Launchings

The design brief for Haven was inspired by Lyman and other lapstrake runabouts popular in the late 1950s. She was designed for me by Paul Gartside.

I recently completed the construction of my own Matunuck surf kayak. Last Sunday I tried it in the local swimming pool and it really feels good, and it was surprisingly easy to roll (Greenland roll)!

Despite working at times “at a glacial pace” for two years, Stirling Cummings of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, finshed and launched his 18′ Night Heron kayak on a cold windy day in February 2012 on Jordan Lake, near Chapel Hill.

Built in glued lapstrake plywood.

After seeing Mystic Seaport Museum's ANNIE A.

LOTTE was built in 1928 by Lake Union Drydock in Seattle. She was moved to Vermont in 2008 and has undergone substantial renovation including cold molding the hull from waterline to keel and is now repowered with a BMW marine diesel.

Shell Boats of St. Albans, VT, provided the design for this 12' Swifty built by Arnie Goodman and his son Sam, of Tampa, FL. They launched her on May 31, 2004 on Tampa Bay, FL. She is of lapstrake plywood construction with an unstayed mast and sprit boom.

The Launchings section of WoodenBoat No. 225 featured Wayne Mueller's skiff BLUEBIRD, a 17′ 6″ design that Wayne based on Tom Hill’s Long Point skiff and Mark Murray's Sea Hoss skiff. BLUEBIRD was built from meranti and sapele marine plywood on sawn elm frames.

John Gotjen of Chocorua, New Hampshire, took some time during the 2015 Christmas Holiday season to build this 6′ lapstrake skiff for his friend Frosty. CHOCORUA is built from 5/16″ underlayment plywood and luan plywood transom, and some leftover tubes of adhesive caulk.

The CAT'S MEOW is a replica of a 1949 Chris Craft Racer runabout, built by Leroy J. Lester. He spent about 2000 hours over 3 years constructing the boat in his extended garage. THE CAT'S MEOW is 18'3" long with beam just over 6', and uses a Crusader Marine V-6 175 hp engine.