A sailor pilots the Welsford pocket cruiser WHIO.all photographs courtesy of Ralf Schlothauer

WHIO's gaff rig carries 235 sq ft of sail. When the wind fails, an outboard mounted forward of the transom provides power. The notch in the transom allows the motor to be kicked up.

Ralf Schlothauer first tried to build a boat when he was six years old. He scavenged bits of plywood and lumber from the neighborhood and then enlisted the help of his sandbox playmates. The result was not a boat but a collection of even smaller bits of plywood and lumber. In his 30s his wife gave him a copy of The Backyard Boat Builder by John Welsford. He thumbed through the pages for a few years trying to decide what kind of boat he should build. “I never really fell for any of the dinghies and small sailboats. If I was going to make my lifelong dream come true, I had to build something special, something for my whole growing family would enjoy, something that would be like a mini campervan on the water but not compromise on a classic look.”
Adults relax aboard the Welsford pocket cruiser WHIO while their kids swim in the water.

With her centerboard retracted, WHIO can anchor safely in waist-deep water.

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!

Subscribe Now or SIGN IN