Launchings

Dwight Jacobus calls his boat an "outboard cabin launch". Though he lives in Kentucky, he trailered PARASOL 1000 miles to southwestern Florida to launch her on January 15, 2003, after spending 15 months constructing her.

This is a Phil Bolger designed catboat. I bought Dynamite Payson’s book, “Build the instant Catboat”. It only took 14 years....with the help of my daughter. I had an old Beetle cat rig that I modified for the boat. Good to finally get it wet.

Robert Mann rows his pulling boat SPORTIN WOOD in the Vallecito Reservoir in southwest Colorado. The plans for 18' x 36" beauty are from WB, #97, designed by Ken Bassett. He launched her in May 2001 are spending three months building her.

John Thomson writes "Here is FOLLY (the best boat name I've ever come up with if I do say so myself, ABSURDITY and IDIOCY were contenders). She is 16' LOA with a 4' beam, stitch-and-glue construction.

Bill Bornemann writes that he "built this 9' long, 4' beam, plywood skiff inspired by Howard Chapelle's description of the flat iron skiffs in his book, Small American Sailing Craft. She was assembled and painted in one day as part of his 50th birthday celebration.

Matt Zarem used stitch-glue mahogany marine plywood to build this 16' sea kayak, SCOUT, which he launched in March of 2002. It is a CLC Chesapeake 16 design, with an overall length of 15'8" and beam of 231/4". Matt writes that it is an excellent boat for traveling around San Francisco Bay.

Eric Russell first launched DAMFINO in October 2003 to be used as a touring canoe. He added the sail rig over the winter and relaunched her in April 2004, recycling an old Dyer Dink Sail. Don Meisner is the designer, he began construction in 1999.

Willow, a 25 ft strip planked sloop, is the third sailboat designed and built by Matt Greytak, after a 15 ft sloop and a 14 ft catamaran.  It is constructed with ½″ x 1 ½″ cedar strips sheathed in epoxy over plywood bulkheads.  The deck is plywood sheathed in epoxy with Interdeck non-skid paint. 

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.

Launched my Skunk Island Skiff sailing version built from plywood and pine. Douglas fir mast, spars and oats. Stainless steel fasteners and hardware.