"My name is Thatcher Unfried. I have grown up in a family that thinks building boats is normal.”Thatcher is a 14-year-old eighth grader who lives in Redding, Connecticut, with his parents, brother, and sister. Even before the kids were born, his parents built a canoe in the living room, so they were all indoctrinated in the precepts of boatbuilding at an early age. As an infant, Thatcher slept in a small boat built to be his cradle, and at one year old he was in the garage shop with his father working on an Arctic Hawk plywood kayak. Thatcher, catching some shuteye here, was introduced to wooden boats at an early age, beginning with this cradle boat built by his father, Ken.
All photographs by Ken Unfried
Read this article now for Free!
Ready for a second free article? Create a free account by entering your email address and a password below.
— OR —
Subscribe now for $29.99 a year and have immediate access to all of our content, including hundreds of small-boat profiles, gear reviews and techniques, adventure stories, and more! You can also browse our entire archive of back issues starting from September 2014, as well as post unlimited classified ads. This is an extraordinary value!
Congratulations, Thatcher. Nice job on your kayak. With dedication like yours you will make Eagle on no time.
Hah, Thatcher, I can’t build them any faster than you did. Great-looking craft and I’m sure you’ll paddle your way to Eagle. P Hendrickson, Eagle ~1961 Troop 504, North Amherst, MA