March 2023 Archives - Small Boats Magazine

MUSE

Jenny Bennett — Sun, 19 Feb 2023 14:44:00 +0000

Jeremy set about figuring out which skin-on-frame boat he would build. He knew he wanted to go with a “home-grown Northwest hull form,” but it would be another two months before he decided on a native Pacific Northwest canoe. Then he found a drawing of a Nootkan cedar dugout that was used for trade in North Puget Sound in 1905. He was attracted to the shape and decided he would make a skin-on-frame version. “The original hull was 25′6″ with a 42″ beam. That was too big for us,” he says, “so I scaled it back to 17′6″ with a beam of 36″.” With three adults on board, the canoe draws only 4″. The bare frame weighs 44 lbs.

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Revolve Boat Hook

Christopher Cunningham — Sun, 19 Feb 2023 14:38:34 +0000

While I’ve never carried a boathook aboard any of my boats, it’s not because I wouldn’t find one useful. Where space is limited, boathooks—even telescoping ones—are awkward to stow, so I learned to get by without one. For instance, I always approach a dock on its upwind side so I won’t drift away from it; when I can’t sail within arm’s reach to grab something from the water, I’ll make another pass; to push off a rocky beach I’ll use an oar. The Revolve Rollable Boat Hook solves the stowing problem by using a concept you’ve seen in the common measuring tape

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A Sneakbox on the Gulf Coast

Christopher Cunningham — Sun, 19 Feb 2023 14:36:49 +0000

I rowed more bayous in a generally eastward direction, keeping close track of my position bend by bend to avoid getting lost in the web of intersecting bayous that all looked the same. The last of them, Three Oaks Bay, delivered me to the open wind-raked waters of Mississippi Sound. At its mouth, the banks of the bayou turn away from one another and the passageways of canals and bayous from New Orleans open out to the enormous atrium of the Gulf of Mexico. The press of an east wind coming from the unbroken curve of a distant horizon tumbled the waves and bowed the marsh grass at the land's edge.

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Risk-Taker?

Christopher Cunningham — Sun, 19 Feb 2023 14:35:48 +0000

When I was 18, I did my first solo backpack outing, in the summer and on a trail I’d hiked twice with my father, and in the years that followed I pushed the envelope until I was ready to undertake a solo winter hike on snowshoes with a heavy pack and to make an igloo for my shelter. When I switched to boating, I started with a summer cruise from familiar local waters and increased the distance and challenges for cruises that followed, culminating with my winter sneakbox cruise.

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New York Whitehall

Christopher Cunningham — Sun, 19 Feb 2023 14:34:47 +0000

The first Whitehalls were lapstrake, but by 1850 most were carvel planked. I opted for the original construction, believing that lapstrake is better suited for a trailered traditionally built boat that spends most of its time out of the water. Instead of the 3⁄8″ white cedar Chapelle cites, I used 7⁄16″ Port Orford cedar for the planking and, like the original Whitehalls, mahogany for the sheerstrake.

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A DIY Hammock Chair

James Kealey — Sun, 19 Feb 2023 14:33:56 +0000

Here's a luxurious recliner you can take on your next camping trip. It is wonderfully supportive, perfectly comfortable, small to stow, relatively easy to make, and looks more polished than just about anything you can buy. The canvas and cordage skills you'll use making it can extend to other kinds of hammocks and small-boat accessories. Your biggest challenge will be clearing your companions out of the chair when you want to sit in it.

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Meaban

Nigel Sharp — Sun, 19 Feb 2023 14:31:16 +0000

The Meaban is a development of the Stir-Ven, which is slightly smaller but has a larger cockpit, a small cuddy instead of a cabin, and a transom-mounted outboard instead of an inboard well. In the early 2000s,designer François Vivier began discussions with a boatyard in Brittany, about a new design with a proper cabin, a self-draining cockpit, an outboard well within easy reach, and an option for an inboard engine. “I wanted to draw a true classic, beautiful and suited to another way of sailing, away from modern marinas.”

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The Tow Tuff

Michael Olson — Wed, 11 Jan 2023 22:09:45 +0000

Moving my boat and trailer around my backyard has been a dreaded chore and, at times, an injury-causing one. My Welsford Pathfinder with motor, sails, anchor, and other gear, weighs about 485 lbs, and add to that about 700 lbs for its aluminum trailer. My yard is no putting green with its clumpy grass, random divots, and hidden debris which all impede progress. It’s really a two-person job, but I am usually alone in getting the boat across the lawn to the driveway. As I move through my late 50s, the task grows more challenging. When my winch-and-trailer-dolly system failed this past year, I was ready for an upgrade. I ordered the 24-volt Tow Tuff TMD-3500ETD Electric Trailer Dolly from Northern Tool & Equipment.

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