CATEGORIES

PLAN STUDY: Annabelle Skiff
Small Craft Advisor

PLAN STUDY: Annabelle Skiff

Standing around after boating on the local pond, I suggested to my friend, the remarkable Paul Helbert, that I thought he would be better served by yet another boat—specifically, the “10' Rowing and Sailing Dinghy” designed by Howard Chapelle. I would modify Chapelle’s hull for skin-on-frame construction, and Paul would build the prototype. Paul could, for a minimal investment in both time and money, have a sailboat that would be lightweight enough to car-top, yet still had room for a passenger. More importantly, the boat promised jaunty performance as well.

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4 mins  |
July - August 2020
Future Physics of the Birdwing Mast
Small Craft Advisor

Future Physics of the Birdwing Mast

An inventor’s perspective

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7 mins  |
July - August 2020
Bike Sailing
Small Craft Advisor

Bike Sailing

Building a small, bike-trailerable boat for big water

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9 mins  |
July - August 2020
Preparing a 22-footer for Ocean Crossing
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Preparing a 22-footer for Ocean Crossing

We bought this boat in 1980 as a deluxe model built by Hurley Marine in 1970.

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4 mins  |
May - June 2020
SPOT, SPOT X, inReach, or PLB: Which One?
Small Craft Advisor

SPOT, SPOT X, inReach, or PLB: Which One?

I like to row, and I even learned how to use a yuloh to move my Potter.

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10+ mins  |
May - June 2020
SMALL BOAT CRUISE: Superior's NMCA
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SMALL BOAT CRUISE: Superior's NMCA

From the vantage of my home in Bayfield, Wisconsin I see the first leg of many small-boat cruises to the Apostle Islands.

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9 mins  |
May - June 2020
Tent for Coastal Marsh Sleeper
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Tent for Coastal Marsh Sleeper

Karen wants us to sail Clam Girl from Cedar Key up or down coast, lodging to lodging. Roger Barnes suggested in his thorough 2014 book, The Dinghy Cruising Companion, “A civilized solution is to sail between small harbour towns and check into a local hotel each night.”

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3 mins  |
May - June 2020
READER BOAT: The Crazy Boat
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READER BOAT: The Crazy Boat

Sometimes, great imaginative leaps in mankind’s development never quite take off.

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6 mins  |
May - June 2020
Capt'n Pauley
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Capt'n Pauley

Normally, I talk about hard items like fiberglass, wood, steel or aluminum. Today, I’m offon another tangent—marine fabrics.

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6 mins  |
May - June 2020
For Comfort and Convenience
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For Comfort and Convenience

These are some modifications made to my SCAMP Frisky, to make sailing her more enjoyable.

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4 mins  |
May - June 2020
All the boats in the world by John C.Harris
Small Craft Advisor

All the boats in the world by John C.Harris

There’s a formula for a successful proa.

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3 mins  |
May - June 2020
Bahamian Beachcruising
Small Craft Advisor

Bahamian Beachcruising

Chartering a Sea Pearl 21 in the Exumas

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10+ mins  |
May - June 2020
A New Companionway Door
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A New Companionway Door

When I bought my 30-year old West Wight Potter, Blue Knot, it needed a few repairs and replacement parts.

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10 mins  |
May - June 2020
Small-Boat Gear
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Small-Boat Gear

DUCKWORKS BOAT PLANS

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1 min  |
March - April 2020
Wood + Carbon Fiber
Small Craft Advisor

Wood + Carbon Fiber

Are you having trouble getting good wood for your boat projects? You are not alone.

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4 mins  |
March - April 2020
THE PORTAGE
Small Craft Advisor

THE PORTAGE

And Other Notes from Doubling the Salish 100

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9 mins  |
March - April 2020
SMALL BOAT CRUISE: Isolated Australian Coast
Small Craft Advisor

SMALL BOAT CRUISE: Isolated Australian Coast

On the opposite side of north Australia from the Great Barrier Reef is a much less-known reef, hugging a rarely visited desert coast, offering soul-feeding beauty that is only amplified by the art of small-boat journeying.

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9 mins  |
March - April 2020
Seascape The Webb Chiles Interview
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Seascape The Webb Chiles Interview

We caught up with famed sailor and author Webb Chiles just after he’d finished his sixth circumnavigation at age 77.

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10+ mins  |
March - April 2020
READER BOAT: AMF Sunbird, Lusty Slogger
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READER BOAT: AMF Sunbird, Lusty Slogger

On May 1, 2009, while riding my beloved Triumph Bonneville motorcycle on Interstate 40 in Asheville NC, I was struck from behind by a tractor-trailer rig.

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6 mins  |
March - April 2020
On The Beach at Cedar Key
Small Craft Advisor

On The Beach at Cedar Key

The annual gathering of small craft happens each year on the first weekend in May. It is perfectly located on the tip of a peninsula tucked up in the panhandle of the Gulf of Mexico.

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10 mins  |
March - April 2020
PLAN STUDY: Glen-L 14
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PLAN STUDY: Glen-L 14

Here is a sprightly sloop for sporty sailing the whole family will enjoy.

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2 mins  |
March - April 2020
My Experiment in Retractable Electric Propulsion
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My Experiment in Retractable Electric Propulsion

Electric outboard motors, the wave of the future, are a great way to propel small watercraft, since they offer several advantages over standard gasoline-powered outboards.

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5 mins  |
March - April 2020
CUSTOM GOAT ISLAND SKIFF
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CUSTOM GOAT ISLAND SKIFF

It turns out that I enjoy building and learning about boats even more than I enjoy owning them.

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5 mins  |
March - April 2020
Keeping Up With Your Old Outboard
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Keeping Up With Your Old Outboard

When the wind doesn’t blow—which is all too common on the Chesapeake Bay where I sail—we need some way to move our boats.

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10+ mins  |
January - February 2020
The One That Got Away
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The One That Got Away

That Boat You Wish You Still Had

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9 mins  |
January - February 2020
SMALL BOAT CRUISE: Key Lime Sailing Club
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SMALL BOAT CRUISE: Key Lime Sailing Club

Some destination-sailing is often in the mix when it comes to coping with northern winters as a sailor.

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5 mins  |
January - February 2020
READER BOAT: Quinque
Small Craft Advisor

READER BOAT: Quinque

Many articles have been written on boat restoration.

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6 mins  |
January - February 2020
PURE AND SIMPLE-THE MICHAEL STORER INTERVIEW
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PURE AND SIMPLE-THE MICHAEL STORER INTERVIEW

Small-boat designer Michael Storer has a gift for turning the simplest of shapes into easily-built boats that somehow manage to exude elegance.

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10+ mins  |
January - February 2020
PLAN STUDY: Crow
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PLAN STUDY: Crow

I see nothing around me. Georgian Bay, slow to warm this season, is blanketed in thick fog. It is cold and damp in the exposed cockpit, but I’m sailing from inside the warm cabin of my 15'-8" camp-cruiser design, Crow, comfortable in a T-shirt.

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6 mins  |
January - February 2020
Changing Times
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Changing Times

As a kid, I was drawn to the idea that wa-ter was not a barrier, but an enchanted pathway if you had the right boat for the voyage.

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5 mins  |
January - February 2020