Portfolio

12/14/23

My most recent build , finished in /September 2023, was a Nauset Marsh Skiff. This was the 5th NMS that I have built. I have been posting photos of the build on instagram. I will post a short slide show here of the finished boat. This is a link to my instagram account. The boat is now with the owner in Maine.

1/30/23 - And now for something completely different!!

A strip planked Stand Up Paddleboard!

A friend of mine asked me to build this for him, something I have never done before. He got the frame kit from Jarvis Boards, for an 11’4” San Marcos model, and I took it from there. I ripped and planed all the strips, glued it up with WEST 6/10 epoxy in a caulking -gun tube -(more than one). I used several different species of wood including South American Mahogany, red cedar, white cedar, white pine, spruce, Khaya, Bird’s eye maple, and locust. I had most of this in the shop. Glassed the board with 4 oz. fiberglass cloth and MAS epoxy , installed various mounts, fin box, etc., and varnished it with several coats of Epifanes Wood Finish Gloss. A lot of work, 100 hours…

11/11/22- Here’s the construction slide show of the Duck Trap Wherry shown below.

11/3/22

After the Stretch Gull, I built a Duck Trap Wherry , designed by Walt Simmons. The boat was a built for the president of Shelter Forest International using marine plywood made and supplied by the company, and the CNC kit was cut by Hewes & Co. Marine Division. The boat was exhibited with great success at the recent Atlanta 2022 InternationalWoodworking Fair. Here is a photo of the boat at the Fair. I also built the stand. After the Fair, the boat was trailered across the country to the headquarters of the company, where it was used in a video, and rowed by the owner. I will add construction photos soon. Here’s a link to the video the owner made about the boat.

5/9/22

The next boat I built after the Osprey below was a Stretch Gloucester Gull, a Phil Bolger design. I have built several Gulls, this is the first stretch Gull. The owner wanted a pretty fancy boat , so I built it out of Sapele marine ply with solid Saplele lumber. Here are the spec’s-

LOA-19’6”, beam- 4’0”

Materials and paint, 20’ Gloucester Gull built 2021

Sides - 1/4” (6mm) Sapele Marine plywood

Bottom - 1/2” (12mm) Meranti Marine plywood

Frames - double 3/8” (9mm) Sapele Marine plywood

Transom - 1/4” (6mm) Sapele Marine plywood

All natural lumber is Sapele, including stem, transom framing, seat bearers, rub rails, etc.

All fastenings Silicon Bronze, oarlock sockets and bow eye also. 

Stem band 3/4”- 1/2 oval brass

Interior sides and bottom, stem, rub rails and transom coated with epoxy, exterior sheathed with epoxy and 6oz. fiberglass cloth

Interior, exterior of transom, and rub rails varnished with Epifanes Wood Finish Gloss 

Seats varnished with Epifanes Wood Finish Matte

Exterior painted with 1 coat primer, 2 coats Epifanes Mono-Urethane #3248 white

Boot stripe Epifanes Mono-Urethane #3233

Interior bottom painted 1 coat primer, 2 coats  Epifanes M-U #3248 mixed with Interlux #2398c non-skid

Shaw & Tenney oars, 7’10”, 2 pair

11/10/21

Here’s a slide show of the boat I call the Osprey, a rowing skiff built for fishing with a sliding seat, storage compartments, provision for 2 people rowing with fixed seats, and flotation built in.

Specifications are: Design based on John Atkins “George” rowboat, stretched to 17’6”

Beam 4’

Draft- 4”

Sliding seat from Gig Harbor Boat Works, Washington 

Oars - 8’ spruce, shop made, Martinoli sleeves and collars, 1 pair

Materials:

Bottom- 3/8” -9mm Meranti Marine ply

Sides and interior - 1/4”- 6mm Okoume Marine ply

Framing- clear fir

Rub Rails- white oak

Inwales- ash

Breasthook - locust

Stern knees- hackmatack crook

Transom and thwarts- Sapele

Fastenings - bronze, copper, stainless steel

Boat is sheathed on the exterior with 6 oz. fiberglass cloth and epoxy, interior coated with 2 coats epoxy.

