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It’s Weird But I Like It, An H. C. Hanson Liveaboard: When it comes to chugging across the bay, this Forest Service power boat is about as original as it comes....
Tom Robinson’s Row Across the Pacific, Part 14 – The Islets of Penrhyn – The Motu Church: As he settles in to life on the magical island of Penrhyn, Tom Robinson shows his genius for meeting the world....
A Shop Visit with Designer-Builder Kees Prins: Kees Prins (pronounced: “Case Prinz”) is a well-respected figure as a designer and boat builder in Port Town...
RICOCHET, A Kettenburg Pacific Cruising Class (PCC): Ricochet is one of the Kettenburg Pacific Cruising Class sloops that were so popular on the West Coast in the 1950s. &nb...
HOLIDAY – Four Generations on a 1946 Ed Monk Sr. Cruiser: Holiday is a quintessential Northwest power boat: sturdy, handsome, and resolutely sea worthy.  Designed by Ed Monk...
Tom Robinson’s Solo Row Across the Pacific, Part 13 – Life on Penrhyn: After 160 days alone at sea rowing, Tom embraces a few months of life ashore in a tropical paradise....
A Great Pacific Northwest Sailboat – SCAMP: From the boating dreams of their son igniting the love of an old wooden boat . . .  to the creation of a magnificen...
Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding, 2023 Walkabout Tour: Eric Blake’s tour of the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding shows just how effective the school is in training yo...
ANJA – A British Columbian Gaff Cutter: Anja is a 23’ cutter with a Scandinavian feel to her. Designed by Roger Long, she is about as sweet a little boat as y...
Among Old Friends Part 7 – BAGATELLE, ANNIE & VULCAN: With this final episode in the Benjamin River, we hope you’ve enjoyed the time with Maynard and Doug as much as we...
A Foggy Morning Row, 2023 Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival: First light, the morning fog, and a blanketing quiet; only early risers catch this first serene glimpse of Port Townsend...
A Sail Aboard HESPER – A Luke Powell Pilot Cutter: Pilot cutters are legendary in the sailing world. It’s understandable....
Steven Dews on Port Townsend, The Port in the Storm: So let me take you behind the scenes for how this video came about.  I knew Steven and Louise had been in Port Town...
Tom Robinson Rows Across the Pacific, Part 12 – LAND HO!!: Land Ho! At last…...
Slow August – Fishing in Penrhyn: A bamboo pole and a baited hook are all it takes to evoke the whole of summertime....
Among Old Friends, Part 6 – SNØ GÅS, WESTWIND, and INTEGRITY: And still the boats keep coming, another look around the Benjamin River led by Doug Hylan and Maynard Bray....
Slow August – Dinghy Sailing in British Columbia: Light airs on a quiet afternoon in the heart of the Pacific Northwest’s cruising heaven....
Slow August – Penrhyn Evening: A warm evening in the cook islands of the South Pacific....
Tom Robinson Rows Across the Pacific, Part 11 – The Inner Glow: Tom shows us that being alone at sea alone for five months gives a person a lot of time to think....
Marco Scuderi – A Sicilian Shipwright in New Zealand: Marco Scuderi’s double-ended Rozinante and lovely power cruiser give us a clear look at New Zealand boat building....
VEGA – An Electrified Classic Wooden Launch: Vega is a classic launch with a twist; she is powered by solar panels and an electric motor....
Tom Robinson Rows Across the Pacific, Part 10 – No Agua !!!: Tom’s last resort as he uses up his fresh water supply....
Tom Robinson’s Row Across the Pacific, Part 9 – 40 Days & 40 Nights: As the current pushes him northward above his ideal course, things get complicated for Tom in terms food and where he wi...
Among Old Friends Part 5 – MALACHI MUDGE, LOON, MISTY, and LENA: Maynard and Doug continue their informative tour of the boats in the Benjamin River....
Tom Robinson Rows the Pacific, Part 7–Half-Way Day: Tom creates a holiday to celebrate a milestone of the first leg of his trans pacific voyage that turns into a proper cel...
Worldwide Classic Boat Show Presentation – Hidden Stories of the Herreshoffs: The Pandemic may have stopped our in-person activities short, but it also gave us an unexpected opportunity to dig into...
