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Boat Profile
A nicely mannered rowboat
...bottom with lapstrake sides, making it a specialized type of round-bottomed dory. “Bottom board” boats such as this one are found all along the Atlantic coast, both with transoms and pointed sterns; these boats include sea skiffs in New Jersey, tuckups and duckers on the Delaware, Staten Island skiffs, and Great South Bay’s Seaford skiffs. This general hull form is...
Adventures
A solo sail-and-oar adventure race
...moving nonstop for 22 hours, covered 55 nautical miles, and rowed the last 12. I needed sleep. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVRrIpFWHeI&feature=youtu.be The low-hanging sea grape trees and mangroves were not ideal for the hammock—their skinny limbs bowed under the strain. The hammock had mosquito netting, but in the time it took to climb in and rezip, 50 mosquitoes had made it in with...
Boat Profile
100 Years as a Class
...of the Good Wood Boat Company launched a new dinghy with sail number GBR 50. David Stephenson On Ullswater, a lake in NW England, Richard Fielden and Stephen Berrisford sail in Force-7 winds on the maiden voyage of dinghy GBR50. She’s one of the few 12-Foot dinghies with reef points. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjHwBq2y5lw The dinghy was adopted as the singlehanded boat for...
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
...the StopLossBags simplifies transfer between a standard quart can and the bag. The rubbery funnel’s wide end stretches around the open end of the can, creating a secure seal, and its nozzle then connects around the spout of the StopLossBag. Flip the can upside down while holding the bag, and the contents transfer without the mess you’re likely to make...
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
...a quick-release device for a rapid, tool-free change of blades. Blades for multi-tools tools come in different shapes and materials for use with metal, fiberglass, or wood. We found a semicircular blade handy for reefing out caulked or glued seams and also for scribing and trimming a bevel along plank edges. The plunge-cut of oscillating saw blades allow us to...
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
...wrist from the oarsman. The river flowed under and around the boats rather than colliding with the stern, pushing them relentlessly forward with the current. Dave Mortenson Collection During the 1962 trip Martin Litton rowed PORTOLA and Pat Reilly rowed SUSIE TOO, the new McKenzie-inspired boats. Brick Mortenson rowed FLAVELL II, a cataract boat . Dave Mortenson Collection Dave Mortenson,...
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...
Boat Profile
An able dinghy by Joel White
...the boat is bouncing in the surf or spinning in the wind. Under sail, I found it somewhat difficult to move from sitting on the floor to a position up on the gunwale. This winter I plan to extend the middle seat to provide an intermediate place to sit. Under sail, two adults are the limit. My buddy and I...
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....