February 2025 Archives - Small Boats Magazine https://smallboatsmonthly.com/issue/february-2025/ Mon, 03 Feb 2025 18:57:32 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.2 Converting a Kayak for Sail https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/converting-a-kayak-for-sail/ https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/converting-a-kayak-for-sail/#comments Mon, 03 Feb 2025 18:55:17 +0000 https://smallboatsmonthly.com/?post_type=article&p=242236 Like the solo kayak before it, the tandem was a success. But, thought Dick, what if he built a couple of outriggers and converted the kayak to sail?

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]]> https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/converting-a-kayak-for-sail/feed/ 3 Mustang Survival Quadra Dry Suit https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/mustang-survival-quadra-dry-suit/ https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/mustang-survival-quadra-dry-suit/#comments Mon, 03 Feb 2025 18:49:29 +0000 https://smallboatsmonthly.com/?post_type=article&p=242054 Some of my most memorable and exciting sailing, rowing, and paddling outings have been in the “off season” when the water is cold and the spray is flying. What has made those outings thrilling—rather than worrisome and risky—has been a dry suit. After 35 years of enjoying the comfort and margin of safety they provide, I’m now on my third, a Quadra by Mustang Survival.

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]]> https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/mustang-survival-quadra-dry-suit/feed/ 1 NEBO Omni 2K Work Light https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/nebo-omni-2k-work-light/ https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/nebo-omni-2k-work-light/#comments Mon, 03 Feb 2025 18:47:50 +0000 https://smallboatsmonthly.com/?post_type=article&p=242450 The Omni 2K is cordless and features two lamps that can be angled independently, allowing you to direct the light with precision. Like most work lights, it can be used hands free: its handles, which are magnetized on their long end and have non-slip rubber-coated corners, can be used to hang the 8-oz light, or can be hinged open to create a stable stand.

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]]> https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/nebo-omni-2k-work-light/feed/ 3 How to Build a Brass-Frame Wind Vane https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/how-to-build-a-brass-frame-wind-vane/ https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/how-to-build-a-brass-frame-wind-vane/#comments Mon, 03 Feb 2025 18:47:00 +0000 https://smallboatsmonthly.com/?post_type=article&p=242421 A wind vane is a useful tool on a small sailboat. This example is designed for easy removal and storage when the mast is lowered; has only a few parts that can typically be purchased at a local DIY or hardware store; is fun to make; and can be personalized to add character.

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]]> https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/how-to-build-a-brass-frame-wind-vane/feed/ 1 Sailing on Lake Roosevelt https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/sailing-on-lake-roosevelt/ https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/sailing-on-lake-roosevelt/#comments Mon, 03 Feb 2025 18:46:19 +0000 https://smallboatsmonthly.com/?post_type=article&p=242171 I sped a few miles north along the western shore, mostly downwind, sometimes on a broad reach. Water streamed up the leeboard, topping the gunwale; small waves broke around me, and I was getting wet. I was still in control but I’m a conservative sailor, so when I spotted a small beach curving in between rocky shores I shifted my weight aft and ran the boat up onto it at speed.

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]]> https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/sailing-on-lake-roosevelt/feed/ 1 The Kokopelli Platte-Plus https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/kokopelli-platte-plus/ https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/kokopelli-platte-plus/#comments Mon, 03 Feb 2025 18:45:21 +0000 https://smallboatsmonthly.com/?post_type=article&p=241775 The Kokopelli Platte-Plus is a tandem, which was important to us. But more than that, it has versatility: I’m 6′ 3″ and my wife is 5′ 4″, and the system of hook-and-loop tracks that hold the two seats in place allows us to position them so we can both paddle comfortably for hours. It’s also easy to remove one of the seats and reposition the remaining one so the boat can be paddled solo.

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]]> https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/kokopelli-platte-plus/feed/ 4 The Drascombe Dabber https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/the-drascombe-dabber/ https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/the-drascombe-dabber/#comments Mon, 03 Feb 2025 18:40:59 +0000 https://smallboatsmonthly.com/?post_type=article&p=241768 The Drascombe Dabber was designed by John Watkinson around 1970 when Honnor Marine, builders of the Drascombe Lugger, requested a smaller version of that enormously popular boat. Watkinson based the resulting Dabber, a 15′ 6″ yawl, on his slippery 19′ double-ended Peterboat.

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]]> https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/the-drascombe-dabber/feed/ 3 John Watkinson and the Elliott Brothers https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/drascombe-boats-and-the-elliott-brothers/ https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/drascombe-boats-and-the-elliott-brothers/#comments Mon, 03 Feb 2025 18:39:43 +0000 https://smallboatsmonthly.com/?post_type=article&p=242651 By 1964, the yard was doing well, but it was then that Watkinson decided to sell the yard and work full-time at design. That decision would lead to the building of the prototype Drascombe Lugger in 1965.

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