Lowell’s Boat Shop – Legendary Boatbuilder Since 1793: Simply put, Lowell’s Boat Shop is a national treasure, still going strong through many manifestations since 1793....
Among Old Friends, Part 4 – Beautiful Wooden Boats in the Benjamin River – GRAYLING, LILY CATCHPOLE, and MOLLY B: Can’t make it to Maine this summer? Well, jump aboard for a private tour through the exquisite fleet of boats in t...
Tom Robinson’s Row Across the Pacific, Part 6 – Mysterious & Troublesome Lights: Ominous lights in the night; equipment failure; danger: It’s all part of being an adventurer.   The next part...
Tom Robinson’s Row Across the Pacific, Part 5 – Catch of the Day: Here’s the first chance we’ve had to actually get aboard MAIWAR with Tom to see what it’s actually lik...
The Catboat KATIE M – A Charter Day-Sailer in Port Townsend: A little classic like the catboat KATIE M appeals to both the neophyte sailor and the old salt making her an ideal chart...
STARLIGHT – The Profound Effect A Boat Can Have: Every once in a while a boat arrives in a harbor and everyone ashore stops, turns, and stares.  That’s a hard...
Synthetic Rigging the Rhodes 27 VARYA – A Brion Toss Legacy Project: Jen Bates was one of the lucky few who got to study rigging working side by side with Brion Toss....
EL MISTICO – A Ballard Bridge Deck Cruiser in Puget Sound: EL MISTICO, a live aboard cruiser built on the West Coast in 1927, is eloquent proof of the old adage that good boats fa...
Tom Robinson’s Presentation at the 2023 Worldwide Classic Boat Show: At the 2023 Worldwide Classic Boat Show, we were able to connect with Tom in a live video feed after his first leg voyag...
TACONY – A Matsumoto Crabber: A charming wooden cruiser in the right place and in the right hands is the story here. And it’s a wonderful tale, all...
CLEAN BAY – A Zero Emissions Pump Out Boat: The Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding keeps on surprising us and this handsome little eco-friendly pump-out boat i...
EvenRuder Outboard Motor – Stepping it Up: A new spin on outboard motors … so to speak....
In the Engine Room, The Gardner Diesel Engine Aboard OLGA: The Gardner diesel engine was, and still is, renowned as a dependable workhorse. It turns out it’s a pleasure to b...
MORNING STAR (45′ Tellefsen Ketch) – Venus at Work: “MORNING STAR,” a 50-foot double-ended Scandinavian ketch, is a boat of a lifetime: handsome, capable, easily handle...
Worldwide Classic Boat Show Presentation, Raids Around the World: The Worldwide Classic Boat Show brings raid organizers from 5 countries across 3 continents and 2 hemispheres that opene...
Ama Natura – Decarbonizing the Inside Passage: The Inside Passage to Alaska is one of the most beautiful waterways in the world. In this video you will meet a couple d...
ALEUTIAN TERN – A Bill Garden Alaskan Cruiser: I’m thinking if we had a vote around the OCH office to determine our favorite boat, Aleutian Tern would be among the t...
The Schooner ALCA i – Living the Retirement Dream: A pilot house schooner fulfills one man’s dream by serving as a retirement home in the Pacific Northwest....
Townsend Tern – The Ingenious Cat-Ketch Coastal Cruiser: The Townsend Tern is a handy little ketch you can trailer to your favorite waters and go off-grid for many weeks at a ti...
Worldwide Classic Boat Show Presentation – Classic Workboats of Indochina: From Vietnam to Cambodia and Laos; boats, boats, boats, brightly painted, doing a variety of jobs on rivers and the sea....
Tom Robinson’s Solo Row Across the Pacific, Part 8 – A Satellite Phone Call: We talk to Tom in the middle of the Pacific Ocean* and his adventure is already inspiring and a bit of a cliff hanger. *...
The Coastal Pocket Cruiser JEWELL by Francois Vivier: The little yawl UMAMI is a twenty-foot bundle of practical charm. For quick hops and snug overnights along coastlines, s...
Worldwide Classic Boat Show Presentation – Electric Propulsion & Solar Cruising: The future is now – three pros talk about the actualities of cruising with the power of the sun....
