Launchings

Boatbuilder Douglas Brooks led eighteen students at the University of Illinois in building a 21-foot Shinano River boat, a traditional design from Niigata, Japan.

I recently finished restoring a 1960’s Comet sailboat. She needed a new deck and a good paint scraping. Many thanks to WoodenBoat School for instilling the confidence to take on such a project.

The Comet is a hard-chine boat with a low freeboard and centerboard. See WB 31.

These sectional canoes were made of plywood and fiberglass. When it was being carried to the Torch Lake in Michigan, four parts stayed in the trunk of my car and one part in the back seat. It turned into the whole canoe in a couple of minutes before hitting the clear water of the lake.

This is the second time Rhett Riviere has owned the ocean cruising ketch FAR HORIZONS, built at Ennals W. Ives Shipyard in Taiwan in 1968. Rhett owned it at one time, sold it, and later bought it back. It needed extensive restorations before he could relaunch the ketch in May of 2004.

Roger McKay built this sprit-rigged, beach cruiser designed by Jordan Wood Boats of South Beach, Oregon. The Footloose design is 15'2" long with a 56" beam. Roger writes that the boat sails and motors well. He uses THE ARC on the Columbia River and in the lakes and bays near his home.

Donal O'Callaghan writes that his boat is "one of those boats that whenever you row it, you should allow a few minutes to answer questions, because people are attracted to it like a magnet." He built this sleek beauty from plans by Graeme King of Putney, Vermont.

Jeff Spira of Spira International wrote in to say that, “Mike Spiridonov just completed this 7′6″ pram to fish the many lakes he has up in his neighborhood. It was built using the stitch-and-glue technique [with] 1/4″ plywood, somewhat thicker than the plans originally called for.

Don Don was designed and built by Van Dam Custom Boats, and launched in the summer of 2011. The boat is 28′-7″ long, and 8′ 6″ beam, and speed comes from a 375 h.p. engine. More information from  Van Dam Custom Boats, 970 E. Division St., Boyne City, MI 49712. 231-582-2323.

Completed in five months. All West System epoxy with fiberglass over the 1/2″ plywood hull and top coated with Awlgrip and Epifanes varnish, The wood is stained white ash milled from 4/4 rough sawn stock.

Ben David bought a set of plans for the Redwing 18 from Karl Stambaugh. He built the 18′ 6″ boat from marine plywood, glued and screwed,  covered with fiberglas, and then gelcoat. Ben launched her in July 2011 and moors her at Jeddore Harbour in Nova Scotia, Canada.