Best Small Boat Cruising Threads

[WI-Tom]

It occurs to me that, given the rather puny capacity of the Forum search engine, many new people might never stumble across some of the best content from over the years.
One of my own main interests has always been threads about small boat cruising, especially remote/wilderness trips in boats that row as well as they sail, and carry no engine (i.e. the "sail and oar" boat, the specific definition of which has proven rather contentious here on the WBF).

So, both to entertain myself, and to provide what some might view as a bit of a community service, I'm starting this thread to remind people (or re-introduce people to) some of the small boat cruising threads I've enjoyed most, and am reliving now in the Long Dark of Winter at 50 degrees north latitude.

In no particular order:

A Summer's Tale of Sail and Oar

3 WBF members on a multi-week cruise in 3 small sail-and-oar boats in the southern half of the Inside Passage. A good thread from a formerly much more active bunch of posters who (with the exception of Alex's Camas Moon thread) have largely faded into the sunset, content to simply do stuff without (sadly) posting about it much.

Summer Tale.jpg

The North Channel by Sail and Oar

OK, it's pretty cheeky, maybe, to list one of my own threads in a "Best" category. But here's what I like about it: first, it's not only a fairly ambitious trip for a novice(ish) sailor (a 20-day solo cruise in the sheltered waters of the Canadian side of Lake Huron), but it's a trip that features a simple cheap flat-bottomed Bolger boat that cost about $300 total back in 2008, including the polytarp sail. It's a thread that shows how much can be done with how little. But I think it's a good thread because it turned into not just a trip report, but a conversation between many WBF members who all love sail and oar cruising, with an overarching theme of "anyone can do this stuff if they want to" that I really appreciate.

North Channel.jpg

Bandwagon, Big Food, Hornpipe & Rowan Do Barkley Sound

Another thread from (mostly) the same bunch featured in the "Summer's Tale" thread--more great cruising in the PNW, with some, shall we say energetic, personalities weaving a tapestry of glib repartee combined with real knowledge and experience in small boat cruising.

Barkley Sound.jpg

Bandwagon, Big Food, Hornpipe & Rowan do the Broughton Archipelago

More of the same, from the usual suspects. I miss the days when this bunch was posting more actively. They always did (do?) great trips, and created some fun discussions. And, I'm sure, inspired a lot of people to find their own opportunities for cruising. Certainly I know that's true for me.

Broughtons.jpg

More later--this is merely the first ones that come to mind.

Tom

[WI-Tom]

Lately, it seems that some of the action has shifted to the East Coast with a few threads about the stitch-and-glue version of one of my favorite sail and oar boats ever: the First Mate (virtually identical to the Phoenix III, both designed by Ross Lillistone).

40 Miles in a 15' Boat

First Mate 1.jpg

Around the Mobjack Bay

First Mate 2.jpg

Tom

[WI-Tom]

WBF member John Hartman's posts have done a lot to popularize Francois Vivier's "Ilur" design, an interesting take on a sail-and-oar boat that's biased maybe a little more toward sailing than rowing. It's the same design that Roger Barnes features in his well-known YouTube videos about dinghy cruising.

It's interesting how a specific design can gather lots of interest when an enthusiastic proponent starts sharing some of their experiences on the WBF. That, I'd argue, has certainly happened with the Ilur design thanks much to John's posts.

An Ilur in Vermont

Waxwing.jpg

It's been about 4 years since this thread saw any action, I think. John has built a slightly larger Vivier design with a cabin--the Jewell--which has shifted attention away from Waxwing, his Ilur design (rigged as a yawl with a small mizzen). But this thread covers the building of Waxwing (a Clint Chase kit, if I remember correctly), and moves on in the later pages to photos and discussions of cruising and sailing it.

Tom

[WI-Tom]

Back to the PNW for a thread that reminds us that there are some risks involved:

Small boat rescue off Port Townsend

This was WBF member (since fled to Singapore) James McMullen, in his Oughtred Sooty Tern, a 19'(ish) sail and oar boat with lots and lots of miles and lots and lots of experience. The discussion, in my opinion, turned quite hostile and acrimonious on this thread, but it's still worth a read. My conclusions are that James handled a difficult situation very well, and didn't really get a "rescue" so much as a tow that would have been stupid to turn down when the CG showed up. He recovered on his own. Ignore the unfortunate hostilities some posters brought to the discussion, and it's well worth a read.

Rescue.jpg

That thread also prompted me to start a separate discussion:

The Nature of Risk in Small Boat Sailing

Lots of very knowledgeable people contributing to a thoughtful discussion about how to think about and manage risks in small boat sailing. I'd say this ought to be almost required reading for anyone looking to do ambitious or even semi-ambitious long cruises in remote waters. It changed the way I make decisions.

An earlier thread addressed specific tactics a small open boat could use to handle bad weather.

