Launchings

Relaunched after nearly 30 years. The boat has been refinished, the engine has been thoroughly serviced and a fuel pump added. What a sweet little boat, they just don't build them like this anymore. The hull is molded birch and as sound as new.

Ted Jones of Gundalow Boat Shop in Ossipee, NH designed and built this 11'6" dory skiff BANNITO for his son and grandson. She was launched in September 2002 on the Sakonnet River in RI. Her hull is okoume plywood with epoxy and Dynel. She is based on his earlier design, the DORITA dory.

Robert Johnston gave this 17' Redbird canoe that he built to his brother, James Johnston, for James' 50th birthday. Robert used bead-and-cove cedar strips for the hull, then covered them with two coats of epoxy.

Mark McGinley built this Iain Oughtred–designed 7-1/2′ Auk ELSIE KAY from okoume plywood as well as locally cut quarter-sawn oak, ash, and pine. She is the tender for his Pacific Seacraft PS-25 located in the Apostle Islands area of Lake Superior.

Dale Austin launched this little dinghy in the fall of 2002. She is a Chuck Merrell Apple Pie design (Merrell Watercraft, chuck@boatdesign.com). Using the stitch-and-tape method, she is constructed from plywood and oak covered with epoxy.

This boat is a Caledonia Yawl. Distinguishing Features are as follow:

• Gunter rig with gaff mizzen which eliminates the need for boomkin sheeting spar.
• 12 buoyancy tanks for safer/quicker capsize recovery.
• Ample dry storage as well as stiffer, stronger, safer hull.

Don Don was designed and built by Van Dam Custom Boats, and launched in the summer of 2011. The boat is 28′-7″ long, and 8′ 6″ beam, and speed comes from a 375 h.p. engine. More information from  Van Dam Custom Boats, 970 E. Division St., Boyne City, MI 49712. 231-582-2323.

We launched the Ozona Pram demo this last May and it debuted at the Cedar Key Small boat Meet 2016

Jim Maas can fit his Sabotina dinghy into his minivan. Jim launched the 7′10″ Ken Hankinson design last July. He rows it on the lakes of eastern Pennsylvania. The hull is stitch-and-glue, built from okoume plywood. Jim took these pictures at Beltzville Dam.