This section of our web site, an extension of the Launchings department of WoodenBoat magazine, is dedicated to sharing news of recently launched wooden boats built or restored by our readers.
If you’ve launched a boat within the past year, please email us at launchings@woodenboat.com, or post your news here.
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Ken and Deb LaPorte recently finished building their first boat, a Melonseed skiff named TIME OUT. The design is by Marc Barto and available from The WoodenBoat Store. The hull is built from strips of sapele.
Jack Fesenmeyer designed this 7' 6" rowing and sailing tender, built by owners Jerry and Scott Le Cocq in May and June of 2002. They have used her in the Pacific Northwest and Chesapeake Bay.
On June 17, 2015, Mark and Suzanne Nye launched their Shearwater Double at Silver Springs Florida. The kayak, built from kit by Chesapeake Light Craft, took approximately 135 hours over a six month period. Construction is stitch and glue with sapele deck and okume hull.
Thomas Mayenburg built this 12' 8" car-top Modified McInnis Bateau with his brother and a friend. The design is from John Gardner's Building Classic Small Craft, Vol. 2. They used 3/8" plywood on the bottom, and 3/8" red cedar strakes.
Begun in 2020 blissfully ignorant of rabbets, rabbet planes, and most things nautical, she took me four years of divine frustration from lofting to launch. Everything on her was ripped out and redone several times--so, by rights, she isn't the first boat I have built but at least the third.
Michel Roy and his sons built LOON together as a first boat building project. LOON is a Herb McLeod One-Sheet-Skiff (OSS) which we modified with inside chine logs. The hull is fir marine ply, and the bright bits were gotten out of various bits of vertical grain douglas fir.
Landlocked in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina, we built our Skerry in spare time over four years from a Chesapeake Light Craft kit. The only stitch and glue boat we’ve ever seen is the one we built. Still don’t know if she’s right, but she seems to sail and row just fine.
John Burke built this pirogue using the Zydeco 14 plans by Applegate Boatworks of Veneta, Oregon. He writes "it is 13'3" in length and 34" in beam, constructed of 9mm okoume plywood on the bottom, and 6mm for the sides, a total of two 4 x 8 sheets were needed to construct the hull.
This sharpie was launched at Lake Wyvenhoe, Queensland, Australia. It was built by John Hockings over six months, and was inspired by Bill Schwicker's Egret and his 3 fathom sharpie.
We launched the Ozona Pram demo this last May and it debuted at the Cedar Key Small boat Meet 2016
1958 Fenwick Williams 18' wooden catboat with tender and new 2023 galvanized trailer with stainle
This one is ready for the grandkids or a dinner cruise.
