The Life of Boats Blog
Designer, boatbuilder, writer, and CLC owner John C. Harris has posted his thoughts on boat design and other distractions for decades. Some of them end up here.
WoodenBoat Magazine #240: The Geometry of Rowing
This is an article I wrote in 2014 after years of frustration with oars being the wrong length in fixed-seat boats. (The article is concerned ENTIRELY with fixed seat boats....
WoodenBoat Magazine #240: The Geometry of Rowing
This is an article I wrote in 2014 after years of frustration with oars being the wrong length in fixed-seat boats. (The article is concerned ENTIRELY with fixed seat boats....
Poll Results: The Search for a Larger PocketShip
A few weeks ago I posted an article speculating, idly, on the prospects for a larger version of PocketShip. The response was energetic and sparked illuminating discussions about big amateur...
Poll Results: The Search for a Larger PocketShip
A few weeks ago I posted an article speculating, idly, on the prospects for a larger version of PocketShip. The response was energetic and sparked illuminating discussions about big amateur...
The (Unending) Search for the Bigger PocketShip
Exactly nine years ago the first PocketShip emerged from the building shed. There had been no market research, no polls, no focus groups; it was simply a boat I wanted...
The (Unending) Search for the Bigger PocketShip
Exactly nine years ago the first PocketShip emerged from the building shed. There had been no market research, no polls, no focus groups; it was simply a boat I wanted...
Pacific Proas in California
I had an opportunity recently to visit sail numbers 3 and 6 of CLC's 31-foot Pacific proa design. Both were launched recently in the Los Angeles area. Patrick built Madness...
Pacific Proas in California
I had an opportunity recently to visit sail numbers 3 and 6 of CLC's 31-foot Pacific proa design. Both were launched recently in the Los Angeles area. Patrick built Madness...
Building a Solar Racer at Laguna Creek High School
We first teamed with Laguna Creek High School's Green Energy Technology Academy in 2012. For that race I devised a relatively simple canoe with articulating solar arrays. That 20-footer accumulated...
Building a Solar Racer at Laguna Creek High School
We first teamed with Laguna Creek High School's Green Energy Technology Academy in 2012. For that race I devised a relatively simple canoe with articulating solar arrays. That 20-footer accumulated...
Autumn Leaves: A Simple Plywood Canoe Yawl
I've always been afflicted with Canoe Yawl Madness. To me, a "canoe yawl" isn't just a design type; it's a self-contained small boat cruising philosophy. According to this philosophy, skilled...
Autumn Leaves: A Simple Plywood Canoe Yawl
I've always been afflicted with Canoe Yawl Madness. To me, a "canoe yawl" isn't just a design type; it's a self-contained small boat cruising philosophy. According to this philosophy, skilled...
A Homebuilt Kayak Design Retrospective
The idea of building your own kayak is very, very old. For indigenous hunters of the far north, from the Aleutians to the east coast of Greenland, building your own...
A Homebuilt Kayak Design Retrospective
The idea of building your own kayak is very, very old. For indigenous hunters of the far north, from the Aleutians to the east coast of Greenland, building your own...
The Ultralight Dinghy Experiment
I have no delusions that any of my designs break new ground, a symptom of my neurotic personality. In the cold light of day, stitch-and-glue dinghies have been done before....
The Ultralight Dinghy Experiment
I have no delusions that any of my designs break new ground, a symptom of my neurotic personality. In the cold light of day, stitch-and-glue dinghies have been done before....
The Ins and Outs of Inwales
Download a PDF of this article "Wale" is an Old English word that means "ridge" or "rib." It seems to have taken on its nautical inflection, "a ridge of planking...
The Ins and Outs of Inwales
Download a PDF of this article "Wale" is an Old English word that means "ridge" or "rib." It seems to have taken on its nautical inflection, "a ridge of planking...
The Two-Hour Galley Box for Small Boats
I had a four-day cruise in PocketShip lined up and a lovely little butane stove without a proper place to sit while in use. The stove works fine perched on...
The Two-Hour Galley Box for Small Boats
I had a four-day cruise in PocketShip lined up and a lovely little butane stove without a proper place to sit while in use. The stove works fine perched on...
What's New in Boat Design at CLC in 2015
2015 is shaping up to be a major year for new projects at CLC. With rumors of most of these designs already circulating on the internet, I thought I'd gather...
What's New in Boat Design at CLC in 2015
2015 is shaping up to be a major year for new projects at CLC. With rumors of most of these designs already circulating on the internet, I thought I'd gather...
How To Take Great Photos of Boats
My grandmother was fond of saying, "You can't take a bad photo of the water!" I appreciate the sentiment, but yes dear, you CAN take a bad photo of the...
How To Take Great Photos of Boats
My grandmother was fond of saying, "You can't take a bad photo of the water!" I appreciate the sentiment, but yes dear, you CAN take a bad photo of the...
What Happens When Stitch-and-glue Boats Get Old...
Annapolis Wherry Age: 12 years Damage: Water incursion in deck. Cause: A single tiny pinhole has allowed water to propagate across the plywood deck. Fix: Nothing easy. The pinhole obviously...
