Adventures
From Birchbark to Trucker’s Tarp
A traditional canoe with a contemporary twist
...issue disappears
Boat Profile
Outer Banks 26
Cruising in comfort for two
...seriously considered having a powerboat. It would have to be fuel
Boat Profile
The AF4 Beach Cruiser
A weekend cruiser from Jim Michalak
...typical cost of study plans, he puts construction plans in the hands of dreamers so they can immediately become builders. He also lends confidence with information through his online boat-design articles
PRIMROSE
...still builds in wood, but Luke turned to alu-minum in the 1970s. Following Nielsen’s own pattern, new construction can now be done at Walsteds
Adventures
Downed Trees and Muddy Feet
Rowing the Chippewa River Floodplain
...side of Highway 35, a reasonably open channel paralleled the road eastward
Adventures
MUSTELID
An unconventional Alaskan camp-cruiser
...a lane break in the lemony green macrocystis seaweed, whose small, alternate flotation pods and corrugated fronds reminded us that we were now in outside waters. Photographs by the authors except as noted Loo
Reader Built Boats
YEAH BUOY
A plywood skiff built for drift-fishing and family boating
...wife, Erin, lived on Ruxton and
Adventures
Boatbuilding in the Woods
Off the road and off the grid, a scow takes shape in the forest
...10′-tall tilting towers of planks. The metal roof radiated a sauna-like heat, and a mix of dust and sweat was soon strea
Boat Profile
The Point Comfort 18
A modern deadrise skiff
...even a
Boat Profile
Devlin’s Pelicano
Inspired by pangas, in three flavors
...the Mexican panga workboats, has likewise been garnished with such gringo delicacies as windscreen and wheel steering, but it’s hard to
Boat Profile
Thistle
A pedal boat with a fin drive
...with remarkable speed. It really works well, we’ve found, and leaves your hands
Adventures
The 2015 Everglades Challenge
A race that wasn't
...In 2005, Chesapeake Light Craft was loo
Boat Profile
Hunky Dory
A beach-launched outboard fishing skiff
...22′, a beam of 7.5′ to 8′ carried well
OBSESSION
A McKenzie-style drift boat
...aluminum. A few wooden boat shops still build drift boats and sell kits and plans,
Fitting Out Guide
A Smooth and Level Painted Finish
Parameters for success
...In direct sunlight on a warm day, say over 75°F, a white finish can reach temperatures of 180°F degrees and black can reach 250°F. With those temperatures, not only are the solvents quickly leaving the paint, but the outer layer of paint is oxidizing (drying) too quickly, and loc
Boat Profile
The Ultimate Freight Canoe
The wood-and-canvas Moosehead Laker
...stepped back onto the dock at Grant’s, FIELD OF STREAMS’s mahogany and cedar were ablaze in the midday sun. While Stevens motored toward his century-old camp, my mind wandered back over the foggy morning, to the era when wood and canvas reigned. Jerry Stelmok, Island Falls Canoe,
Boat Profile
Marissa 18
An economical center console outboard from B&B Yacht Designs
...feeling of operating a boat that I built. I think a Marissa can be built by most anyone with a general understanding of wor
Adventures
A Boat for the Summer
A quick-and-dirty build for a British Columbia cruise
...plane. The owner of the shop was so enthused by our project that he loaned us a circular saw, a jigsaw, and a straightedge. We surprised ourselves by wor
Boat Profile
L’Ark
A cozy canal cruiser
...looked
Boat Profile
The Hvalsoe 16
On its way to becoming a Northwest classic
...uses, it’s the
Fitting Out Guide
A Shop-Made Painting Lamp
Surface reflection with LED lighting
...Tack it to the back with 3/8″ or 1/2″ tacks, and use contact cement to bond the overlapping ends.
Boat Profile
Duck Trap Wherry
Forty years a classic
...ready to sail in a few minutes. The wherry needs very little wind to be up and running and the spritsail points well to weather, tac
Boat Profile
The Mirror
An engaging English dinghy
...website at
Adventures
Lake Tanganyika
Rowing Africa's Great Lake in a leaky boat
...range of wooden boats between roughly 12′ to 35′ long, all using the same general design and construction techniques: 1″- to 3″-thick planks laid out parallel and end-to-end, fastened with
Boat Profile
Candlefish 16
A stitch-and-glue skiff with plenty of volume
...wide- and narrow-bodied versions of both the Candlefish 16 and the Candlefish 18. This “methodical uptick in sizes,” as Sam puts it, is