Launchings

Thanks for the inspiration your magazine has given me to undertake a boat build. I started subscribing one month after your “Getting Started In Boats” section launched, and I have been a faithful reader of every issue since.

Herb Friese built this 16' x 35" cedar strip canoe, Abenaki model, from plans and materials supplied by Newfound Woodworks, Bristol, NH. Herb said it took about eight months of part-time work in his garage. The canoe will be used in the waters around Catskill, NY, by owner Kathleen Farrell.

MISS LILY is an 11′ Westport Skiff designed by Doug Hylan (www.dhylanboats.com) and built by Rob Hazzard and Chip Schoeneck. The pair launched MISS LILY on Memorial Day 2018.

Tim Allen built this 7' pram from a design by Glen-L Boats of Bellflower, CA. Named CROW'S NEST, he intended her as a sailing pram using leeboards. He found that it only sails downwind and capsizes easily, so Tim bought a 2hp Honda motor to replace the sailing rig.

I built this 15′ Wittholz Cat Boat in about 3 years with help from my wife and my teenage daughter. The boat is made of marine plywood over an oak frame. We enjoy sailing along the Hudson River, north of the Tappan Zee Bridge just about every weekend.

Gene Bjerke took a course from Ted Moore at the Mariners' Museum in Newport News, VA. The course was on fine woodstrip kayak construction, and Gene was lucky enough to end up with the boat he worked on in the class. It is a Steve Killing Resolute design (16'6" x 25").

FOUR WHEELS is owned by four Wheelers - Peter, Anne, Katie, and Allison. It is a 1959 Lynman Outboard that had been sitting in a barn for 30 years before Peter rescued it. He took it completely apart, stripped everything, and was able to reuse all of the original pieces except the horn.

Tom Fulton built this Chesapeake Light Craft 17 kayak from a kit. CRISPO is 17′ long with a 2′ beam. This was Tom's first build. He launched her on April 11, 2011 on Prospertown Lake in Cream Ridge, NJ, and will use her as a sea kayak along the Jersey shore.

Michael Matheson is the proud owner of WATERWAYS, a modified Surf Scoter launch, built by Bruce Mierke and designed by Sam Devlin. WATERWAYS is 3' longer than the plans called for, and also uses a 4-stroke outboard rather than the stern drive indicated by designer Sam Devlin.