Founded in 1997 by Pete Greenfield, previously editor of Classic Boat and The Boatman, WaterCraft magazine is an independent international bi-monthly. It’s aimed at the boat enthusiasts who want to do it, not dream about it, presenting appealing boat designs from around the world and practical articles about all aspects of boatbuilding, in the boatyard and in the backyard. WaterCraft regularly features wooden boats and ‘green’ boats, with plans for home boatbuilders in every issue. WaterCraft looks at tradition for information, not replication and to the future for inspiration and innovation.
In the Gweek mid-winter, the new year begins early with our January/February issue of WaterCraft in the mail to subscribers from 13 December and in the best newsagents from 19 December.
• TALL SHIPS & SMALL SHIPS… will be returning in May to the inland sea of the Gulf of Morbihan in Brittany for a week-long celebration of seamanship. Kathy Mansfield looks forward to joining them. Click to see
• LEAPING ROUND THE LIZARD – Jude Brickhill, co-owner of the 113 year old engineless lugger Guide Me, recalls a lively voyage: Click to see
• WHAT MAKES A BOATBUILDER? – Colin Henwood meets fellow Thames boatbuilder and member of the WBTA, Jack Livesey, creator of a fleet of modern electric versions of a classic Bugatti runabout: Click to see
• BUILD YOUR OWN 17’6” (5.3m) GAFF SLOOP – Designer Paul Gartside refreshes William Atkin’s delightful pocket cruiser Perigee for engineless wandering along the Adriatic coastline: Click to see
• ‘WE’RE GOING TO NEED A BIGGER BOAT!’ – Boatbuilder Dick Phillips begins setting up to build the latest and largest of his Willow Bay Boats: Click to see
• BRINGING BACK THE CAT – When the first American catboat arrived in Cowes, locals thought it: ‘A little too marvellous to be real’. Over 100 years later, Andrew Wolstenholme was inspired by its simplicity: Click to see
• THE SAIL AND PADDLE PHILANTHROPIST – Jean-Yves Poirier celebrates the flamboyant Victorian adventurer John MacGregor who with his Rob Roy canoes – and books about them – invented ‘sailing differently’: Click to see
• PLUS…
Anthony Dew begins ‘fixing the holes’ in the clinker planking of his classic Finesse • Cat Holman has seen the movie and read the book Wind, Tide & Oar • Continuing his series on scantlings for amateur dinghy designers, Julian Wolfram considers strip plank hulls • While fellow naval architect Ian Nicolson makes them more comfortable for seat of the pants sailors • Moray MacPhail continues to assess the advantages of carbon spars for small craft • And Mr Cat Holman – Si – reviews the latest of Paul Gartside’s design collections.