2021 Big Little Boat Festival Wrap Up Part 3
Big Little Boat Festival Part 3
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While 2021's Big Little Boat Festival was trimmed down a bit to adapt to (the hopefully dwindling) COVID plague, builders brought dozens of terrific home-built boats to show off. John Harris formed an ad hoc committee of one to judge boats and award prizes, as we've done for the last 21+ years.
Here's a taste of some of the boats on the beach.
John Staub's Outrigger Junior in action.
Like most fast boats, the Outrigger Junior has a lot of strings...
Brent Griffith campaigned this fine-looking Stornoway 14.
From left to right, Charles Fausold's Southwester Dory, John Potvin's Lighthouse Tender Peapod, John Harris's Eastport Ultralight Dinghy, and Terry Otis's Jimmy Skiff II.
One of Michael Storer's OZ Goose designs made an appearance.
Don't let the boxy shape fool you: these things have got some serious scoot under sail.
A strip-planked Wee Lassie from plans by Rob Macks.
The Oxford Shell II was well-represented this year.
This builder rendered the stitch-and-glue plywood Oxford Shell II...using cedar strip panels!
A really nicely-built stock plywood Oxford Shell II
One of John Harris's favorite boats at the event was this Jim Michalak design, sailed with cunning and vigor by John Zohlen and Norm Wolfe.
Slick details in Dan Thaler's strip-planked Shearwater 17 Hybrid.
Tom Senger brought this fully equipped and finely fettled Scamp.
A small but highly capable wooden boat. Tom won Runner Up Best Smallcraft for this Scamp.
The Best Smallcraft award went to this Lighthouse Tender Peapod, built by an actual Lightouse Tender, John Potvin, manager of Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse.
This beautifully crafted Kaholo by Hendrik Tolman was recognized as best paddleboard.
Repeat winner Dan Thaler scored the Best Kayak title with his polished Nick Schade-designed microBootlegger Sport (on the left).
Mark Nye showed serious boatbuilding chops with this trio of strip-planked kayaks.
Mark Nye's Nick Schade-designed Yukon (foreground), was awarded Best In Show.
(Mark also completed the 20-mile Deale or No Deale race in fourth place, with a time of 3:24:29.)