In this issue

West Wight Potter 19 • Mirror Dinghy • Turnbull Islands • Australia in a Drascombe Lugger • Bowdish Restoration • Kombi Sailing Canoe • Legacy of Larry Pardey • Worst Sailor Still Alive • Precision 165 Sailboat • And much more!

Getting in Touch with Reality

As part of my usual in-depth research for this column I decided to ask Google whether sailing was safe. “In fact, it can be deadly,” came the response, “A study from Rhode Island Hospital concluded sailing is more dangerous, and has a higher fatality rate, than skiing and snowboarding combined with NFL football.”

2 mins

Amateur Boatbuilding: What if I Make a Mistake?

Everyone makes mistakes. If we try new things we will make mistakes, an essential part of the learning experience. It’s nice to learn from mistakes of others, but we learn more lessons and they stick better when they are our own. The more painful the mistake, the stronger the lesson learned.

5 mins

SMALL BOAT CRUISE: Tobyhanna Lake by Sunfish

Tobyhanna is a Native American word for “a stream whose banks are fringed with alder.”

7 mins

Reader Boat: Precision 165

During my three years of ownership, here are just a few things I’ve observed about my P165. Most of these features have contributed to my joy of sailing this little boat.

3 mins

AUSTRALIA THE HARD WAY

The David Pyle Interview

10+ mins

Five Days in the Turnbull Islands

I rowed out of the marina at Blind River, Ontario, and raised the sail just offComb Point. It had been a ten-hour drive from Wisconsin, followed by the usual scramble to launch and load the boat.

10+ mins

Born Again

An 1881 Bowdish sailboat, abandoned in a northern Michigan junkyard, is rescued and restored to museum condition by John Parlin, wooden boat surgeon extraordinaire

10+ mins

Are Power Tools Corrupting Us?

“Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” —First Baron Acton, 1904

6 mins

The Worst Sailor Still Alive

Upon retirement I decided to learn how to sail, so I bought a little dinghy and taught myself how to efficiently capsize, founder on rocks, and embarrass myself in front of large groups.

5 mins

PLAN STUDY: Kombi Sail and Paddle Canoe

The first boat I designed was the Beth Sailing Canoe, which, for better or worse, made me a marked man.

4 mins

Read all stories from Small Craft Advisor

Small Craft Advisor Magazine Description:

Small boats, big adventure! The only magazine focused on small and trailerable sailboats, cruising, and adventure. Each issue features places to sail, how-to and modification articles, a plan study for the boat builder, and a feature-length review of a production sailboat.