A small vintage wooden speedboat; a person steers it across bright blue water on a sunny day; the hull shows 36.

Readers’ Projects, Issue 17

Spring 2001

Vintage Speedboat

Paul Schreiter of Appleton, Wisconsin found the plans for this vintage speedboat in an old library book. The design is a 1936 inboard racer but powered by a 120 hp Mercruiser. Paul says, “I will go as fast as you want.”

28′ Sportfisherman

Object: a lime-green powerboat named Sensation resting on metal stands; action: stationary on land; context: dirt yard with a wooden fence, other boats and equipment, blue sky with scattered clouds behind.

This 28′ sportfisherman was designed and built by partners Damon Coe and Jim Luxton of C&L Boatworks in Meherrin, Virginia. She is powered by a Volvo Diesel and has a top speed of 40 mph. The bottom and transom are marine plywood. The sides are laminated in balsa. The hull is covered inside with 14 oz. cloth and outside with 18 oz. cloth. WEST SYSTEM Epoxy was used for bonding and fiberglass application. C&L Boatworks custom builds 25′ to 61′ sportfisherman.

Stitch and Glue Construction with a Kevlar /graphite bottom

A man stands on a pebbled riverbank, holding a fish in front of him. A small white boat with red trim rests nearby; calm water and trees line the background.

Robert Dalley fishing the Little Tennessee River in North Carolina. Designed for maneuverability and stability in whitewater, these dories float high in the water providing bottom clearance and an elevated casting platform. They are built using stitch and glue construction with a Kevlar /graphite bottom.

Woodrow Smith’s third WEST SYSTEM Epoxy project

This 17′ Redbird canoe is Woodrow Smith’s third WEST SYSTEM Epoxy project. He and Bob McDowell (kneeling) of Rogers, Arkansas built it of white cedar with mahogany trim.

Cedar strip canoe built from trees harvested on his own property

Brue Alpart built this cedar strip canoe from trees harvested on his own property. He followed the plans for a 16′ Laker in Gil Gilpatrick’s Building a Strip Canoe.

45′ Shallow Draft Vamp Barge

It’s a 45-foot, shallow draft camp barge used for housing, supporting and transporting survey crews along remote portions of the Yukon River and Tributaries. The hull is a trimaran, made from six separate hulls constructed of Siberian birch plywood with fir frames and WEST SYSTEM Epoxy. The decks and upper framing are extruded aluminum.

The entire vessel was built in 60 days by 4 surveyors without previous boat building or boat design experience. The vessel is completely self-contained to support two survey crews, a cook, field manager and chopper pilot for four months of wilderness living. It is equipped with sleeping rooms for nine people, showers, washing machines, and a water filtration system. And there is an auxiliary fuel tank to supply a small helicopter that often accompanies the barge. The barge is powered by twin Honda 130 HP outboards, with a draft of less than two feet. During the first summer of use, the barge logged over 2,500 miles of wilderness river travel.

Submitted by: Eric Stahlke, Survey Manager, Tanana Chiefs Conference, Inc., Fairbanks, Alaska.

18 Square Meter Catamaran

The 18 Square Meter catamaran was built of 3 mm marine plywood, epoxy, and carbon fiber using Jon Lindahl’s plans as a guide. The 18′ long by 12′ wide cat weighs 290 lb. The hulls and daggerboard are skinned with carbon fiber and the mast and crossbeams are built of carbon fiber.