Boat oriented travels in the USA, boat builders, designers, museums from Portland to SanFrancisco even Roswell and Lake Powell

Wooden Boat Odyssey – photos of boat museums and more

In 2009 I went to the USA for a series of events and talks. I was partly funded by the sailing community including many of my friends in the wider homebuilt boat community. This is the treasure trove of photos from across the USA featuring people who build their own boats and also some of the museums and cities that make the USA great.

Ken junk sailing vietnam 02 lug and Junk rigs: storerboatplans.com

On Sailing a Vietnamese Junk and a comparison with our Lug experience.

Ran into some great photos and information on sailing a real Vietnamese Junk. I’ve seen plenty of half hearted replicas in HK, but this one is the real deal from Ken Preston. A traditionally built boat that is being restored with no intention to put a motor in it. Ken has one of the best blogs about South East Asia and Boats.

Winslow Homer Dory at sea

Is a Modern Lightweight Dory REALLY Seaworthy? Are Dories REALLY Seaworthy?

Dories are a part of the great American Maritime Tradition. From the book and film of Captain’s Courageous to all the folklore about fishermen surviving awful conditions at sea in a Dory.

But Do they really stack up to their press? It seems that every few weeks I see a new design for a rowing dory or a sailing dory.

Boat designs influenced by rules? History shows us canting keel maxis are stupid

This is an article about how bias in thinking produces weird results in terms of boat designs.

I compare a silly boat design trend of 100 years ago with modern canting keel maxi yachts.

Personally I don’t think they should be allowed to use engines to run the keels and the various systems – if they do then they should be disqualified from the event results. The conventional human powered boats should be listed as the winners of events.

USA Interview 1 – Sailing with Thorne, Pirates, black powder and wooden boats

Thorne (aka David Luckhardt) is well known in both wooden boating and historical recreation circles (particularly those involving gunpowder).

He normally lurks around San Francisco, but on this occasion had driven up to Timothy Lake underneath the summit of Mount Hood.

I had the chance to interview him while sailing on Lake Timothy in Oregon.