July 2024 Archives - Small Boats Magazine

Taku Essential Jacket

Christopher Cunningham — Sun, 23 Jun 2024 23:27:22 +0000

The fabric used in the making of the Taku is Mustang’s Marine Spec SP, a laminate that has an inner layer of nylon tricot and an outer layer of 70D nylon coated with a PFC-free hydrophobic polyurethane. In between is a windproof, breathable, and waterproof polyurethane membrane. In a rainfall, the drops beaded up on the fabric and rolled off, which showed the effectiveness of the fabric’s durable water repellent (DWR). Testing the waterproof/breathable polyurethane membrane sandwiched inside the jacket’s fabric required more than rainfall or a stand-in-the-bathtub shower. I used a plastic storage bin and some spring clamps to pool water on parts of the jacket’s back, sleeves, shoulders, and some of the seams between them. After more than five hours, no water had seeped through the jacket. That was enough to give me confidence in the Taku’s ability to keep me dry.

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Paddle Pump

Audrey and Kent Lewis — Sun, 23 Jun 2024 23:26:04 +0000

Small boats limit what can be carried aboard and gear that has multiple purposes saves valuable space. We always carry a paddle and a means to bail, so when we came across the Paddle Pump, we were eager to give it a try.

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A Walkway for a Trailex Trailer

Ben Fuller — Sun, 23 Jun 2024 23:24:32 +0000

Most small-boat trailers, built for the ubiquitous outboard skiffs, have Y-shaped frames to accommodate the breadth of the transom, and stiffer suspensions to support the weight of the motor. Even the lighter of such trailers may have a 1,000-lb capacity. But Trailex’s SUT line of small-boat trailers are sprung for much lighter loads and thus give lightweight boats a softer ride.

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Maligiaq

Christopher Cunningham — Sun, 23 Jun 2024 23:23:03 +0000

Maligiaq was born in 1982 and grew up in Sisimiut, a town above the Arctic Circle on the west coast of Greenland. A great-grandfather on his mother’s side was a seal hunter who lost his life when a seal he had harpooned dragged him and his kayak so violently that his back was broken. Maligiaq’s grandfather, Peter Johnsen, was the last of the kayak hunters in Sisimiut, and kept to the old ways after the other hunters in the area took to outboard skiffs.

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Boatbuilding in the Woods

Greg Goodman — Thu, 20 Jun 2024 13:54:02 +0000

I did the first bit of heavy stock removal with my drawknife, which peeled away long, thick curls of wood that crinkled into spiral sculptures around my feet. It was good fun, and I was excited by the fast progress, but to finish with a fair surface I needed to use my jack plane. The plane sliced long twin ribbons of oak and pine, and the wavy surface was quickly flattening. I was close to finishing the beveling when the plane hung up slightly, though it didn’t feel like grain tearing. I pushed through and the plane left behind a long oval of brilliant bronze in the middle of the cut. The sharp steel blade had sliced through one of the bronze ring nails holding the garboard to the chine. I was clearly getting better at sharpening, but I’d driven in the nails too close to where the bottom would meet the chine. Many of them were going to be exposed if I continued planing. If I left a little of the chine log unbeveled, I could save myself from cutting into the nail-filled chine and still have a wide enough landing for the bottom planking. Despite the ease with which the plane had sliced through the one nail, it would be foolish to keep forcing the blade into more of them, and I switched to the Shinto rasp. Even though the hacksaw blades form which it’s made can cut metal, it otherwise is not as well suited to the job as a plane, and the beveling took much longer than I’d hoped. Finally, I smoothed the rough surface left by the rasp with a sanding board and was ready to attach the bottom planking.

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From Sailboat to Motorboat

Jenny Bennett — Sat, 15 Jun 2024 15:14:43 +0000

uentin Verhaegen lives on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. He describes it as “a Pacific island with a microclimate,” a place that is “more than beautiful most of the time.”...

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The Friend·Ship Canal Boat

Jim Kenney — Mon, 10 Jun 2024 15:35:53 +0000

I reread the article multiple times and daydreamed about the day that I could have a floating RV on which my whole family could live aboard for extended lengths of time. Harry Bryan’s article on shanty boats in WoodenBoat pushed me into action, and I called Phil to purchase the plans for his Friend·Ship.

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The Shrike Kayaks

David Dawson — Mon, 10 Jun 2024 15:34:35 +0000

The Shrike family of boats isn’t for everyone. But it can’t be beat for the kayaker who wants a sports car of a boat that’s lighter, quicker, and nimbler than the typical production touring boat. The potential builder should understand that getting the most out of a traditional kayak does take time and practice. The strong inputs that become habit to control a heavier, long-keeled sea kayak will prove too much for the agile Shrike. It will feel flighty at first, but as its paddlers learn to drive the boat with finesse, they will also discover that they can maneuver easily and gracefully.

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