Technique Articles - Small Boats Magazine

How to Build a Brass-Frame Wind Vane

Sebastian Schröder — Mon, 03 Feb 2025 18:47:00 +0000

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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Winterizing Trailer Tires

Christopher Cunningham — Thu, 02 Jan 2025 18:37:37 +0000

It’s a natural impulse to protect our boats when they sit idle through the winter. We may not have the same affection for the trailers they rest on, but they also need attention while they wait for spring. Their tires, especially, benefit from protection from outdoor exposure.

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Using the Roll-and-Tip Method

Kent and Audrey Lewis — Mon, 02 Dec 2024 17:48:21 +0000

To roll and tip is to apply a thin coating with a roller and then go over it lightly with a brush, using just the bristle tips to smooth the coating and remove the bubbles. The coating can be paint, epoxy, or varnish, but for the purpose of this article we’ll focus on paint. As with any paint job, the key to getting the results you want is good preparation of the surface, good tools, and good materials.

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PVC Spring Clamps and a Tool for Applying Them

Christopher Cunningham — Fri, 01 Nov 2024 15:59:00 +0000

PVC spring clamps can be applied by hand if they’re not too hard to open. The clamps I cut from the 1 1⁄2″ pipe take 5.5 lbs of force to open them 1⁄2″ and 16 lbs to get to 2″. The clamps cut from 2” pipe take 7 lbs to open them 1⁄2″ and 18.75 lbs to open them 2″. These numbers are also measures of the clamping force of the pipe clamps. As a comparison, a Pony Jorgensen 2” spring clamp applies roughly twice the amount of pressure at the ends of its jaws.

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Boil-in-the-Bag Plank Bending

Greg Rössel — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 12:27:19 +0000

There are few techniques as efficacious and expeditious as using steam to plasticize wood—especially when bending planks. The technology is simple: you need a steambox, a high-capacity steam generator, plenty of fast-action deep-throated clamps, a gaggle of small wooden clamping pads, and hopefully, some reliable helpers to assist with bending the plank to the vessel. Once planks are removed from a steambox, they immediately begin to lose their pliability, and every second counts. For two or more people working in concert, this can lead to a bit of a scramble—even with extensive preparation and experience. For a lone builder, it can be a nightmare. As luck would have it, there’s an alternative—the trusted, boil-in-the-bag technique where you bring the steambox to the boat, not the plank to the steambox.

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Anchor-Rode Markings

Alex Zimmerman — Sun, 01 Sep 2024 03:48:49 +0000

Whenever I decide to spend a night on board at anchor, there are two problems I have to solve. The first is determining the depth in an anchorage. In areas with big tidal ranges, it’s especially important. The second is deciding how much scope I have out.

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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.

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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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All-Terrain Carts

Christopher Cunningham — Tue, 21 May 2024 01:54:19 +0000

My canoes and kayaks don’t make it so easy for me, especially when my truck and the water are separated by stretches of asphalt, loose cobbles, and sand and I have to do the lugging. Carts with wheels do fine on pavement, but they get bogged down in sand and rocks.

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Different Ways to Style Your Kayak

David Dawson — Mon, 22 Apr 2024 15:37:40 +0000

Most homemade kayaks are finished bright to show off the wood grain and color, but other techniques can be used to make a kayak unique and expressive. On my most recent boats I’ve built, I’ve painted the whole kayak one color, and on another I stained the wood and added touches of paint. I’ve used high-tech fabric blends for their aesthetic appeal and I’ve added colorful designs by laminating patterned fabric under fiberglass or, using specialty fiberglass that has been custom printed.

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