Technique
Small-Boat Rigging on a Shoestring
...a slipped half hitch, snugged up with a pull into the figure-8 loop. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huby4aeTk_c When you have the line as taut as you want it, pinch the working end of the line tightly where it wraps around the loop. With your other hand finish the knot with a slipped half hitch—a single half hitch with a bight rather than the...
Product Reviews
Exped's versatile shelter garment
...the temperature inside the bag rose nearly 8 degrees in about 15 minutes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yT70pDfesc When worn as a poncho, the BivyBag is long enough to come down past my feet (I am 6′1″). To keep from tripping on it, I fashioned a belt out of a piece of webbing. While I’m sitting I can pull my feet inside and close...
September 2024 [sbm_issuem_articles technique=”no”]...
News and Curiosities
...11 years now. Here’s a look at the end of their lunch stop on Babson Island as the boats got underway: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7qGWKYWcqU&t=2s The Downeast TSCA’s website explains, “The idea of the SRR is to gather together small sail-and-oars boats for sailing, with the same kind of camaraderie and appreciation that the ERR has established. The boats typically sail courses of...
News and Curiosities
We here at Small Boats Monthly love small, but here’s another level of wee. The Balmain Bug is a traditional Australian workboat type that was eventually used as a one-design racer, then inspired modern one-design racing skiffs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHzkCrLO5Jc To read the whole article, click here....
News and Curiosities
...there are a lot of options. The Houston Food Bank will be doing a massive amount of work for years after the rain and flooding subsides, and here’s a great list of local organizations who are on the ground helping people, saving pets, and assessing homes so people can start putting their lives back together. Stay safe out there. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BU_hznRUPqQ...
Adventures
A trial by water
...eastern sky lightened, and other sailors began to stir, so I broke camp and loaded the boat. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwcXqmbVMas The wind hadn’t slackened overnight, so I left the two reefs in my sail, humbled into taking more care after my dunking. Through the morning’s sail, the clouds grew more numerous and larger, their bellies turning gray while still glowing bright...
Product Reviews
Eliminating air, preventing waste
...for quick use. The bags have the added benefit of easily allowing small amounts of finish to be dispensed. Even the slow-flowing paint was easy to dispense by squeezing the bag. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRu9t9mX2qM&feature=youtu.be On each bag is printed: “Not for use with finishes containing acetone, benzene, lacquer thinner, MEK, toluene, or xylene.” However, Interprime Wood Sealer (Interlux 1026) is a popular...
News and Curiosities
...the Oselvar boat was named Norway’s national boat and the design serves as an icon of the country’s deeply rooted maritime tradition. Vidar has filmed an informative video about the boats and the workshop. He wrote to us recently to let us know what he’s doing at The Olselvar Workshop, after he read Jaime Gallant’s piece about Ulf Mikalsen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjGYHdymW4w...
News and Curiosities
...Cajuns no matter where they were from) had to have an interpreter so they could communicate with the guys I worked with in the oil field. Just about everybody was Cajun French. A lot of the older guys couldn’t (or wouldn’t) speak English. Step back in time and check out the full-length video.” Here’s the minute-long trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hx5K-8rmryU ...
Product Reviews
DeWalt’s DWE315
...one of them that is a worthwhile addition in your shop. Kent Lewis and his wife Audrey maintain a fleet of small boats in Northwest Florida. Current boat works projects include restoration of a wooden Sunfish and new build of a diamond-bottomed catboat. Their adventure blog is www.smallboatrestoration.blogspot.com. The DeWalt DWE315 is available from several stores and online vendors. It...
News and Curiosities
...you have an interest, check out the Chickawaukie Ice Boat Club website for meetups in Maine. They’re also connected to ice boating clubs in other regions, and could steer you in the right direction should you be from another region and are looking to break into a thrilling sport with a wonderful social community. www.apacheboatworks.com Pocket Skeeter’s cockpit. Credit: www.apacheboatworks.com...
News and Curiosities
...Sapele. The spars are solid, laminated Sitka spruce. What does Scott appreciate about boatbuilding? Well, as a contractor and builder normally working on land structures with straight lines and 90 degree angles, boats give him the opportunity to “throw away the square” and to do the satisfying work of sculpting and shaping wood “to the perfection of the boat.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=366R6RAnQL0...
