PEARL, an Iain Oughtred Wee Rob

From Issue March 2015

Shair Rutz and her granddaughter take a maiden voyage on the Ompompanoosuc River near Norwich, Vermont.

A bit of keeping up with the Joneses led Lorenz Rutz to build PEARL, a 12′ Wee Rob canoe designed by Iain Oughtred. His wife Shari enjoyed kayaking but struggled with her 60-lb plastic kayak. Lorenz would help her load the boat on their truck’s canopy roof rack, but she would return with it slid in on the truck bed. Shari paddles with a petite woman who arrived at one of their outings with a new 30-lb composite kayak. When Lorenz heard about that, “the gauntlet was down” and he started looking for a winter project: a small paddle craft that was “light, small, and classy.”

The second strake goes on with the aid of dozens of fixed plywood clamps and wedges.

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Comments (4)

Mark Steffens says:

March 2, 2015 at 12:07 am

Beautiful boat. I would love to see pictures of your boatshop. That also looks well thought out and a great tool for woodworking.
1. Christopher Cunningham says:
  
  March 2, 2015 at 1:10 am
  
  Thanks for your request, Mark. I’ve added two photos from Lorenz. You raise a good point about a shop being a tool. Mine, I’m afraid, is in desperate need of sharpening.
  Christopher Cunningham, Editor, Small Boats Monthly
peter mumford says:

March 3, 2015 at 5:02 pm

I noticed that too! What a lovely woodshop.
Jim Dempsey says:

March 4, 2015 at 4:46 pm

I appreciated this article. This is a boat I have wanted to build for some time and for the same use that Lorenz and Shari had in mind: Newfoundland has so many ponds just begging to be paddled on a summer’s day. Many are not easily accessible, so light weight is a real advantage.

I have almost finished a new shop at my home in Flatrock and, after maintenance to my rodney boat and skiff before summer, I hope the Wee Rob to be my first project in the new building.