Island Cutter

Absolutely... thanks Chrispy. Yep, I figured that Harry would be the man to talk to, but I didn't want to get ahead of myself... these boats haven't been built yet so the last thing I wanted to do was start looking for a drydock. Again, the nice thing is that once stacked; three or four dories take up only the same deckspace as a single boat. If stored upside down on a small cradle, we could even keep the elements out of 'em (for the most part.)

I can't imagine Dead Man's Cove ever really being "finished"... it seems to have a life of its own! (great job on that, btw) When you do start the Skipjack, let me know... I've built three of them over the years (each ten years apart) and made all of the mistakes... some of them all three times! One is now in Coronado somewhere (if it still exists), the second is still in use in Florida, and number three is here with me in NY and getting ready for a Spring Launch. If you get to PIP, I'll be glad to let you take the helm.

Abso-floggin-lutely! In fact, we were just discussing this today... The dory design sort of lends itself to being "dry assembled" here at the shop, disassembled, and finished assembled (glued and screwed) on site. It would be great to see a little fleet of these take shape in years to come. I wonder if we could build one a year and store them at Ft. Zach? As I mentioned, the dories stack or "nest" so they wouldn't take up much room. Something to think about.

Yikes! I had no idea it was getting that rough out there. I visited SD last November and it sure have changed... I hardly recognized Solana Beach, and I used to work there! Well, this is a little boat that can make it feel like "bigger sailing" if you find a quieter body of water. Is sailing allowed in the San Elijo Lagoon? I'll bet jet skis aren't allowed there. If you are interested in more information about the Mini Skipjack, check out the Stevenson Website: Backyard Boatbuilders - Mini Skipjack

Right you are , Mate! I used to live in San Diego and sail off Point Loma... it can be a busy body of water. I seem to remember that a section of Mission Bay is designated for small sailboats and motorized boats are prohibited. Fiesta Island comes to mind, but it has been a while. My little Skipjack was designed by Mike Stevenson with that body of water specifically in mind. It is small, yet capable of handling two adults for daysailing. It also has an undeniably "salty" look. Here's a link to my very dated, building Blog: Grog Blargh... Building the "BlackSeal" Skipjack To avoid confusion, I need to explain that the Skipjack picture above is NOT a dory. It does look "piratey" though. My newest build of this design will actually have a carved a decorated transom... something like a scaled down Galleon.

Interesting that you want a pirogue... The dory and the pirogue are not-to-distant cousins, and are descendants of the “batteaux”… the broad term for the flat-bottomed, slab-sided craft used extensively in Colonial North America. The major, noticeable difference is that the later dories developed the “tombstone transom” while the batteaux remained double-ended. If all goes as planned, and by Grace of the Gods, I will be driving down to PIP and towing a small boat trailer. I hope to have a few boats nested on that trailer, along with oars and at least two sail rigs. If ye promise to wear yer "Mae West" (life vest), a boat will be at your disposal.

Sounds good to me. So... I know that looking to POTC for inspiration is like asking to hear the click of a doglock but... That sailing dory would be relatively easy to build, and a whole lot of fun to launch off the beach. I would go for a spritsail or a standing lugsail instead of Sparrow's square rig, though. Pirate Dory One of the nice things about the dory design is that the thwarts can be removed, and several can be nested to transport in about the same space as a single boat. My buddy and I each own boatbuilding shops here in New York's Hudson Valley, and we are thinking of running a series of boatbuilding courses for anyone interested in getting a boat ready for PIP. For those who can't get here to us, we are thinking of a kit with "correspondence course" kind of support.

Boats?! I don't see any stynkin' boats. Wot ye need boats fer??? All they do is leak and sink and stufff!! Aminal Boats!? Boats is what we're all about. Boats is what gets us to and from da Rum, and boats is what gets us in and out of da Trouble. Speaking of boats... I have every intention of bringing down one, or maybe a few lil' boats in which we might knock about. I would like to get a thread going with others who might be interested in building and sailing a fleet of skiffs. Any recommendations for where to post this discussion? Although one of these boats is being built especially for PIP, should this discussion move to its own topic in a different category?

I have a few of small sailboats right now... My 20' double-ender is called "moondance" and my 13' Mini Skipjack is called "Black Seal" The littlest and oddly enough, most often used is my sailing dinghy "Tyger". She got named by the crew on a fishing charter out of Yorktown Landing. It had something to do with me trying to chase down and capture the Schooner Alliance late one Summer evening. I almost caught her too. "You get'em, tiger!" and the name stuck.

Yes... if you look around there are a few good and very affordable pieces available. Once painted or stained & finished, they look right at home for our purposes. If you do plan to build one yourself, I would look into this site for plans Sea Chest Plans on CD Although I have not purchased the CD, the site came highly recommended to me.

Thank you. Choice of colors and/or woodgrain finish versus paint grade finish is no problem. In fact, I encourage this. I would most like to make individualized pieces within a production set up. More images of this, as well as the next version will be on there way shortly.

Thanks Bo. I will see if I can work with Silas on this. Fair Winds, Mate!

Serendipity at its best... I just started reading this thread to see how I might contribute! I am a boatbuilder, cabinetmaker and a woodcarver. I am most willing and eager to be of assistance. Being a creative type, I can also bend my noggin to the actual design of something very special for this Event. Please let me know how I can help.

Thanks for the input. I have learned a lot in making this KD version versus a traditional solid lumber version... The next incarnation (coming as soon as next week) will have no externally visible fastenings and the KD (Knock Down) fittings will be less obvious and even easier for the end user to assemble. The internal details such as half shelves or the "till box" as it was sometimes called, would certainly be available. I will be sure to post the new images as soon as I the next chest is built. Sorry, did it again... Replied from the session me Mate Boncoeurs left open. I still can't figure out why this Crazy Floridian Boucaneer would come to visit us here in the Northeast in the middle of Winter. I think he's sweet on my eldest Niece.

I am willing to wager that once we have had a few local, public events under our keel, we'll find quite a following. They're out there, they just don't know it yet.

I am a professional Signmaker in the "mundane world" and I would be very willing to help with signs for this sort of a project... especially with this much lead time.

Hmmm... seemed to me that there would be more visitors from our region. I'll bet that it is just the Winter Doldrums that have hit. Let's keep the chatter up and perhaps others will chime in.

Well, it's been a few days since I posted the image and it seems that interest has become becalmed. Your observations are important to me as my interest is in creating a product in which you will be satisfied. Critique Away.

They do look great. I am tall and thin, but have big shoulders and a just measured out a 43" chest. Will you be making anything in that range? I would be very interested.

Since I am a just "small business" Merchant Artisan, and my personal allegiance is to this incarnation of the Pub, I would like to do my limited advertising directly through this Pub and with its Crew. Please let me know if and how we might proceed.