Open Boat Storm Tactics

I haven't looked at this in quite a while, but it seems like the consensus was:

1. Better to avoid bad weather than to "handle" it.
2. Strike the rig and row when things get too bad.
3. Some discussion of sea anchors, etc. for small boats.

[WI-Tom]

Not sure how many of these fit anyone else's ideas about what a "Best" thread is, but I haven't found a lot of threads about these cruising areas other than my own, and Dave Hadfield's great thread about Drake (but that's a much larger boat). Worth it just to get an introduction to some lovely cruising grounds for your own trips, if nothing else.

A Kurylko Alaska in Georgian Bay

The maiden voyage of the new sail-and-oar boat I launched in 2017. So far--and by far--my favorite cruising grounds. A 15-day solo trip if I remember right, in crowd-free September.

Georgian Bay.jpg

Return to Georgian Bay

Maybe my favorite trip so, 3 weeks or so of solo cruising. This thread has both a Part I and a Part II, and includes a mid-cruise mast repair, and also a front-row seat to Ontario's largest forest fire of 2018.

Return to Georgian Bay.jpg

[WI-Tom]

One of the earliest sail-and-oar adventures I read on the WBF takes us back to the PNW and Alex Zimmerman's lapstrake "Alaska" Hornpipe, on the (now defunct, I think) Silva Bay Shipyard Raid.

Hornpipe's First Big Adventure

Hornpipe.jpg

[neil.henderson]

I know this thread is not on this forum but is on youtube - but i find what these guys do fascinating and they seem to have so much fun. I hope to join them one day.

https://www.youtube.com/c/SailingKateLouise?app=desktop

Regards Neil

[WI-Tom]

I know this thread is not on this forum but is on youtube - but i find what these guys do fascinating and they seem to have so much fun. I hope to join them one day.

https://www.youtube.com/c/SailingKateLouise?app=desktop

Regards Neil

I've been vaguely aware of the Kate Louise videos, but haven't watched any yet. Thanks for the reminder!



Tom

[John hartmann]

Here is a link to a thread about a trip in Casco Bay:

http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthre...hlight=Waxwing

Will search for some others about Maine coastal cruises and check back.

[John hartmann]

A trip around outer Casco Bay, to Jewell Island:

http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthre...ipper%2C+Scout

[WI-Tom]

A trip around outer Casco Bay, to Jewell Island:

http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthre...ipper%2C+Scout

Excellent--thanks, John! I thought there was a Maine thread involving a few of you East Coast guys, but didn't remember how to find it. Here's a sneak peek at the thread:

Maine 1.jpg

Tom

[John hartmann]

Here is the thread about the Sebascodegan loop:

http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthre...t=Sebascodegan

[WI-Tom]

Here is the thread about the Sebascodegan loop:

http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthre...t=Sebascodegan

Around Sebascodegan and Orr Islands by Sail and Oar

Yep, I gotta get out to Maine with a boat:

Maine 2.jpg

Speaking of which, this thread was really very helpful for a non-tidal sailor like me to understand some of the issues and techniques involved with navigation and planning for tidal waters:

Learning to Deal With Tides

Lots of really really handy info--I learned a bunch (which I never really used yet, since I never did get to Maine so far).

Tom

[The Jeff]

In addition to all of the mentioned threads, I really like what Small boats rock has done with his modified Atkin Perigee. Definitely not a sail and oar boat, but at 17'-3" and no engine I think it fits the spirit. Especially sailing 1000+ miles around south western Australia. Some of his adventures are in the build thread, but his website has the full trip reports.

https://geoffboat.weebly.com/a-cruise-to-geraldton.html
https://geoffboat.weebly.com/a-cruise-south.html
https://geoffboat.weebly.com/leeuwin-again.html

[pez_leon]

Thank you to Tom et al for putting this together! Great reading for wet winter nights.

James

[John hartmann]

Another excellent and epic small boat adventure well worth a read:

http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthre...age&highlight=

[WI-Tom]

Another excellent and epic small boat adventure well worth a read:

http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthre...age&highlight=

Another great thread--thanks for posting it.

Small Boat on the Inside Passage

Inside Passage.jpg

I have lots of catch-up reading to do now!

Tom

[WI-Tom]

Thank you to Tom et al for putting this together! Great reading for wet winter nights.

James

Thanks, James--that's my plan for myself, too. Lots of golden oldies here for the sail and oar crowd.

Tom

[WI-Tom]

In addition to all of the mentioned threads, I really like what Small boats rock has done with his modified Atkin Perigee. Definitely not a sail and oar boat, but at 17'-3" and no engine I think it fits the spirit. Especially sailing 1000+ miles around south western Australia. Some of his adventures are in the build thread, but his website has the full trip reports.

https://geoffboat.weebly.com/a-cruise-to-geraldton.html
https://geoffboat.weebly.com/a-cruise-south.html
https://geoffboat.weebly.com/leeuwin-again.html

Jeff,

thanks--I haven't heard of these yet, but I will check them out for sure.

