Reader Boat: Cape Henry 21

Almost 15 years ago a friend came into my workshop waving around a copy of Watercraft magazine and said “Have a look at this boat—I’m going build one for myself some day.” That boat was the Cape Henry 21.

Plan Study: Various Designs

My interest in boats developed after we moved from the UK to Greece in 2007. We were in the protracted process of buying a house, so I had time to spare. We lived close to the sea and in the summer, unlike in the UK, the weather is hot and the water isn’t cold…so I decided to build a boat.

The Building Of OHM

The Electrifying Story of an 18-foot Solar Canal Cruiser

The First-Ever Salish 100

One hundred small boats cruise the length of Puget Sound—100 nautical miles

Endings And Beginnings

The year has ended and the new year is here. My calendar of beautiful wooden sailboats has arrived.

A Dark, Dank, Dreary Night Story

Imagine for a moment…we are in a 13-foot sailboat made of plywood and spruce, with an enclosed cabin, just long enough to stretch out in.

My Friends Are​ Dangerous

My Friends Are​ Dangerous

Plan Study: Nanoship (Revisited)

Plan Study: Nanoship (Revisited)

Small Boat Cruise: Big Bend, Texas

I belong to a group of curmudgeons that goes on paddling and sailing adventures. All are Everglades Challenge veterans and two have completed the Around-Florida Ultimate Challenge. Almost all are retired or semi-retired. There is constant e-mail chatter. After our French River, Ontario adventure , talk began of finding totally dark nights since the Everglades is now bordered on the east with the glow of Miami. I remembered previous trips to Big Bend National Park, and the plan began to unfold, including a new moon for greatest effect.

A Race To Remember

The 2017 Everglades Challenge.

Emily Ruth's Motor Mount

This is something that I made for my Somes Sound which is a derivation of the famous H-12 1/2. My boat was designed by John Brooks (Brooks Boat Designs) and built by myself in my shop on Bainbridge Island. Emily Ruth was launched in July of 2015.

A Strange Coda

The man was sunbaked, with reddish, slightly over-cooked skin. I squinted at him there on the rickety dock, clad in a bandana, shorts, and a ratty T-shirt. Behind him, perched on pilings, stood a 1900s-era wooden building with a faded sign reading “Back Bay Marina & Resort.”

Small Boat Cruise: Everglades

As I was leaving the house to trailer my boat, Rosie, to a launch site in the Everglades, my wife, the real Rosie, said “Please, don’t do anything stupid!”

In The Shadows Of Cerralvo: East Side

Off the south end of Cerralvo Island I sense a conflux of forces that suggest I’m in over my head.

Budget Small Offshore Cruiser

About 25 years ago I expressed to Pearl a desire to someday sail to the South Pacific.

Boat Review: SageCat / Sage 15

This exciting new microcruiser is available with a choice of rigs.

Cruiser Challenge XVII

First Race Rule: Avoid A Collision!

C-Boot—Concept Boat Design

A simple 15-foot micro motorsailer.

Double-Enders vs. Transom Sterns

Another Opinion.

Reader Boat: Hobie Power Skiff

Reader Boat: Hobie Power Skiff

Minimus Makes The Marquesas

Purchased for $2500, this Cape Dory 25 proves you don’t need a big or expensive yacht to reach the most exotic cruising grounds.

Too Little, Too Much

Too Little, Too Much 

Reader Boat: Hunter 23, God's Gift

This is a story of a Hunter 23 and friendship. This 1986 beauty aptly named God’s Giftwas leftto us by our dear friends Steve and Marcia after Steve’s untimely passing. We had sailed with them over the past 17 years on this boat, and in fact wrote about her twice before in these pages: issues #49—Jan/ Feb 2008—Places:Mooselookmeguntic Lake, Maine and #56—Mar/Apr 2009 – Places: Lake Cupsuptic.

In The Shadows Of Cerralvo: West Side

I’m relieved to leave the long remote shadows of the east flank of Isla Cerralvo. Pointed south, I feel we’ve passed a milestone; we’re headed in, not out. Instead of staring into the empty horizon of the Sea of Cortez, crouched beneath the ominous eastern escarpment looming overhead, I’m now skipping alongside a well-traveled shipping channel, toward a landscape crisscrossed with paved roads leading to bustling cities, and practically in sight of the shores of popular gringo enclaves with all the trappings of wealth and modern life.