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Water Craft editor Pete Greenfield has written to say that the January-February issue of his magazine will be in the newsagents from the 17th December. Here’s what he has to say:

Well, if you’ll permit the conceit that a boating magazine can have a sub-plot, this issue’s can be summed up as: What a difference a wooden boat specialist can make.

Wooden boat specialists like…

Alec Jordan of Jordan Boats who joined forces with the Scottish Fisheries Museum to launch the Scottish Coastal Rowing Project, commissioning Iain Oughtred to design the 20ft (6m) St Ayles Skiff, which local groups can build from a modestly priced pre-cut plywood kit. Amateur wooden boat builder Chris Perkins describes how they built the prototype.

Wooden boat builder and designer Matt Newland of Swallow Boats combines ply-epoxy hull construction with water ballast and carbon spars to produce the 20’ (6m) Baycruiser, the most innovative and exciting small cruising yacht in years.

Wooden boat designer Francois Vivier whose p-ractical pocket gaffer Meaban is now also available as a pre-cut plywood kit for home completion.

Wooden boat builder and designer Paul Gartside of Nova Scotia gives us full plans + offsets for a traditional round-sterned workboat with so much character you’ll want to get a craftsman to build her for you. But who? Perhaps one of the members of the…

Wooden Boatbuilders Trade Association. Wherever you live in the UK and whether you want a wooden boat built or restored, using traditional or modern methods, there’s a WBTA member not too far away with all the skills to do the job.

And one wooden boat builder who will be long remembered around Cornwall and beyond…

Ralph Bird, the great Cornish pilot gig enthusiast who sadly passed away in November, having built no less than 29 gigs and enthused a whole new generation of rowers.

It sounds like another great issue packed with material to me. It’s nice to see the old practice of magazines publishing plans coming back, and good also to see the WBTA getting itself some publicity, by the way.

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Jacques Molinari’s TheEdge Mouseboat is looking very smart

The carvel-built Mouseboat built to the free TheEdge plans that Jacques Molinari is building in Vietnam continues to make progress. He’s now reached the point where he’s making sails and launch day is approaching.

I’ve recentlyseen some film of a plywood-built boat to the same plans sailing, and I have to say it seems to perform pretty well. Good luck, take care and remember this is really a pond skimmer Jacques!

Sunny skiff model – download both model-making and full-scale plans here

I’ve been happy today to hear from a reader who has made a model of the Sunny skiff that she has been working on and has kindly sent them over. The model maker described the little boat as ‘a thing of beauty’, so I you can probably imagine I was very chuffed indeed.

I’m always pleased to see shots of models of my designs, so if anyone else has any to share, please send them over! I’m at gmatkin@gmail.com.

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