Launchings

My first attempt at building anything out of wood was what I call the Drift Boat Skiff. The Drift Boat Skiff is plans built from the book, “THE WEEK END SKIFF” BY Richard Butz and John Montague.

Hands-on learning through the Wisdom of the Hands program at Clear Spring (AR) School resulted in BLUE WHALE, a boat designed by students to hold the 10-member high school class.

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.

A CLC Noreaster Dory built in an apartment garage. She will be fitted with a sloop rig soon.

1971, 60′ Pacemaker. I completed a rebuild to her bottom over the last 2 summers including the aft 30′ of inboard engine stringers, the aft 28 ribs from the keel through the turn of the bilge, the aft 12′ of the keel, aft 10′ of the keelson, and new stem, apron and knee and 73 planks.

Last August, on Lake Erie, in Erie, Pennsylvania, Carl Longnecker launched his new 15′ Chester Yawl, built from a kit by Chesapeake Light Craft. The boat is stitch-and-glue construction. 

This is a Chesapeake Light Craft Petrel SG sea kayak. Construction is stitch and glue, fiberglass over stained Okuome ply. Custom changes to the kit included the soft pad eyes, dragonfly inlay, a carved skeg control housing and turned carrying toggles and paddle bead.

Sven Östenson of Oxelösund, Sweden, bought this ocean racing yacht for about US$700 when he found it lying derelict in a local boat yard. He writes the boat, a Lage Eklund design, has a rounded turtle-deck, which leaked and caused a great deal of rot.

AMI JOY is a Jupiter Point design by Nick Schade of Guillemot Kayaks of Connecticut. I modified the 13′-design to include a little spruce brightwork trim and built AMI JOY over the winter and launched her on Memorial Day, May 27, 2013, on the Long Island Sound in Stamford.

Having made a 25lb canoe previously, I wanted to play with how light I could go for my next canoe. My research made me think I could get down to around 15 pounds for a 12' canoe so I decided to go for it.