Tom

[WI-Tom]

Here is a link to a thread about a trip in Casco Bay:

http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthre...hlight=Waxwing

Will search for some others about Maine coastal cruises and check back.

Cool--a Maine trip with an Ilur and a Scamp!

Waxwing and Puffin visit Casco Bay

Puffin.jpg

Tom

[AJZimm]

It's not up to me to judge whether it belongs in this Best-of thread, but if anyone wants to follow up on A Summer's Tale of Sail and Oar, my thread on my trip the next summer down the north half of BC's Inside Passage is the place to go: Fire-Drake Does BC's Inside Passage North Section

[John hartmann]

Alex, thanks for posting that link. What a trip that was, and a fine recounting. Really wonderful stuff.

[wend]

Thanks for putting this together, Tom! I've definitely not seen a bunch of these before.

I will note, though, that when I need to search for things, I usually have better luck going to google and using site:forum.woodenboat.com followed by my search term.

[WI-Tom]

Thanks for putting this together, Tom! I've definitely not seen a bunch of these before.

I will note, though, that when I need to search for things, I usually have better luck going to google and using site:forum.woodenboat.com followed by my search term.

Yes, good point on the search technique--that's what I do, too. I was thinking that people new to the WBF might not know that. And, that even if you do know that, many of these threads might be hard to find in a search unless you already know they exist.

Tom

[WI-Tom]

It's not up to me to judge whether it belongs in this Best-of thread, but if anyone wants to follow up on A Summer's Tale of Sail and Oar, my thread on my trip the next summer down the north half of BC's Inside Passage is the place to go: Fire-Drake Does BC's Inside Passage North Section

Thanks, Alex--I forgot about this one completely!

Fire-Drake Does BC's Inside Passage, north section (mostly)

Alex Inside Passage.jpg

Lots of PNW representation on this thread--I love that, since I haven't gotten to do any sailing there yet. Anyone got other threads from different areas?

Tom

[WI-Tom]

Can't forget that there are some WBF members fairly active in the Sacramento Delta, including Rick's threads with his rowing/electric power stretched Walkabout. Here's one from a while back (before the electric power, I think):

Sacramento Delta cruise on a camping rowboat

Seems like there's often a good fleet of interesting, beautiful wooden boats that see some action on these threads, like these:

Sacramento Delta.jpg

[sp_clark]

Tom with this most recent thread you've spun I'm beginning to look on you as a sort of 21st Century John Henry Rushton.

[Paul Pless]

some kinda crazy clinker boaters club?

Sacramento Delta.jpg

[WI-Tom]

some kinda crazy clinker boaters club?

Well, Rick's rowlectric Walkabout is lapstrake, as well. But there's a Dovekie (I think), and this beauty as well:

Sacramento Delta 2.jpg

Tom

[WI-Tom]

Tom with this most recent thread you've spun I'm beginning to look on you as a sort of 21st Century John Henry Rushton.

Thanks--I've always thought that if more people knew what this kind of sailing is about, they might be interested in giving it a try. I think "sailing" means "yachting" or "round-the-buoys club racing" to most people.

I think of small sail and oar boats as having the potential of the sea kayak as a mode of wilderness travel. For decades and decades, kayaks were obscure and no one used them at all. And then starting maybe in the 1970s in North America, they were everywhere.

Small sail and oar boats are like that. Except, they're still completely obscure to the general public--both the idea of building them, and the awareness of the kind of self-reliant wilderness travel they facilitate.

In more than 20 years sailing on the Great Lakes and Midwest, this is the sum total of similarly-minded small boat sailors (not kayakers--I run into them fairly commonly) that I've encountered in the wild:

1. 2017: a half dozen small wooden boats on one of Howard Rice's guided cruises. I met them while they were launching and rigging up in Killarney, Ontario.
2. A group of dinghies, mostly production boats, on a round-Big Island cruise on Wisconsin's Turtle-Flambeau Flowage one day.
3. A bunch of weirdos like me in events like the Texas 200 and the Everglades Challenge.

That's about it.

Tom

[pez_leon]

Here's another favorite:

Off-Season Sail on the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta

[Yeadon]

What we do could be better described as luxury kayaking.

[John hartmann]

Swimmin’ hole: check
Parasol: check
Comfy chair: check
reading material: check
drink cooler: check
absence of Hullaballoos: check

7D42E28A-43C1-42DC-B776-9C8FB4BC6BF9.jpg

[Toxophilite]

Whew this is a good one too, great writing and pictures. thanks!

Thanks, Alex--I forgot about this one completely!

Fire-Drake Does BC's Inside Passage, north section (mostly)

Alex Inside Passage.jpg

Lots of PNW representation on this thread--I love that, since I haven't gotten to do any sailing there yet. Anyone got other threads from different areas?

Tom

[AJZimm]

What we do could be better described as luxury kayaking.

And it's not as hard on the shoulders