• December Letters

E-Phib
Ken Simpson, the designer of the clever Toter series of take-apart boats has focused his attention on an amphibious electric vehicle. He tells us that there will be plans available one day.

Two Seat PVC and Duct Tape Kayak
It is always nice when a boat that starts out as a lark, ends up being successful. That is what happened to Daniel Glick and his dad when they built a boat from PVC plastic and duct tape.

• December Splash

Blake’s Seamaster, Straddle Bug(ing), a Champion of yachts large and small and the dreary port of Surrender!
Mark Steele's wonderful monthly potpouri of model boat news.

The Mini-Pond Home
Are you having trouble making the mortgage payments on that three bedroom two bath? Harold Duffield makes a good argument for moving aboard a nice houseboat and saving $$.

• December Reports

Stitch-and-Glue
Ross Lillistone is a very experienced sailor as you will learn in this essay. He is also very knowlegeable about building methods. Here he discusses Stitch and glue boat building.

Free Plans - Gill 12 Tugboat
Yesterday we introduced Mike Gill's little tugboat with a story about its launch. Today, as promised, we are posting plans for the little boat. This may be just the project you are looking for.

Tug Launch at Koreshan State Park
Everyone loves those tiny Tugboats like the one Mike Gill has designed. The best part is that he is giving the plans away for free. We will present those tomorrow. But first the launch.

Jim Michalak's Newsletter
We are big fan's of Jim Michalak's designs and like to let you know when there is a new issue of his newsletter. This time, Jim discusses outboard transom height.

Building a Lake Skiff - Part 8
Being 95% done with only 40% left to do, Charlie Ewers was able to launch his lake skiff and motor a few miles. He reports that it didn't leak or fall apart. Read the rest of his story.

Around in Ten - The Floating Bear
As if entering the Around in Ten (a race around the world in 10 foot boats) were not enough, Steve Rinker is building a radical new design that flies a series of kites for his effort.

*#*EXPLETIVE*#* I broke the rudder
In this follow-up to yesterday's article, Skip Johnson talks about the broken rudder on the boat that he and Jeff Jouett paddled on the 2008 Colorado River 100 (mile race).

The 2008 Colorado River 100
I attemped this race with Skip one year and it nearly killed me. So I have a special appreciation for what Jeff Jouett went through. He has written a pretty good account too.

Electrical System Tricks - Addendum
Rob Rohde-Szudy's has just sent an important addendum to last week's column. The addtional material is posted at the end of the article, but this link will take you right to it.

• December Webwatch

Helping Build the Goat Island Skiff - Part 2
In this installment, our heroes, Gary Blankenship and Olivier Chamel, take Olivier's GIS from barely 3-D to rowing trials. Gary includes lots of details and photographs in his report.

Puddle Duck Racer, Hull 231
Ok, this is not the first PDR building report to grace these pages, but there is always something to learn and besides, Todd Wilkie does a really great job of telling his story.

Fasting, Prayer, and Perfect Ballance
In today's article, Paul Austin takes the otherwise dry subject of sailboat balance and makes it much more palatable. This is fun reading even if somehow you don't learn anything new.

The Pacific Pelican
The San Francisco Bay and Great Pelicans are synonymous with seaworthiness. Bill Short along with Ed and Jim Barlow developed the Pacific Pelican to fill the gap between them.

Electrical System Tricks
Rob Rohde-Szudy's modest way of describing his latest column is in the subtitle: A cautionary tale in which our hero over-complicates things and later sees the error of his ways.

• November Letters

The Cruise of the "Beyond"
Axel Schmid is a smart guy. Rather than invest in a big, expensive yacht, he built himself a tiny, economical cruiser and proceeded to use it for adventure on Europe's Lake Constance.

A Sexy Oz PDRacer
Do you think a PDRacer is just a plywood box that sails pretty well? Michael Storer has a report from Mike Claridge about one that he is building and this one looks, to quote Michael, sexy.

Sasshopper
Those of us who have been doing this for a while tend to forget the thrill of building the first boat. Joe Sass helped us out by sending in this clever report on his first boat buidling project.