OLDBOAT PAGE

Being hopelessly addicted to thinking about boats, I've built several over the years. Most were successful. Here is a selection of photos of boats I have built.

This is the first boat I ever built and one of the more successful ones. The hull is 1/4 inch luan plywood with 6oz. glass and epoxy on the outside and just epoxy on the inside. This rather heavy kayak is still in use after 10 years of regular use. I made this boat pretty much by eye without any plans. The shape was established by setting up a form with several cross sectional particle board cutouts. Then the chines were located by adding longitudinal stringers. I just kept fooling around with it till I got what looked right. Then I laid the plywood over the form, taped up the seams, and pulled it off the form. The 1/4 inch plywood used was bought at the local lumber yard but I have since been able to find any that will not delaminate. The stuff I used withstood a boiling water test prior to construction. It has held up well. The deck of this boat was painted with white latex house paint and has been repainted once.

19 FT CAT-KETCH designed by J.BENFORD.
I built this boat from plans I found in a book by the designer. The hull of this sharpie type crabbing skiff went together easily. Although this is a fun boat, several flaws in the design make it less than totally successful. Rather than malign the designer, who I think does generally very nice work, if you have any questions about this design, email me and I will be glad to discuss things with you.

"WHITE WATER" RACING CANOE by L.F. Herreshoff.
I built this boat from plans I found in the book entitled Sensible Cruising Designs by L.F.Herreshoff. Though the name of this design would lead one to think it is a boat for fast rivers, in fact the boat was really designed for open water. This boat tracks extremely well and has the uncanny ability to go better upwind rather than downwind. At least it seems so. The low sheer is uneffected by strong winds and the boat handles very nicely as long as you don't need to turn suddenly. I improvised the deck and watertight compartments since there were no details of this in the original design. The boat is made from 1/4 inch red cedar and epoxy/glass and weighs about 65 lbs. I added an external keel to the underside which was not detailed in the design and would recommend against it if you want this boat to turn more easily. I use this boat for weekend canoe/camping on lakes in Northern Maine.

VANNA WHITE
I designed this 17ft kayak after studying The book entitled The Bark and Skin Boats of North America This boat is made of 3/16 inch northern white cedar and sheathed in epoxy/glass and painted. It weighs 45 lbs. The hull has a rounded mid section and a pretty flat bottom. Tracking could be improved with the use of a rudder or skeg. Overall, the design worked out really well. I wish I had made the bottom just a little more vee shaped to aid in tracking.

Adirondack Guide-Boat
The Adirondack Guide-Boat is a really interesting regional design native to upstate New York. These boats are light weight, fast and beautiful. For more about these boats see my current projects page as well as the section on Adirondack Guideboats.

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	This is the first boat I ever built and one of the more successful ones. The hull is 1/4 inch luan plywood with 6oz. glass and epoxy on the outside and just epoxy on the inside. This rather heavy kayak is still in use after 10 years of regular use. I made this boat pretty much by eye without any plans. The shape was established by setting up a form with several cross sectional particle board cutouts. Then the chines were located by adding longitudinal stringers. I just kept fooling around with it till I got what looked right. Then I laid the plywood over the form, taped up the seams, and pulled it off the form. The 1/4 inch plywood used was bought at the local lumber yard but I have since been able to find any that will not delaminate. The stuff I used withstood a boiling water test prior to construction. It has held up well. The deck of this boat was painted with white latex house paint and has been repainted once.
	19 FT CAT-KETCH designed by J.BENFORD. I built this boat from plans I found in a book by the designer. The hull of this sharpie type crabbing skiff went together easily. Although this is a fun boat, several flaws in the design make it less than totally successful. Rather than malign the designer, who I think does generally very nice work, if you have any questions about this design, email me and I will be glad to discuss things with you.
	"WHITE WATER" RACING CANOE by L.F. Herreshoff. I built this boat from plans I found in the book entitled Sensible Cruising Designs by L.F.Herreshoff. Though the name of this design would lead one to think it is a boat for fast rivers, in fact the boat was really designed for open water. This boat tracks extremely well and has the uncanny ability to go better upwind rather than downwind. At least it seems so. The low sheer is uneffected by strong winds and the boat handles very nicely as long as you don't need to turn suddenly. I improvised the deck and watertight compartments since there were no details of this in the original design. The boat is made from 1/4 inch red cedar and epoxy/glass and weighs about 65 lbs. I added an external keel to the underside which was not detailed in the design and would recommend against it if you want this boat to turn more easily. I use this boat for weekend canoe/camping on lakes in Northern Maine.
	VANNA WHITE I designed this 17ft kayak after studying The book entitled The Bark and Skin Boats of North America This boat is made of 3/16 inch northern white cedar and sheathed in epoxy/glass and painted. It weighs 45 lbs. The hull has a rounded mid section and a pretty flat bottom. Tracking could be improved with the use of a rudder or skeg. Overall, the design worked out really well. I wish I had made the bottom just a little more vee shaped to aid in tracking.
	Adirondack Guide-Boat The Adirondack Guide-Boat is a really interesting regional design native to upstate New York. These boats are light weight, fast and beautiful. For more about these boats see my current projects page as well as the section on Adirondack Guideboats.