Technique
Admiralty and West Country
One of the first things that my father-in-law taught me was how to make the end of a line shipshape by applying a whipping. The method that he taught me is known as the “common whipping,” multiple turns of whipping twine with its ends pulled underneath the turns. The common whipping is quick and easy but prone to slipping off...
Product Reviews
United States Navy issue
...Northwest Florida. They log their nautical adventures at www.smallboatrestoration.blogspot.com. The Marlinspike Knife is sold by The WoodenBoat Store for $54.95 and directly by the Colonial Knife Company for $79.99. The knives come with the Department of Defense National Stock Number (NSN) 5110-00-530-1757 etched onto the blade, and each knife has a serial number. They come with a lifetime warranty registration...
News and Curiosities
...Tourism Association just launched a six-week project which includes the construction of four traditional indigenous watercraft including a Spruce Dugout Canoe, a Birchbark Canoe, An Inuit Skin Kayak, and a Moose Skin Boat. If you would like to learn more about this project please visit their website at www.yfnct.ca. Information on their boat project can be found under Canada 150....
Boat Profile
A modern yoal
...under each bilge would allow you to sit or sleep in level comfort. The circular access port was added to ease access to the forward compartment. The Tern has a surprising number of seating locations for a boat of its size: the aft flotation compartment, the side benches, the amidships thwart, and even the floorboards. This variety makes a long...
Adventures
Honoring the boats and the men who saved the Grand Canyon
...the most active boatbuilder on the McKenzie. In the spring of ’62, Martin picked them up and commented on how big they were compared to the cataract boats. He and Pat initially referred to the new boats, PORTOLA and SUSIE TOO, as “monsters.” On that Grand Canyon river trip in 1962 there was a third boat, FLAVELL II, a cataract...
Product Reviews
If you can't still the waters, steady the boat.
...effect was dramatic. Getting the Rocker Stoppers another 5′ out from the rail all but eliminated rocking. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gwve2dGfU50&feature=youtu.be The inclinometer wavered through only 2 degrees (see video). I could see the looms of the oars flex, an indication of the amount of force going into stabilizing the boat. With a little adaptation my mainmast could be employed as a single...
Technique
Shaping better centerboards and rudders
...glue lines show the contours that help with shaping the foil. Obtaining the cross-section profile of a chord of a given width is best left to a computer. For any of the NACA foils, like the 0010 foil I mentioned above, Competition Composites Inc. (CCI) has a very simple and handy calculator. You need enter only the chord width and...
Boat Profile
An able dinghy by Joel White
...isn’t mentioned in the plans or Dow’s book, but I’d recommended at least adding some foam under the two center seats as close to the bottom as possible. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mF5SvfGseVw Building a Pooduck was everything I had hoped it would be; it was challenging enough to make it feel like a real accomplishment. It was an enormous learning experience with many...
Technique
Beyond the reach of clamps
...used quite a few fender washers during the restoration of their 1880s Mississippi River Skiff BARBASHELA and their 1950s Alcort Sailfish ZSA ZSA. More information on their continuing adventures can be found on their blog Small Boat Restoration. www.smallboatrestoration.blogspot.com You can share your tips and tricks of the trade with other Small Boats Monthly readers by sending us an email....
Boat Profile
A racing daysailer
...or it can be raced by a crew of three in one-design fleets. The cockpit is spacious, comfortable, and practically designed, with port and starboard longitudinal benches for comfortable seating for three on both sides of the cockpit. The cockpit coaming lies flush with the deck, which is a significant attribute when you and the crew are hiking out with...
Technique
...shaped the rudder so that I can use it as a step. A boarding ladder would also work. Whatever method you choose, practice using it in calm waters before you need to do it for real. Rosemary Wyman Food, water, and foul-weather gear are important for comfort and safety. If someone does go overboard, be prepared to prevent hypothermia (more...
Reader Built Boats
A race boat built for a holiday challenge
...it to a water trough in a nearby paddock. They chopped away the thick ice and set the boat in the water. With trepidation, Dan clambered aboard and was pleased to discover it was no more tippy than a canoe. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKBxuYO3154 Back at the shop, he applied a layer of ’glass cloth with polyester resin. “I’d already used most of...