Launchings

Twelve years ago, Bill Burns and his sons rescued an old cedar skiff that was being used as a lawn ornament in Oriental, North Carolina. The started restoring the 16′ skiff by replacing some rotted areas, including most of the transom.

This sectional kayak is made of plywood and fiberglass. When it was being carried to the Torch Lake in Michigan, two parts stayed in the trunk of my car and one part in the back seat. It turned into the whole kayak in a minute before hitting the clear water of the lake.

This Kaholo stand-up paddleboard and Bolger Pointy skiff are just two of the boats that Jed Lavoie has built.

Matthew Sheffield built this Sand Dollar dinghy designed by Arch Davis in 2004. He keeps in the Ware River in Gloucester, VA, where he uses it for fishing and crabbing. He writes that it is as much fun to use as it was to build.

Brothers George and Jim Brown, built this 16' Weekender Miniature Friendship Sloop, the DOTTIE B., from plans by Stevenson Projects of Carmel, CA. George writes that the boat handles well, and they plan to use it on the numerous lakes of southern Maine.

Tom Diehl launched CEPHEID on August 29, 2001 on Shabonna Lake in central Illinois. CEPHEID is an Arch Davis Sand Dollar design, 12' long. Tom built her of Okoume plywood, ash, oak, and mahogany, finished with epoxy. The spars are Sitka spruce.

After the 7 years of enjoyment from N’ SLOWER, we decided to build CLEAN N'LIGHT. N’ SLOWER still has a lifetime of joy to give but I grew restless. I yelled out to Preston, “I want to build something,” then I broke out the pad and pencil threw down a few lines that turned into a new project.

Andrew German's grandfather built him this pontoon dory when he was just 4 years old. They launched ANDREW K. in August 2002. Andrew just fits in the boat, since it is only 4 feet in long. The boat is built of glassed 1/4" mahogany plywood with frames of Douglas fir.

On July 7, 2012, Oliver Ilg of Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil launched a 16′6″ Duck Trap Wherry. He writes, "Although not as perfect as I would like to have built it, she is not bad for a first glued-lapstrake project!" He built the hull from 6mm marine plywood made of rose cedar.

Jun'ichi launched KIRI, a 15'6" pulling boat designed by William Atkin in May 2002. He uses KIRI (Japanese for 'mist') in the waters near Victoria, BC. KIRI is equipped with three rowing stations and a 4-hp Evinrude for propulsion.