August 2024 Archives - Small Boats Magazine

Hand-Me-Down

Christopher Cunningham — Sun, 28 Jul 2024 19:38:05 +0000

I put the pirogue on sawhorses where I could better see what work needed to be done. The plywood brackets that would hold the leeboard were delaminating and I could replace them or, I thought, do without them, as other pirogue builders had done, and install an off-center daggerboard trunk between the bottom and the side deck. The rudder had been designed with a yoke and tiller ropes, a system I’ve tried with other boats and have mixed feelings about. Dan preferred a tiller and had equipped the rudder with one made of a short length of bamboo. I imagined a Norwegian tiller like the one on my Caledonia Yawl would be a good match for the boat.

The post Hand-Me-Down appeared first on Small Boats Magazine.

Home-Built Elegance

Jenny Bennett — Sun, 28 Jul 2024 14:03:38 +0000

He had in his possession a Vetus EP2200 electric motor, and it sparked the idea of building a customized harbor launch. He collaborated with Walt Simmons and together they altered the plans for the Duck Trap Launch to fit Oliver’s vision.

The post Home-Built Elegance appeared first on Small Boats Magazine.

Airflo Sun Hat

Kent Lewis — Sun, 28 Jul 2024 14:00:18 +0000

The Tilley company was founded by Alex Tilley in 1980. Tilley was a sailor who couldn’t find a hat to his liking, so he designed one to protect against sun and rain and to stay put during a blow.

The post Airflo Sun Hat appeared first on Small Boats Magazine.

Return to the Texas 200

Roger Siebert — Sun, 28 Jul 2024 13:56:52 +0000

When I cleared Port Mansfield, the wind in Red Fish Bay remained light but became steady from astern. A scattering of cumulus clouds hung just above the horizon. It was already hot, but the breeze coming across the water was refreshing. The water gurgled against the hull and trailed away in a flat, weak wake. Half a dozen other sails dotted the offing ahead, and two boats astern still worked their way out through the fluky breezes in the harbor.

The post Return to the Texas 200 appeared first on Small Boats Magazine.

Adirondack Guideboat

Steve Petty — Sun, 28 Jul 2024 13:54:54 +0000

After building boats from plans, where I had to find sources for all the materials, I concluded that building from a kit (especially one from Newfound Woodworks) is the way to go. The kit came with almost everything I would need to build the boat. It included all the wood, the molds, epoxy, fiberglass, varnish, brushes, rollers, plastic trowels and hardware, and even latex gloves.

The post Adirondack Guideboat appeared first on Small Boats Magazine.

Sunfish

Kent Lewis — Sun, 28 Jul 2024 13:51:58 +0000

The Sunfish, a direct descendant of the 1945 Sailfish, was the creation of ALCORT Sailboats, founded by Alex Bryan and Cortlandt Heniger. A hollow-bodied wooden “sit-on” sailboat, the Sailfish was featured in LIFE magazine’s 1949 article “World’s Wettest, Sportiest Boat.” It went through various iterations and in 1952, the designers at ALCORT, with considerable input from Aileen Shields Bryan, introduced a new iteration they called the Sunfish. Aileen was considered one of the best female sailors of the day, having won the 1948 Adams Cup—the Women’s National Sailing Championship—as well as the Atlantic and 210 class championships. She recommended adding a small cockpit as a foot well for more comfort, and widening the hull by 12″ for more stability. Since 1952 the Sunfish has been in continuous production and by 2013, more than 500,000 had been built and sailed in over 50 countries.

The post Sunfish appeared first on Small Boats Magazine.

Teak-Nu

Christopher Cunningham — Fri, 26 Jul 2024 20:23:09 +0000

I had seen how well Snappy Boat Care’s treatment had brought the brilliant color back to a weathered teak outdoor table and bought the two-part kit of Teak-Nu to remove the gray and a bottle of Snappy Teak-Nu Sealer to restore the color.

The post Teak-Nu appeared first on Small Boats Magazine.

Water-Sails for Small Boats

Matt Schiemer — Mon, 15 Jul 2024 21:47:11 +0000

My experience with water-sails started when I was on a multi-day camp-cruising trip about five years ago, and I had a long downwind leg to sail one morning in very light air. I had just packed up my tent and it occurred to me that the 6′ × 3′ poly tarp ground cloth would fit perfectly below the boom and sit right above the water’s surface, giving me about 25 percent more sail area. The increase in boat speed was immediately noticeable.

The post Water-Sails for Small Boats appeared first on Small Boats Magazine.