April - 2007
Projects

Adventures with Outriggers
This is the latest installment of Dan St. Gean's story about trying to build a multipurpose sailing and paddling boat based on a Hawaiian outrigger canoe.

Building Harmonica - Part 3
When we last left our hero, Bill Nolen was struggling with bending chine logs. In this installment, he the bottom on and the seams taped and epoxied.

Wanderer Progress Report
Bob Throne began his pocket cruiser project by presenting his ideas here at Duckworks. Thanks to many reader's contributions it is coming right along.

Bolger Bantam Modifications
If you are thinking about this outside the box outboard cruiser from Phil Bolger, you will want to know what Tom David did to his.

Dinghy Cruising
When Rick Russell began building his John Welsford Houdini, he had dinghy cruising. It took a little longer than he expected but now he is walking the walk!

How To

Tying the Gripper Hitch
In his spare time, Warren Messer does some interesting things - like trying to improve the Icicle Hitch. Here is what he has come up with:

Installing Glue-on Studs
Most people have never even heard of glue-on studs. I had not until recently. So when David Nichols sent me pictures of installing some I had to post them.

Small Improvements
Gary Blankenship has put a lot of miles on his Oaracle and in the process, made a number of upgrades and improvements. Here he shares a few.

Outings

A Cruise on Lake Tarawera
Have you ever dreamed of cruising a mountain lake ringed with hot springs? Grahame Harris cruised on just such a lake in his navive New Zealand.

Gatherings
Columns

Twin Lateen Motorsailer Rig
Jeff Gilbert has some different ideas about cruising multihulls. They are very well thought out and logical, though and he outlines them in this essay.

A Question From a Reader
Do you too wonder why Max Wawrzyniak does not recommend the use of outboards from the 1970's? One Duckworks reader did - here is Max's answer:

Traditional Small Boat Class - Planking
Here is some eye candy for folks who like traditional small boat construction. Pete Leenhouts is taking a class in Port Hadlock and sends this latest report.

3 of a Kind
With over 500 sets of plans sold, it is not surprising to hear that three Navigators got together for a cruise. John Welsford gives some delightful details.

From the Alma to the Spray… Murray’s modelwork delights!
Really dedicated modelers often build replicas of famous ships. Mark Steele shows us some examples.

Yanglo-French MegaProa
It has been a long time since I have read such an enjoyable combination of boating whimsy and political satire as this design brief from Jeff Gilbert.

Chicagoland Fall Messabout 2006
This month Rob Rohde-Szudy lets Dave Seaburg do the heavy hitting as Rob enjoys the tales of great sailing with the rest of us.

Designs

Montana Pram
For years Paul Butler has been writing boatbuilding articles and designing boats. Now he has a website where you can buy some of his designs. This is one.

Lunada Bay
You have seen a good bit of Chris Ostlind's work in these pages and we are happy to announce that you will now be able to buy his designs in our store.

River Explorer
In this article, Harold Duffield extolls the virtues of river cruising and offers plans for a simple, stable, easy to build aluminum houseboat or shanty.

FSP's New Hovercraft
Hovercraft are cool but usually pretty technical to build. Matt Crume tells us about one that was designed to overcome the construction difficulties.

Destinations

The Unexpected Connecticut River
"One of the great mother rivers of New England" is how Peter Vanderwaart describes the Connecticut. Here is a short boater's guide to the river.

Reviews

Hobie Adventure Island Review
The Watertribe Everglades Challenge begins Saturday, and there are two of these boats entered. John Denison tried one and wrote this review.

Poetry

Mo the Dogadore
Dogs are often companions to men of a certain age. Mark Steele has done an amazing job of capturing this particular dog in 24 concise lines of verse.

Webwatch
Reports

Chuck's EC Blog
The Race started Saturday and things should be getting interesting by the time you read this. There are a record number of class IV boats to follow.

Letters
Contest

2006 Contest Results
Here are the results of the judges rankings. You can read their comments under each entry (see the key).

 

 

SAILS

EPOXY

GEAR

Foam Brushes