What Happens When Stitch-and-glue Boats Get Old...
Annapolis Wherry Age: 12 years Damage: Water incursion in deck. Cause: A single tiny pinhole has allowed water to propagate across the plywood deck. Fix: Nothing easy. The pinhole obviously...
What Happens When Stitch-and-Glue Boats Get Old?
"Stitch-and-glue" is a style of boatbuilding in which pre-fabricated plywood parts are assembled with epoxy and fiberglass to create a rigid, durable hull. While the techniques and materials have varied...
What Happens When Stitch-and-Glue Boats Get Old?
"Stitch-and-glue" is a style of boatbuilding in which pre-fabricated plywood parts are assembled with epoxy and fiberglass to create a rigid, durable hull. While the techniques and materials have varied...
17 Years of CNC Machines: An (Unsentimental) Lo...
In May of 1994, just a bit over twenty years ago as I write this, I built a sturdy 5x8 table in the corner of an ancient shop on Cannon...
17 Years of CNC Machines: An (Unsentimental) Lo...
In May of 1994, just a bit over twenty years ago as I write this, I built a sturdy 5x8 table in the corner of an ancient shop on Cannon...
WaterTribe OkoumeFest Challenge 2014
For the second year, Chesapeake Light Craft and Florida-based WaterTribe teamed up to offer expedition-style small boat racing on Maryland's scenic Eastern Shore. Near-death scrapes. Daring rescues. Abandoned boats. Desperate...
WaterTribe OkoumeFest Challenge 2014
For the second year, Chesapeake Light Craft and Florida-based WaterTribe teamed up to offer expedition-style small boat racing on Maryland's scenic Eastern Shore. Near-death scrapes. Daring rescues. Abandoned boats. Desperate...
CLC Outrigger Junior First Sail
On a rainy and strangely warm Sunday in December 2013, we launched a matched pair of the Harris-designed Outrigger Junior designs. Look for kits and plans in May. Here's a...
CLC Outrigger Junior First Sail
On a rainy and strangely warm Sunday in December 2013, we launched a matched pair of the Harris-designed Outrigger Junior designs. Look for kits and plans in May. Here's a...
Outrigger Junior: Sailing Speed for Sale, Cheap
This didn't work out how it was supposed to. The big idea was that this compact and easy-to-build multihull would slip in on the heels of Madness-the-proa, capitalizing on the...
Outrigger Junior: Sailing Speed for Sale, Cheap
This didn't work out how it was supposed to. The big idea was that this compact and easy-to-build multihull would slip in on the heels of Madness-the-proa, capitalizing on the...
Final Thoughts On Madness the Proa
Many observed that my 31-foot Pacific proa project was ambitious, experimental, and a bit daft. "Yes" to the first, "no" to the second, and "maybe" to the third. The project...
Final Thoughts On Madness the Proa
Many observed that my 31-foot Pacific proa project was ambitious, experimental, and a bit daft. "Yes" to the first, "no" to the second, and "maybe" to the third. The project...
CLC Team Dory Update
Just under a year ago, we built the first 23'9" CLC Team Dory with a group of volunteers from the Independence Seaport Museum in Philadelphia. Several more have been built...
CLC Team Dory Update
Just under a year ago, we built the first 23'9" CLC Team Dory with a group of volunteers from the Independence Seaport Museum in Philadelphia. Several more have been built...
Launching the 22'6" Faering Coastal Cruiser
Our 22'6" rowing-sailing pocket cruiser has hit the water and seems to be a great success. Read about the origins of the project here. Scroll down for the latest photos....
Launching the 22'6" Faering Coastal Cruiser
Our 22'6" rowing-sailing pocket cruiser has hit the water and seems to be a great success. Read about the origins of the project here. Scroll down for the latest photos....
Watertribe OkoumeFest Ultra Marathon Challenge ...
I watched the 2013 OkoumeFest Ultra Marathon from the shaded cockpit of a small powerboat, well-rested and in great comfort. The 28 competitors were paddling and rowing a 65-mile course,...
Watertribe OkoumeFest Ultra Marathon Challenge ...
I watched the 2013 OkoumeFest Ultra Marathon from the shaded cockpit of a small powerboat, well-rested and in great comfort. The 28 competitors were paddling and rowing a 65-mile course,...
Two Faerings for Sail and Oar
A faering is a small lapstrake double-ender indigenous to Scandinavia. The design has not changed a great deal in a thousand years, which suggests that when you get something right...
Two Faerings for Sail and Oar
A faering is a small lapstrake double-ender indigenous to Scandinavia. The design has not changed a great deal in a thousand years, which suggests that when you get something right...
CLC Kits for Dix Designs
It's hard to be an active observer and consumer of small boat design without running into the work of Dudley Dix. A South African transplanted to the US, Dudley is...
CLC Kits for Dix Designs
It's hard to be an active observer and consumer of small boat design without running into the work of Dudley Dix. A South African transplanted to the US, Dudley is...