My boat took about $650 in materials to build. There are very few commercially available kayaks that compare with the Shrike, but those that do cost around $4,000 to $5,000, and...
Boat Profile
A pocket yacht for two
...me down a life-changing path a decade back. I had already built a smaller and simpler Devlin boat, the 13′6″ Zephyr daysailer, a project that seemed plenty challenging at the time. The Winter Wren, while employing the same stitch-and-glue composite construction that I’d begun to get comfortable with, added the complications of cabin, outboard motor, electrical system, much more structure,...
Boat Profile
A board for touring
...a surfboard and optimized for speed, tracking, smoothness of ride, and stability on flat water. I downloaded the PDF manual from Duckworks. It’s a comprehensive 72-page book with excellent instructions, color photos, and measured drawings. It is important to follow the plans exactly in order to achieve the boat Storer has designed. This build is more complex than most of...
Boat Profile
A stitch-and-glue skiff with plenty of volume
...of 6-oz fiberglass cloth. We had opted for the more complex interior appointments of the bridge-deck version for the storage compartments it offered and had built the hull around the plan’s bulkheads for it. We installed the 1⁄2″ (12mm) side benches, the bridge deck, and two storage lockers, one forward and one amidships. the Candlefish 16, trailer, and 20-hp outboard...
Boat Profile
...of the modern racing dinghies of my youth, but, miraculously, we were also staying dry. We zipped around in the protected cove at the head of Somes Sound at up to 5 knots. The sprit boom is self-vanging and set high enough so it’s not likely to hit you in the head during an unexpected jibe. Closehauled, the DSD tacks...
Boat Profile
An easily built outboard garvey
...the downloadable plans and received six plan sheets along with a building manual and, in lieu of the full-sized templates, a DXF cut file, which had all the pieces drafted and nested on sheets. Photographs by the author The three seating areas enclose buoyancy compartments and provide access to storage compartments. The DXF cut file imported directly into my...
Boat Profile
A versatile lapstrake dinghy
...around the U.K. and Europe. The Morbic 12 was inspired by both the older competitive 12′ racing dinghy class as well as the traditional inshore fishing boats once ubiquitous around Brittany. It has more beam and freeboard, comfortably carries a crew up to three, and is capable of coastal cruising under sail, oar, or even a small outboard. The construction...
News and Curiosities
...life and her aim is to have an impact on reversing the high suicide rates found in her school district. Below are two videos, one is about the student kayaking program, and the other is a beautiful short film about her approach to teaching. Read more about the kayaking program that she’s launched on the Thames here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1KvrkTpgo8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mh3gPBmauZg...
News and Curiosities
...to create a multi-perspective and multi-path take on historical narrative, and to challenge assumptions about the importance of the commons and the role in society of people living at the fringe.” Read and see some beautiful stuff on his site, “A Secret History of American River People,” and catch a glimpse of his faithful companion Hazel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaSuQ_olP9c https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1245766964/a-secret-history-tennesee-river-expedition ...
Boat Profile
An engaging English dinghy
...website at www.ukmirrorsailing.com includes links to sites documenting particular Mirror constructions, and a YouTube search will quickly reveal posted videos of various build and restoration projects. The kits come with a comprehensive 50-page building manual. The boat’s spars all fit inside the hull (at least with the gunter rig), and that, combined with a relatively light hull weight, means that...
Boat Profile
A modern form of an old idea
...discover new islands in the vast ocean. John Marples is a yacht designer and marine surveyor (www.searunner.com) living in Penobscot, Maine. Outrigger Junior Particulars [table] Length/15′0″ Beam/12′0″ Hull weight/260 lbs Maximum payload/450 lbs Sail area/165 sq ft [/table] Plans and kits for the Outrigger Junior are available from Chesapeake Light Craft, 1805 George Ave., Annapolis, MD 21401; 410–267–0137; www.clcboats.com....
Boat Profile
A little camp cruiser for big dreams
...a family-friendly daysailer. There is space enough for four adults in relative comfort (three is better; two is luxurious), and the boat’s stability makes it a comfortable ride even for the elderly and infirm, young children, or passengers who might simply be a bit nervous around boats. The boom is high overhead, minimizing the risk of hitting an inexperienced passenger,...
Steve Traficonte LEILU, the first boat completed to François Vivier’s Jewell design, promises both excellent daysailing and the possibility for adventures, all in a cruising sailboat under 20’ long. Striking a balance between seaworthiness and ease of use in a small craft can be challenging. A too-small cabin can be claustrophobic, but a hull designed around a comfortable interior can...
Technique
A home-built go-anywhere cart
...aren’t identical but they aren’t critical. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pv_KL6aPXkM Christopher Cunningham is the editor of Small Boats. Afterword: 7/12/24—My YouTube suggestions turned up a video about the Rolligon, a cylindrical low-pressure tire invented 1951 by William Albee and patented in 1957. He had been inspired by Inuit using inflated rollers made of sealskins to roll boats ashore. Rolligon tires are currently being...
Boat Profile
Strip-built in cedar, spruce, and pine
...felt getting aboard diminished. Getting underway is best accomplished with short, smooth, even strokes. Once the boat was moving I never felt any lack of control. Spencer Leonard, www.spencerleonard.com Guideboat builder Justin Martin takes Erin out or summer row on the occasion of their engagement. She has her backrest up for comfort; Justin has his down for rowing. My rowing...
Boat Profile
A soulful little pocket cruiser
...700 lbs of lead ballast are stored under the floorboards on both sides of the centerboard trunk, and combined with the heavy backbone and 7′ 7″ beam, MARTHA holds her own in a breeze. Sallee Rover is a project well suited for someone with prior boatbuilding and woodworking experience. In fact, she’s such a great example of classic carvel construction...
Boat Profile
The 1928 “Flattie” is all about speed and simplicity
...the past eight decades, with many sailed hard in fleets scattered around the West. Until even recently, a dedicated racer with a four-cylinder car, a trailer, and yen for adventure could tow a 525-lb Geary 18 to regattas from Mission Bay, San Diego, to Vancouver, Washington. Trailer oriented competition now focuses largely on the Coos Bay Yacht Club in Lakeside,...