Launchings

This Kaholo stand-up paddleboard and Bolger Pointy skiff are just two of the boats that Jed Lavoie has built.

Dom Zack of Waterbury, VT built this boat for his grandsons, Colin and Anthony, who live on the Indian River in Melbourne, FL. They launched it on the 25 of March 2002. It is a Footloose Beach Cruiser designed by Jordan Wood Boats. He used 3/8" and 1/4" marine plywood with frames made of fir.

ABIGAIL is a 'very enjoyable rowing boat" writes owner and builder Peter Kobylarz of Houlton, ME. She is a Grand Banks Dory found in John Gardner's Dory Book. Peter constructed her of hand-planed native pine.

Steve and Jamie Reed of Greeley, Colorado, built this cute little rocking boat with no metal fasteners, just glue and dowels. They used teak, purple heart, poplar, pine, ash, and oak. Some tiny Reed captain should be overjoyed with their first command.

Seven-year-old Jamie Lowrey had the idea of building this boat from a single sheet of spare plywood. He and his father made scale models from shirt cardboard and built a full-size model from cardboard boxes in the living room of their Manhattan apartment.

Gypsy is a 14′ dory built over the winter by Bill Blanas with the help of his minions George Rhodes and Adrian Reinhardt. It is built primarily of Sitka spruce, and was launched this September at Jewel Lake in Anchorage, Alaska, in a carnival-like atmosphere.

Flavio Simon had help from his wife, Marilia, and friends, Andy Jordan and AJ LeBlanc, in the construction of this 15'7" Whisp Skiff, TUPAN. Named after a Brazilian deity, TUPAN took nearly 200 hours of Flavio's time for construction.

Ward Brady of Laguna Niguel, CA, built this Shearwater pulling boat from WB Plan No. 58 to bring the "idea of wooden boats to the West Coast." His assistants are rowing.

This boat was designed and built by Robert Wallace between October 2001 and May 2002. He launched her in May on White Oak Pond in northeastern Pennsylvania. The skiff has a 10' LOA and maximum beam of 39". She is a semi-V hull.

Tabor Academy in Marion, Massachusetts, offers a one-semester "Practical Ship and Boat Design" course that "aims to get students comfortable with lines drawings by lofting a sailing model full scale," writes instructor David Bill.