Launchings

Paul Cartier bought his 1962 Chris-Craft Sea Skiff for "what the trailer as worth. The boat had mostly good bones but was cosmetically in very rough shape.

FIRST TRY is constructed with yellow pine framing covered in a fiberglassed and gelcoated southern pine exterior plywood hull. The stem is ash tying into an oak keel with oak bottom rubbers. The chines, gunwale rubbers, coamings, windshield frame, etc are made of Honduran mahogany.

Wolfram Kunkel built this sloop from his own design in 2018. He used wood left over from the construction of the Geltendorf Bridge in Bavaria.

Fithian modified Tolman Jumbo Skiff, 25′.

I’ve been building this auk for the last five years in my garage. The idea was that I would learn how to build a boat with this one and then move onto something a little larger, but I am not too sure how my wife will take to the news that I’m starting another one.

Jim Maas can fit his Sabotina dinghy into his minivan. Jim launched the 7′10″ Ken Hankinson design last July. He rows it on the lakes of eastern Pennsylvania. The hull is stitch-and-glue, built from okoume plywood. Jim took these pictures at Beltzville Dam.

Peter Baldracchi recently built this 14′ dory skiff in a class at Lowell’s Boat Shop in Amesbury, Massachusetts. There’s a storage compartment under the sternsheets and room for gear and a couple of friends. The light grey interior, varnished seats, and dark hull make for a handsome boat.

Using Nick Schade's book,  "The Strip-Built Sea Kayak," Perry Risley built this 17' x 21' Guilllemot kayak and paddle. He made both boat and paddle of ash and Western red cedar with white accents of poplar. He mentions that Michael Earle was a tremendous help to him.

Jeff Parker recently launched this cypress and mahogany Petrel Kayak in Lake Bluff, Illinois. The 53 lb Petrel Kayak is designed by Nick Schade, who runs Guilllemot Kayaks, www.guillemot-kayaks.com.

Gus Duncan made quite a few modifications to this Chesapeake Light Craft (www.clcboats.com) that had been originally built in Brisbane, Australia.