| The Small Boat List |
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| Written by Jon |
| Thursday, 11 June 2009 18:20 |
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I have been infected. I love sailing and paddling, but I have found that building a small boat is just as relaxing. Essentially you are building a dream, then living it out when you launch it! If you have built a boat, or seriously considered it, you have one of these lists. Here is mine
At this point I have completed 3 boat building projects, and am in the middle of a fourth. The next project(s) are already on my mind. The first was a Baby Tender cradle with traditional riveting from Jordan Wood Boats. Next I built a plywood stitch and glue Mertens PK78 for use as a tender to my SJ28 sailboat complete with sailing rig. Recently I finished a Light Sculling Trainer design from Hannu's boatyard, that still needs the rowing bits completed. That was stitch and glue as well. And finally I'm working on an EasyB cedar strip canoe with my buddy Chad. Cedar strip is my favorite technique so far.
So what is next? Well, I want a fun sailing boat, that I can row. The ability to handle at least one passenger for a day or weekend camping trip is a must. I would like to use this boat in a RAID style event, but that is not my primary intent. It must be shallow water capable. A key factor is ease of launch and recovery. I would like that time to be less than 20 minutes from road ready to sailing. I live in Florida, so it will be used in rivers, lakes, bay and coastal areas. Hopefully a few trips to the 10,000 islands and the Keys.
I have a keel boat, and that is great, but to get to other cruising grounds it takes a significant amount of time. I can take a weekend, or even a three day every now and then, but that really doesn't get me much further that St Pete to Anclote, or Sarasota and back when I average 3-4 kts. So a small boat I can trailer or better yet throw on the roof racks like my kayak is really appealing.
So here it is, the list. It is never static, usually growing rather than contracting. I'm getting married at the end of this year, so I don't think I'll be starting a build anytime soon. So this whole thing is a mental exersise. I will be making a blog entry on each of these, to think out loud. Any comments would be appreciated!
As you look at my list, there is quite a range of types of boats that meet my desires and needs. It makes my head spin a bit to think of car-topable outrigger canoes on the same list as a Bolger Light Schooner, but it is a dream list, so eventually I will narrow it down.
Without further ado... Here is the Small Boat list
Raid41, GIS, Skerry, John's sharpie, Black Fly, Hitia 17, Melanesia, Tahiti Wayfarer, Slider, Sou'wester, Light Trow Phoenix III, Ulua, Wa'apa, A64, Walkabout, Woobo, Piccup Pram, Mikes Boat, Ladybug, Deans Box, Otter 16, CK17, Sharpie 14, Summer Breeze, DayDream, Coresound 17, Super Skipjack |