A Boat in a Box

Exciting news from Small Boat Works — we’ve taken delivery of our first brand new boat building kit.

As well as being keen sailors we’re also passionate paddlers and have long wanted a boat that can carry us and our gear on multi-day waterway expeditions. We’re building a 16’ Prospector Canoe from Fyne Boat Kits. I’ve dreamed of owning a Prospector ever since reading Bill Mason’s description in his book Path of the Paddle;

“It is amazing that such a large-volume tripping canoe can also be so beautiful to paddle solo in the leaned position — canoe ballet, as I call it. It is the ideal all-round canoe.”

The kit is based on a Bear Mountain Boats design and includes the moulds, parts, instructions, and full plans needed to build the canoe. It really is a boat in a box, with CNC-cut moulds and bead-and-cove Paulownia strips ready for strip-plank construction. Unrolling the plans on the workbench was a great moment, and I’m looking forward to sharing updates as the boat takes shape.