Launchings

Father and son project. Our first boat build, she took us a little over a year in all, but she finally hit the water yesterday.

Ryan Dewsbury spent many hours sanding his Chesapeake Light Craft Sassafras 16 before launching it last May with Heather Bal on Lake Huron in Kincardine, Ontario.

The Pride of Buffalo, designed and built by Michael R Weekes is a 16′ long, 10′ wide, 9′ high geodesic houseboat inspired by R Buckminster Fuller. It was launched at Canalside on the Buffalo waterfront at the Western Terminus of the Erie Canal on Thursday, July 25th.

Exactly 2 months from the day I began my kayak building adventure at The WoodenBoat School, I christened and launched my Shearwater Sport on Lake Champlain. What a joy to finally see it in the water!

I started this boat by purchasing Canoecraft by Ted Moores. I ordered the book in the mid 90’s from the Woodenboat Store as a Naval Aviator stationed in Maine. Through many duty station changes I wore out the book.

After two decades of intermittent work, Wesley Wenhardt, Executive Director of the Foss Waterway Seaport got to try his famous “J” stroke on his casually restored piece of canoeing history. Wes hopes to be seen paddling the byways of the Foss Waterway in Tacoma later this summer.

Jessie and Giles Kopfelt get plenty of seatime aboard their Gloucester Rocker built by their grandfather Svein Kopfelt. The rodker gots tons of sea miles under it already.

This boat took me 4 years in spare time to design and build. It has oak frames and spruse planking, the decks are chery and the transom and thorts are mahogany.

Jericho Bay Lobster Skiff, launched in August, 2020. My first boat build, built part time in my garage.Rigged with a 2021 Yamaha 25 HP. A light engine, only 126 lbs, reaches 25 mph. Nav lights, GPS-enabled VHF, Garmin 1400 GPS/Chartplotter, digital engine gauge.

When Bill Short designed the San Francisco Pelican in the 1970s, he made it 12′ long; later he stretched it to 17′ long, and called that version the Great Pelican. Brooke Elgie of Tenakee Springs, Alaska, extended Short's design still farther, to 19′6″, what he calls the Great Alaskan Pelican.