We're showing up on radar

This project has always been about first one kid, my son Thomas and then another, Robert's daughter Eliane. I quickly determined that what was good for our children would be great for a lot of kids and for the sport of sailing as well.

This project has had serious benefit of input from one hell of a lot of talent - and Eric's final product shows it. If timing has worked out different and Eric had not stepped in making a good case for simplicity and low cost, I'm pretty certain I'd have built one of Chris Ostlind's Cabrillo designs.

I have to say, this is one example where a public community and open collaboration works well - Steve Clark's input is very visible in Eric's design, and both Chris Ostlind and fdsailor's renderings pushed the ante higher in terms of "cool".

In January 2009, I wrote a tongue-in-cheek post in Sailing Anarchy in response to Steve Clark on resurrecting an interesting development class of sailboat. Here's an excerpt from the post:

I'm still enthusiastic on the last two ideas you've posted: the standard canoe performance sailing conversion and the inexpensive kids boat! I think people should pay more attention.

Perhaps I should write Carl and elucidate on these two ideas. I'm a Woodenboat subscriber, and their startup homebuild projects are pretty lame. Slab sided, flat bottomed rowboats just have no potential to raise a pulse rate. Articles on caulking with mallets & irons are nice history, but aren't going to interest the snowboarding generation.

I think the Loyal Order of Cantankerous Maine Boatbuilders (Woodenboat publishers) would consider getting behind projects like this - they just need to learn there have been new wood boats designed since Herreshoff passed. No disrespect to Phil Bolger and the like, but your new canoe should have been noticed. We have to get on their radar, as they've got the stage on which projects can be noticed in the builder's community.

It wasn't surprising to me that Carl Cramer, the publisher of Woodenboat responded indicating he would be following the homebuilt wooden kid's boat idea further. I sure hope Carl wasn't offended by my attempt at poking fun at his publication.

Carl is as good as his word, and he's apparently been following the thread in Sailing Anarchy and this blog as well. Eric received a phone call from Carl this week, and it appears there is interest in talking about the Microskiff design. Woodenboat. Wow - now that's something worth posting about!

Hey Carl, if you read this, thanks for keeping your word!

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Bill