Full foam flotation

8” Beckson hatches for access to bow and stern storage

Bronze bow eye

Bronze Douglas oarlocks, 1 pair 

Bronze Perko oarlock sockets, 3 pair

Paint- All Epifanes -exterior- #3129 blue, interior #3126 off white and Wood Finish Matte, transom top coated with 1 coat Clear  Varnish gloss

7/27/22

Here are a couple of photos of the Osprey in the water. Don’t know if the owner has caught any fish yet…

Thanks to Steve, the owner, for these photos…

3/2/21

After the Swampscott Dory project, I built another 16’ LYS for a commercial fisherman in Hyannis, MA, and built the Atlantic 17 for myself . I started the next project, a custom 16’ power skiff designed by the customer, in February 2020. I finished this boat in July. I also did some small projects- new rub rails in an old Dyer Dhow, etc. I did some personal projects, then started a rowing boat with a sliding seat, set up for fly fishing. I will document the building of this boat here soon.

11/12/20

The next addition to this page, and the project after the Sailfish, was a major repair on a plank on frame traditional Swampscott Dory. This sailing dory was built by the Landing School sometime in the 1990’s I believe. The boat was leaking badly, and the owner had attempted some repairs, which did not help. Here’s a list of the repairs I made after I got the boat into the shop and did a preliminary survey-

Remove old 3/4” oak double bottom and remove old caulking, remove broken frames and loose bottom cleats, replace bottom cleats and remove about 5/16” cup in bottom, replace and repair broken frames, refasten all frames, C/B case, mast step, stem, turn boat over and replace double bottom with 3/4” Meranti Marine ply set in Sikaflex, fair new double bottom and sheathe bottom and garboards with epoxy and fiberglass cloth, turn boat upright, fill open seams in bottom with Sikaflex, make new plank for stern sheets, refasten /repair floorboards, and a couple of other things I forgot…

This was done in the Fall of 2019. The owner was to do the paint and varnish work. Below is slide show of the repairs.

4/11/20

Here’s a link to the Atlantic 17 that I built for myself, “on the side”…. Scroll down past the Monument River Wherry article.

3/19/20

Next project was another restoration/repair on an old wooden Sailfish that I worked on about 15 years ago. Then I repaired the foredeck and mast step, and repainted the boat. This boat has been in the same family for over 50 years, at their summer cottage on Beach Point in Truro. The owner sailed it with his father, now wants to sail it with his grandkids! Boat was leaking badly, but not obvious where the leak was. So this time, Summer 2019, I removed the bottom, and discovered that the dagger board trunk was pretty well rotted, and some of the bottom at the chine was a bit loose. Had to pretty much destroy the bottom to get it off. All the interior frames were loose, and one was broken. So I removed and rebuilt the d/b case, made and installed a new frame, refastened the rest, made and installed a new bottom, sheathed that with epoxy and fiberglass cloth, repainted the boat , installed the hardware , and delivered the boat back to Truro. Check out the slide show below .

2/18/20

Duck boat#2, same family owns both duck boats . This one was also substantially rebuilt by me about 15-20 years ago. This boat needed a bit more work. As it is a sailing /rowing boat, the sails were old cotton sails, in pretty bad shape, so I had new sails made also. The bottom of the transom was pretty rotten, so I repaired that, removed all hardware, painted everything the same color, re-rigged the sails, replaced lines as necessary, etc.Check out the slide show below.

2/13/20

The next projects, after the Northeaster Dory, were several restore /rebuild/maintenance jobs, 3 of which were on boats I had restored a number of years ago. The first one was a duck boat set up for rowing that I restored about 15-20 years ago, mostly paint and a couple of repairs. Here is a short slide show.

11/14/19

After the Savo 650E, I built a Northeaster Dory from a Chesapeake Light Craft kit, for a customer who spends her summer in Provincetown. We launched the boat on July 16, 2019, at the West End Beach in P-town, and the owners rowed the boat regularly all summer long, eventually reaching their goal of rowing out to Long Point.

