Designs
December

Whoopi - 25' Rocket Gaffer
Here is another delightful pocket cruiser from Flavio Faloci. It is a design competition entry like his last one. The pictures of the model alone is worth seeing.

Smith's Boat Shop
Jill Brown has written about Pelican saillboats in these pages before. This time she relates the history of the Smith brothers' boatshop in the Pacific Northwest.

November

i550 Sportboat
Do you want a go-fast boat but don't have much of a budget? This hot number by designer Christopher Beckwith was conceived just for the home builder.

Building the 10 ft Nuthatch - Part 2
This is the second part of Warren Messer's series on building this simple stitch and glue pram. In it he talks about how to do a nice job on rails and corners.

EasyB - a Solo Canoe
Skip Johnson was really happy with the way his EasyB solo canoe came out so I asked him if he could make free plans available to Duckworks readers. He did.

McInnis Boat
Here is new plan by designer Matt Langerfeld for a traditional hunting and fishing boat - a la Walter McInnis - but done using the stitch and glue method.

Dinghy Fever
The San Francisco Bay Pelican has a long and colorful history, but "the ugliest boat afloat"? Jill Brown tells why the boat wears that as a badge of honor.

October

Drama on the Yukon
When you design a boat and it wins races and sets records its first time out, folks want details. In this article, Skip Johnson tells all about his racing canoe.

Designing the Great Alaskan 26
Two years ago, Brian Dixon sent us the first part of this story. Boat design is complicated, though, so we are not surprized that it has taken so long for Part 2.

One Sheet Baby Canoe Part 4
Gaetan Jette finally launches his experimental design - there are some interesting tidbits in this part including how to make combination double/single paddles.

Building the 10ft Nuthatch
Warren Messer begins building his new design by scarfing panels. If scarfing makes you "reach for the Costco size bottle of Tums", then read this article.

September

KD 860 Update
Cruising catamarans have come a long way and this example from the board of Bernd Kohler - built in Turkey - shows just how far they have come.

Wanderer Launches!
It's been a long design and construction journey for Bob Throne but his little cruiser has finally been launched - with a dedication by his wife, Terry.

One Sheet Baby Canoe Part 3
In this installment, Gaetan Jette tackles some of those numerous details including finishing inside, gunwales, seats, breasthooks, thwarts and paddles.

Tom Thumb - A Minimal Cruising Houseboat
Harold Duffield has drawn an amazing little houseboat. Not only does it fold down to almost nothing, but it weighs under 1000 lbs yet has a head and shower!

August

Building the PUD-g - Part 2
Anyone who is looking for a small but pretty row/sail boat - perhaps to use as a tender - needs to consider building Warren Messer's latest design, PUD-g.

Stickleback on Steroids
Bob Austin designed a 22 foot sailboat - then he went on to put his time and money where is mouth is by building this lovely boat. Here is his account.

One-Sheet Baby Canoe Part 2
Last Month Gaetan Jette told us how he designed his one sheet plywood canoe. This time he begins construction and takes the boat completely 3-D.

July

C3200 Catamaran
Yesterday's story was about a charter boat that never got built. Today we hear from Achim Adlfinger about a catamaran for charter that did get built.

Fourteen Minutes of Fame
There are lots of business schemes that revolve around boat building. Here is a story from Harold Duffield about a business that almost came to be.

Bighorn Solo Canoe
Designers often try to improve on each other's work and we builders benefit from the efforts of designers like Chris Ostlind who offers a solo canoe that sails.

Duckskiff
Here is a complete set of boat plans that you can download for free! Thank you Steven Lewis for offering your work and sweat to all of us Duckworkers

One-Sheet Baby Canoe Part 1
This is the first installment of a canoe design and build series from Gaetan Jette - who contributed the excellent article on Birdmouth Masts a while back.

Back Bay Solo Sit-on-Top Kayak
SOT Kayak plans for home builders are not common but Chris Ostlind has designed one which even offers versions with single or double akas for sailing.

June

Building the PUD-g
Here is another multichine hulled small boat from Warren Messer. It is much like his Laura Bay but short and beamy - just right for a yacht tender.

Handy Punt
This boat is light, stable, easy to build, and it might just be the perfect boat. It was Australian designer Michael Storer's third design and it still works.

Plastic Fantastic
There is a school of thought that says the best boats are built from locally available materials. Rod Cantrill had sheets of ABS plastic to work with.

14 ft. Flap-Jack Float Boat
Have you ever wanted to be your own boss? Harold Duffield presents a good plan for building aluminum boats and starting a river float rental business.

May

Building the HSP Flycaster - Part 3
This is the final installment of Warren Messer's latest design build. Of particular interest is information about some new LPU coatings from System Three.

Lake Camp Shanty
You may not think Aluminum a proper material for boat building but it has a lot going for it. Harold Duffield is back with more designs for Aluminum boats.

April

Montana Pram
For years Paul Butler has been writing boatbuilding articles and designing boats. Now he has a website where you can buy some of his designs. This is one.

Lunada Bay
You have seen a good bit of Chris Ostlind's work in these pages and we are happy to announce that you will now be able to buy his designs in our store.

River Explorer
In this article, Harold Duffield extolls the virtues of river cruising and offers plans for a simple, stable, easy to build aluminum houseboat or shanty.

FSP's New Hovercraft
Hovercraft are cool but usually pretty technical to build. Matt Crume tells us about one that was designed to overcome the construction difficulties.

March

Building the 9 ft HSP Flycaster - Part 2
Here is the second part of Warren Messer's presentation on building "Flycaster", the 9 foot version of his Hudson Springs Pram.

Combo Camper
I have lots of clever designs to solve the problem of how to tow a boat and camp trailer at the same time, but Harold Duffield may have the best idea yet.

Hawbuck (née Stripper Troutboat)
Ever heard of a strip planked, tunnel hull jonboat? How about one that folds in half? Leave it to my free thinking friend Larry Pullon to bring that idea to life!

Building the 9ft HSP Flycaster
There has been a lot of interest in Warren Messer's Hudson Springs Pram so he has designed a smaller, solo version and begins it's construction here.

February

Mark V-28
If you were tempted by Mark Van Abbema's big 39 foot sharpie houseboat but felt it was just too big a project, wait until you see his new 28 footer.

Sweetie - A Square Rigged Boat
What do you do if your son breaks up with his girlfriend and can't finish a 53 foot boat? If you are Wayne Tedder, you finish it yourself.

Prototype For A Kure
Designing a new skin-on-frame kayak can be fun but Joel Fleischer knows that when you are doing it for a good cause, it can be heartwarming as well.

Cheap Skate Boat
Harold Duffield is back to make another pitch for aluminum boats and I have to tell you, he makes a lot of sense. Listen to what he has to say.

January

Phoenix III
Ross Lillistone thought hard to come up with a design for the perfect beachcruiser; then he worked even harder to create a set of plans to build the boat.

Blackwater 16
Here is a great new design from Chris Ostlind. If you fish and/or hunt ducks somewhere where the water is thin, this may be the boat you have been looking for.

Introducing Egret
Ross Miller set about to design a skin-on-frame kayak since there were so few plans available. He got much more, though - this may just be the perfect boat.

 

SAILS

EPOXY

GEAR