These 31-10 Pacific Class sailboats appeared in Epoxyworks in 18, Fall 2001. They were being rescued and restored by a dedicated group in San Diego, California. John Sutphen, who was involved in the project, sent the photo (below) of one of the restored Pacific Class boats under sail: the reward of hard work and dedication.
Above: Scheherazade, the 154’7″ yacht that required testing of large bonded-in fasteners.
Cover Photo: The 154’7″ Bruce King-designed Scheherazade resting on her massive keel at Hodgdon Yachts in East Boothbay, Maine.
Scheherazade is a 154′ 7″ Bruce King-designed ketch under construction at Hodgdon Yachts, in East Boothbay, Maine. Scheherazade is 60% larger than Antonisa, the last Bruce King/Hodgdon Yacht collaboration, and is the largest sailboat under construction in the United States. Continue reading
This Guillemot kayak (left) is the work of Ed Van Kirk of Constantine, Michigan. Ed built both of these kayaks of redwood and sugar pine, using Nick Shade’s book The Strip-Built Sea Kayak as a reference. The double-seater is a Guillemot kayak, 20′ long with a 30″ beam and weighs 73 lb. The single-seater is a Little Auk kayak, 10′ long with a 29″ beam and weighs 43 lb. Ed has also built a 14′ Wee Lassie Two. Continue reading
Above: Optimist prams built by the SBCSA in the Gougeon boatshop, sailing before the Liberty Bridge on the Saginaw River.
Cover Photo: A new fleet of Optimist prams was built to serve the Saginaw Bay Community Sailing Association
The Saginaw Bay Community Sailing Association (SBCSA) was founded in 1995 by a group of local sailboat racers who shared a vision of a grassroots organization to provide area youngsters and adults a low-cost introduction to sailing. We began that first season with three Transfusion 547’s purchased for the association by Gougeon Brothers, Inc. (GBI) and a half dozen used Optimist prams donated by the Saginaw Bay Yacht Racing Association. Continue reading
John McKibbin sent pictures of his refinished 18′ laminated canoe. He built it back in 1976 using cold-molded, that is, laminated composite construction, with WEST SYSTEM® epoxy. Laminating a hull is similar to making your own plywood on a three-dimensional mold. While it may take more time and effort to make a laminated hull, the results are well worth it. Continue reading
Above: The plywood sharpie is the latest in a long line of boats that Captain James R. Watson has built over his lifetime. Here he is at age 12 with a plywood dinghy he built himself.
The sharpie’s main reason for existence for over a hundred years is its fine operation in shallow water. However, the conventional sharpie rudder is notorious for causing squirrelly steering, often becoming totally ineffective when the craft heels more than 20°. Most sharpie sailors simply accept the handling aggravations of the conventional rudder in trade for its wonderful steering ability in the shallows. I decided to resolve the traditional faults in steering by installing a special rudder and steering system that has evolved and is used on some contemporary boats. This system will yield maximum control over a wide range of wind and sea conditions while retaining the sharpie’s shallow water virtues. Continue reading
Above: The Maxi-Mac is a 14′ river dory designed and built by Paul Butler.
This new river dory, the Maxi-Mac, is an enlarged version of the 90 lb Mini-Mac. It’s double the volume of the smaller boat but lightweight versions of the Maxi-Mac still weigh as little as 125 pounds. LIghter weigh provides capacity for additional payload and easy of handling for getting the boat on and off the water.
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This Contender class single-handed racing dinghy was built in Italy by Bonezzi in 1994. Joachim Rosler of New Canaan, Connecticut owns and races the dinghy. He finished the boat with WEST SYSTEM Epoxy and has built his own carbon fiber foils.
Cover Photo: After four years of construction, TENACIOUS began sea trials in June of 2000.
Tenacious, the Jubilee Sailing Trust’s (JST) new wood/WEST SYSTEM Epoxy, 3-masted barque, underwent sea trials that began in June 2000. It offered a full schedule of tall ship voyages to Spain and the Canary Islands over the winter, with spring and summer trips to Brittany, Ireland, and Scotland. JST is a British charitable organization formed in 1978 with the aim of promoting the integration of able-bodied and physically disabled people through tall ship sailing. Tenacious now joins their other tall ship, Lord Nelson, which was built in 1986 and has carried over 6,500 disabled sailors, including 2,687 wheelchair users. Continue reading
On a break from the Maine Boatbuilders Show in March, we visited Hodgdon Yachts, Inc. and found significant progress on their latest build, a 155′ Bruce King designed wood/epoxy ketch, named Scheherazade. This is Hodgdon Yachts’ largest wood/epoxy vessel to date. The project is roughly 60% larger than Antonisa, the 124′ sailing yacht they launched last year. Continue reading