11/1/19

Next up is the Savo 650E that I built last spring (2019)for the Race to Alaska - R2AK! The boat was commissioned and raced by Dameon and Leigh , who completed the course of about 750 miles, and were the sole human only powered boat to finish. The E stands for Expedition, as the boat is a standard Savo 650D, with some modifications to make it more suitable for long distance use. Modifications were mostly to strengthen the boat, as the original is a racing boat and has only what is absolutely needed structurally, keeping the boat light for racing. The mods included 2 extra laminated frames, watertight bulkheads for and aft framed for hatches for storage and flotation, stem reinforced with carbon fiber tape and a block for a towing eye, 2 lower planks reinforced with fiberglass and epoxy sheathing on the inside at the bow for puncture resistance, reinforced transom, oak rub rails and inwales forming a strong open rail system, and oak rub strip on the outer stem and keel. I think that’s it. Dameon finished the details and painted the boat, then towed it across the country to the race start in Port Townsend, WA. This slide show is pretty long, about 36 images…

10/3/19

Here are a few photos of a 16’ LYS built last fall/winter for a customer at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, to be used as a research vessel. I hope to add a photo or 2 of the boat in action, but here are some construction photos. The owners will paint the boat and complete a few finishing touches.

10/15/19- I have added a couple of photos of the finished boat in the water…

Here’s a photo album of the 4th Nauset Marsh Skiff, built in 2018.

Wide Guide

The 18’ Wide Guide was developed from a previous design that was never built. This design was developed for a fly fishing guide here on Cape Cod as a shallow draft fly-fishing craft capable of navigating the waters of Nauset Marsh and Nauset Inlet. The Wide Guide is a wider version of that design. The boat was originally built as a bare hull for a client to finish, but he got sick and could not do the work. So I bought the hull back, finished it out as a launch, and ran a launch business in Wellfleet Harbor for 2 years in 2002-2003. I closed the launch business and reconfigured the boat for sport fishing, as you see here. To convert the launch , I first removed the lettering, soft rub rails , benchseats , deck hardware and console. I faired the interior, grinding off the bench mounts and remains of the console. Then I rebuilt the console, including a gas tank box/seat on the front and installed it in a central position. I removed the finish on the side decks and made repairs as needed, and removed the varnish on the transom. I installed and oiled the original white oak rub rails. After all the woodworking and sanding was done, I repainted the interior and the topsides, oiled the side decks, and varnished the transom. I installed the deck hardware, 14 gallon gas tank, and a new Teleflex steering system. I replaced the 10 HP Honda motor with a new 50 HP Evinrude E-Tec outboard motor , including remote controls, tach, and hour meter. Total weight of the finished boat, including motor, about a half tank of gas, and normal boating gear, was 1320 lbs. I launched the boat on 8/26/04. Top speed by GPS is 30.7 MPH, at 5500 rpm, smooth water, one person aboard. It cruises on plane at 4200 rpm, at 20-22 mph.

LOA - 17'10"

Beam - 7'0"

Bow height - 3'11''

Depth amidships - 2'3''

Stern height - 2'5''

Draft - approximately 6''

Power - 25 to 50 HP

Billingsgate Bass

The Billingsgate Bass Boat design came to me one day in October, 2000. I was fishing off Billingsgate Shoals in my 18’ Simmons Sea Skiff, with a nice SW wind against the tide producing a good 2’-3’chop . The skiff was doing OK, but was feeling a little small. I liked the way the Simmons handles, especially in a following sea, so I thought , “How can I modify this boat to create a more comfortable fishing boat for Cape Cod waters ?” Rolling in the trough, a couple of waves came right up to the rail, so adding another strake in height was the first idea. Then some more beam came to mind. This would result in more surface area aft, which in turn would provide more planing surface, and be able to handle the weight of the modern 4-stroke motors, specifically the Honda 50.

The Billingsgate Bass Boat was born.

LOA as Built - 17’ 9”

Beam, including rub rails - 7’ 3 1/2”

Power - 50 HP Evinrude E-tec

Top Speed - 30 knots

Finished hull weight, including cuddy, windshield,

and custom built seats - 1,040 Lbs.

Total towing weight, including boat, motor, gear,

fuel, and trailer - 1,740 Lbs.