This section of our web site, an extension of the Launchings department of WoodenBoat magazine, is dedicated to sharing news of recently launched wooden boats built or restored by our readers. If you’ve launched a boat within the past year, please email us at launchings@woodenboat.com, or post your news here.
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Here is a Jeff Spira designed Pescadero I recently completed. It’s a Carolina style dory style that's been customized for fishing the central west coast of Florida. The boat performs well and makes a great fishing platform.
This was my first wooden boat project and it took me 4 months to finish it. I’ve used abachi and iroko for the strips
The Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding, located in Port Hadlock, Washington, launched this Nordlund skiff in December last year. Built by instructor Ben Kahn’s 2013 Basic Boatbuilding Class, it is 11′ long, and weighs just over 100 pounds.
Last summer, Steve Smith launched this 14′4″ x 4′6″ Cosine Wherry, designed by John Hartsock. Steve spent 275 hours on this boat following directions from J.D. Brown’s Rip, Strip, and Row, available from the WoodenBoat Store.
Wyn Menafee of Palmer, Alaska, and Roger Burleigh of Anchorage, Alaska, each built a Penobscot 17 from Arch Davis Designs.
Dave Nelson took three years to build this Cosine Wherry designed by John Hartsock. He stretched the boat out a foot and a half, but kept the 52" the same as called for by Hartsock. Dave also modified the stem and transom shapes and modified the thwarts.
This was my first retirement project and my first boat build. It was built from a kit and went together without major problems. It came out of the boat shed officially on April 8th, 2024, hence its name!
Customized Wee Lassie IIThe canoe was built in 2009. The overall dimensions are of the Wee Lassie scale with the modification made adding 1″ in height to the gunnel. Length 13′4″.The hull is made from Western Red Cedar in continuous strips (not scarf jointed from smaller pieces).
Doug Puckering launched two boats in May of 2004: a Steve Killing-designed 17' canoe and a Joe Greeley-designed 16'10' kayak. The canoe has a beam of 33-1/3" and weighs 50 pounds. Doug plans to use it in canoe segment of the Ski-to-Sea race on the Nooksack River.
John Noon built this 30′6″ Crocker Gull with Joe Taylor at the shop of Gordon (Swifty) Swift in Kensington NH for Carrie Hollingsworth of York ME. Swifty, a legendary boat builder was present for much of the construction but unfortunately passed away in February 2014.
Construction began December 5th, 1953 at Morse Boatbuilding in Thomaston, Maine delivered May 1st
"Learning Curve", a 24' cat ketch sharpie drawn by Karl Stambaugh.
