Launchings

Tom Willess of Oakton, Virginia discovered Chesapeake Light Craft a few years ago and has fallen in love with building their kayaks. He has already built two 12′ Wood Duck Hybrids that are stitch-and-glue constructed from one of CLC’s kits.

Despite choosing a career as an auto mechanic, Joseph LaBella's lifelong dream was to build a boat as a dedication to his father, who introduced Joe to boating when Joe was just 3 years old. Joe used no plans in the construction, just a scale drawing of his desired outcome.

SUNDANCE II was built in 1975 at a yard in Essex, CT on lines from Nathanael Herreshoff’s sailing dinghy GARYOWEN [1926], which was in turn drawn after Design #568 [1901], “Colonia Sailing Dinghy.” In the late 1970’s SUNDANCE II was transferred to a series of museums where she fell into disrepai

ARTEMIS is a John Atkin design, (#772 Wanderer), that my father started building in 1957 and I finished and launched here in VT in 2005. Well, finished is not correct as I am still working on her, and re-fitting her for her 20th anniversary on the water next year.  

Here floats RED RYDER in a swimming pool with her builder, Rip Graham of St. Simons Island, Georgia, aboard.  His wife Charlotte took the pictures and shared Rip’s project with us. Rip built modified version of Tom Yost’s Nikumi design for a 17′ x 22″ Aluetian Baidarka touring kayak.

Dale Edward Smith owns this lovely Penobscot 14, designed by Arch Davis, and built at the Andaman Boatyard in Thailand. The boat is gaff-rigged and weighs about 170 pounds. Dale uses TIDAK APA-APA at his home in Singapore.

Rod built this boat for his friend, Roger Hudson or Beacon Bay, South Africa, during a trip to an ecovillage in South Africa in the summer of 2002. With only a table saw, cordless drill and a few hand tools, he built TRIPLE E out of a sheet of Meranti plywood.

Beau Bureau and his father built this 9′6″ Nutshell pram in their garage, from plans bought at The WoodenBoat Store.  Beau named the boat for his wife. The family sails AMANDA LOUIS on local Minnesota lakes, including Martin Lake (shown here.)

Chesapeake 18… first time builder.

Rich Vogel purchased this 15' Marsh Cat sailboat in 2003. He named her JASMINE and added seats, lazarette, boom gallows, tabernacle to the hull constructed by Dan Fry in 1996. Rich lives near Boston, Massachusetts, and uses JASMINE on the waters from Boston Harbor to Nantucket Sound.