Category Archives: Wooden Boat Construction

WOW 17 Years Later

A home-built runabout

By Mark Bronkalla

WOW, the home-built runabout I completed in 2000, has been a focal point of summer activities for our family and friends over the years. We’ve spent hundreds of happy hours out on the water, and taken it on vacations to northern Wisconsin, Kentucky, and New York. The majority of WOW’s use has been in Lake Nagawicka in Southeast Wisconsin.

WOW is a 20′ Glen-L Riviera with an inboard 350 cubic inch V8 engine. The hull is constructed of white ash frames, okoume plywood inner laminations, and a Honduras mahogany outer layer. The exterior is sheathed with 4 oz. fiberglass cloth on the deck, and 6 oz. on the sides and bottom. Primary construction was over one winter (see WOW by Mike Barnard in Epoxyworks 43). We started the build at the end of August 1999 and launched at the end of June 2000. The project continued with ongoing additions for the first several years, including upholstering the seats, installing a snap-on cover, a swim platform, cup holders, a wakeboard pylon, and a sound system. Continue reading →

Van Dam Custom Boats – Part Two

By Bruce Niederer — GBI Technical Advisor

Cover Photo: Nokomis, the sister ship to LUV N IT. Photo by Michel Berryer.

In the previous issue of Epoxyworks, we looked at the start up process employed by the craftsmen at Van Dam Custom Boats as they built LUV N IT, affectionately referred to as the Limousine in Van Dam Custom Boats-Part One. We ended our “tour” of this build with the hull stained and pre-coated with WEST SYSTEM® 105 Resin/207 Special Clear Hardener, and the custom-built stainless steel cutwater being fitted for installation.

Let’s pick up the build with the cabin top being installed…
Continue reading →

HURON JEWEL: A Tall Ship for Drummond Island

by Captain Hugh Covert

The need for a bigger boat with more room, fused with a desire to sail a tall ship with passengers, resulted in a plan for a new boat which will be called the HURON JEWEL. The current boat I have is in good shape, sails well, and has been a lot of fun for 17 years. It had grown in the planning stage from 18 to 20, 22, and finally to 36 feet long on deck. But, while it grew much longer and somewhat wider, it didn’t gain much in headroom. I have been captain of several big sailing vessels around the U.S. and the Bahamas, and have built several boats, so the idea of building one to sail close to home seemed natural. Continue reading →

Shiloh, an Argie 15

by Craig Bousquet

I didn’t know what I was getting myself into when I decided to build an Argie 15 boat. While not exactly a novice—I have owned a 21′ sailboat and am a tall-ship model builder—I’m not experienced in building sailing vessels. Continue reading →

Van Dam Custom Boats – Part One

The boat this article calls the “Van Dam Limousine” was christened LUV N IT after completion. —Ed.

By Bruce Niederer — GBI Technical Advisor

I begin a two-part series that will feature a custom boat project being built by Van Dam Custom Boats in Boyne City, Michigan. We featured a Van Dam-built boat in Epoxyworks 14, the beautiful and unique Alpha Z. We want to give our readers a glimpse into what is currently happening at this world-class boat shop. Continue reading →

The Lemniscate Hull

A Chineless Gull Wing Hull Runabout

By Bill Beran

I built the Lemniscate, a 16′ runabout with a chineless gull wing hull, in my garage over the course of a few years. It was the culmination of an idea I long had for a design that would provide a soft ride with its deep-vee hull, but at the same time exhibit excellent fuel economy. The chineless gull wing hull shape captures and efficiently redirects otherwise wasted bow wave energy downward to create lift. It also safely captures ram air under the “wings” (noticeable starting about 40 mph) and attains a comfortable top speed close to 50 mph with the 115hp outboard motor. Continue reading →

The Great Lakes Boat Building School Graduates the Class of 2014

By Bruce Niederer — GBI Technical Advisor

I traveled to the U.P. (that’s what we Michiganders call the Upper Peninsula) on June 7^th to attend the Great Lakes Boat Building School class of 2014 graduation ceremony and participate in the yearly on-site PAC (Project Advisory Committee) meeting which I currently sit on. I arrived on a beautiful sunny day with temperatures in the mid-70s, a stark contrast from my last trip to the school in mid-April when I awoke to 4” of new snow and 3°F! For those of you who live in the southwest where the temperature has been hot for some time, by contrast, the great lakes finally became 100% ice-free at the beginning of June. Continue reading →

Great Lakes Boatbuilding School

Keeping Our Maritime Heritage Alive

By Bruce Niederer — GBI Technical Advisor

On November 27, 2006, ground was broken on a perfect waterfront site overlooking the Les Cheneaux islands in Cedarville, Michigan in a ceremony that marked the end of a two-year fundraising effort and the beginning of The Great Lakes Boatbuilding School.

Continue reading →

SLIVER Project

At the Northwest School of Wooden Boat Building

By Don Gutzmer – GBI Technical Advisor

After attending the 2012 Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival, I visited the Northwest School of Wooden Boat Building in Port Hadlock, Washington. School instructor Bruce Blatchley was excited to show off their one-of-a-kind boat project, Sliver. The 62-foot double-ended daysailer was designed by well-known yacht designer Robert Perry and commissioned by Kim Bottles of Bainbridge Island, Washington. The Northwest School students of the 2011 and 2012 contemporary boatbuilding classes worked on the project. For a school that teaches traditional wooden boat building, learning to build a hybrid of wood/composite construction using epoxy was a unique challenge. Continue reading →

Historic Wooden Dories in the Grand Canyon

By Greg Hatten

Cover Photo: Greg Hatten battles white water on a trip through the Grand Canyon in his replica wooden dory, PORTOLA.

On March 21, 2012, river runners from five western states, Canada, Japan and Chile launched five homemade wooden dories, replicas of important historical designs, in an attempt to complete a 24-day self-guided traverse of the Colorado River through Grand Canyon. The replica boats represented a snapshot of river running in Grand Canyon during the 1950s and 1960s, just before Glen Canyon Dam took control of the Colorado River through Grand Canyon. Continue reading →