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You are here: Home / Archives for small boats

Powering Up the Cowmaran

April 17, 2012 By Tom 8 Comments

Repowering The ELB - Extremely Light Boat AKA The Cowmaran Twin Engine Cowmaran Toward the end of March 2012, the Cowmaran reappeared in my yard, this time with a second engine hanging on the transom. The original design concept called for twin … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Powerboating, Boat Building Tagged With: light boat, cowmaran, catamaran, ELB, small boats

Creating The Extremely Light Boat

April 16, 2012 By Tom 3 Comments

Expensive Little Boat Expletive Little Boat (You get the idea...) Multihull Dreams The ELB (Extremely Light Boat) project began as many great ideas do: with a couple of guys messing about with a boat. In this case, my friend Don and his buddy … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Powerboating, Boat Building Tagged With: ELB, small boats, light boat, cowmaran, catamaran

WaterTribe Everglades Challenge 2012 Start

March 7, 2012 By Tom Leave a Comment

Kayak and sailing fleets depart from Fort Desoto Park beach Beach at Daybreak Daybreak at Fort Desoto Park looked rather ominous for adventurous racers setting off on the 2012 WaterTribe Everglades Challenge and concurrent events. Low … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Races & Regattas Tagged With: Adventure Island, Singlehanding, Watertribe, Everglades, trimaran, catamaran, racing, multihull, small boats

Installing a Boomkicker® K0750 on a Com-Pac Sun Cat

July 12, 2011 By Tom Leave a Comment

Sun Cat Cattitude Catboat Willie and I went over to Laishley Park Marina to help our friend Craig put his new Boomkicker® K0750 on his Com-Pac Sun Cat, Cattitude. I had previously installed a couple of Boomkicker 400s on Precision 185 sailboats, so … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Boat Repairs & Upgrades, Sailing Tagged With: boomkicker, Sun Cat, small boats

Boating Safety Equipment

July 12, 2011 By Tom Leave a Comment

Sunscreen, a VHF radio, a paddle and an anchor, along with a small emergency toolkit/first aid kit, can save your bacon. can save your bacon.

Required By Tom: Minimum Required Boating Safety Equipment The boating gear that could save your life   The laws require certain equipment to be carried aboard boats, depending on the size and intended use of the vessel. These minimum … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Boating Equipment, Boating Safety Tagged With: safety equipment, small boats, emergency

Cortez Florida Small Craft Festival

July 8, 2011 By Tom Leave a Comment

Visiting the Florida Gulf Coast Traditional Small Craft Festival FISH Boatworks and Florida Maritime Museum at Cortez, FL Cortez Traditional Small Craft Festival Fleet At Docks The historic fishing village of Cortez, FL is clinging … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Boat Building, Boating Fun Tagged With: small boats

Watertribe Everglades Challenge 2011 Start

April 18, 2011 By Tom 1 Comment

Kayak and sailing fleets depart from Fort Desoto Park beach Sunshine Skyway Bridge at Dawn The Everglades Challenge is an annual event in which kayaks, canoes and small sailboats race from Fort Desoto Park at the mouth of Tampa Bay down to Key … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Kayaking, Races & Regattas Tagged With: multihull, Adventure Island, small boats, racing, Singlehanding, Watertribe, Everglades, trimaran, catamaran

Charlotte Harbor Regatta 2011: Small Sailboat Fleets

March 16, 2011 By Tom Leave a Comment

Class Races with Flying Scots, Lasers, Sunfish and more! Small Sailboat Fleets I volunteered to help out on the water for the 2011 Charlotte Harbor Regatta, where we had quite a flotilla of signal boats, mark set boats, and safety boats organized … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Races & Regattas Tagged With: racing, regatta, small boats, dinghies

Sunfish Regional Championship Regatta 2010: Charlotte Harbor Sailing Races

November 10, 2010 By Tom Leave a Comment

Sunfishers ain't right! Sunfish Regionals fleet starting upwind in the distance Driving over to the Laishley Park boat ramp on Saturday morning, I was hoping the ramp would not be crowded due to a fishing tournament, and maybe I could … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Races & Regattas Tagged With: Charlotte Harbor, Sunfish, racing, regatta, small boats

Kids Sailing Camp

September 27, 2010 By Tom 1 Comment

Future Sailors Gather for Instruction (click to enlarge) Teaching Kids To Sail — A Learning Experience I volunteered to help out at the Charlotte Harbor Community Sailing Center July 2010 Kids Summer Sailing Camp. I am not an experienced Sunfish … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Sailing Tagged With: Community Sailing Center, Sunfish, instruction, kids, sailing camp, Charlotte Harbor, small boats

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About Tom

Starting with the little two-person inflatable raft I had as my very first boat, I have always loved the freedom and the feeling of being out on the water. With my father's help, I added a hard plywood floor to that little inflatable, and that was the beginning of a long chain of boats I have owned, loved, maintained, modified, fixed, enjoyed, and scared myself to death on over the past few decades. [Read More …]

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