A Solar-Electric Catamaran, The Ultimate Low Maintenance Cruiser – ELECTRIC PHILOSOPHY: An up-close tour of a 100% solar powered electric houseboat that will get you thinking....
A Row Around the Harbor at the 2022 Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival: Get aboard a skiff with Eric Blake and tour the Port Townsend fleet. It will make you feel you are right there at the fe...
Marty Loken’s RAVEN – A John Alden Motorsailer: The powerboat RAVEN, at only 29 feet, is a remarkable summertime live aboard for a couple of experienced cruisers. For t...
The Gift of Summer, A Postcard from a Grateful Grandson: The last day of summer in Maine, Jed takes one final sail before heading home....
Slow August – A Morning on the Beach: A cup of coffee and a stroll on the beach....
The Hvalsoe 16 – Little Shell and Big Wave Dave Attempt the Salish 100: A beautiful story of how a community honors a father and the spirit of a daughter that fulfills her father’s dream...
Slow August – Summer Rain: Welcome to Slow August 2022. “Sticking it out” during the less pleasant moments is a common theme in our voy...
Tom Robinson’s Row Across the Pacific, Part 4 – The Voyage Begins: After nine years of dreaming, working, planning, working, and then working some more – Tom Robinson has finally em...
Tom Robinson’s Row Across the Pacific, Part 3 – The Wooden Workboat Culture of Perú: Tom Robinson has made it to the threshold of his long held goal of becoming the youngest person to row across the Pacifi...
Good Boat Up Close – Maynard Bray’s Herreshoff Coquina, Part 2 – Putting the Boat to Bed: Coquinas are for the small boat connoisseur. Lovely, lively, and eminently tweequable. You’ll enjoy every aspect o...
Among Old Friends, Part 3 – Time to Invest in Pure Gold: Is there a better investment to be made than in old friends?...
Tom Robinson: Rowing Across the Pacific Ocean in a Wooden Boat, a Worldwide Classic Boat Show Presentation: Tom Robinson is setting out to become the youngest person to row across the Pacific Ocean. He also happens to be doing i...
Tom Robinson’s Row Across the Pacific, Part 2 – The Rowboat MAIWAR, A Close-Up Tour: Armed with Aussie ingenuity and determination – Tom Robinson is setting out to row across the South Pacific Ocean....
Bridges Point 24 – A Joel White Design: The Bridges Point 24’ designed by Joel White is just about as perfect as a small daysailer can be....
The Beetle Cat Fleet, A Half Century at Center Harbor Yacht Club: Beetle Cats are magical, multi-generational boats that never lose their ability to charm kids into becoming lifelong sai...
2021 Worldwide Classic Boat Show Presentation – British Columbia and the Inside Passage with Tad Roberts, Bill Noon & Karen Sullivan: Get an insider’s tour of the spectacular fishing and cruising grounds of Canada’s west coast....
2021 Worldwide Classic Boat Show Presentation – Dinghy Cruising Adventures with Roger Barnes: Roger Barnes wrote the book on dinghy cruising, literally. He was kind enough to walk us through the highlight of his bo...
Tom Robinson’s Solo Row Across the Pacific, Part 1 – Overview: This is a video created by filmmaker Abir Tarafdar in Tom’s home town of Brisbane, Australia. Thanks to Abir for l...
Good Boat Up Close – Maynard Bray’s Herreshoff Coquina, Part 1 – Rigging & Getting Under Way, with Maynard Bray: Coquinas are for the small boat connoisseur. Lovely, lively, and eminently tweakable. As the man says, there’s a lot o...
Worldwide Classic Boat Show Presentation – Photographers’ Roundtable: Be a fly on the wall as five of the best classic boat photographers in the world share their work and swap stories....
MARTHA, E.B. White’s Last Sailboat — In Good Hands (the Sallee Rover design by Samuel Crocker): The little sloop MARTHA has long been a favorite of Center Harbor watchers. Built by Joel White for his father, E.B. Whi...
Among Old Friends, Part 2 – Past, Present, and Almost: Another tour of Center Harbor spotlighting three of our favorite boats....
A Sail with Boatbuilder Kit Macchi Aboard Her Bud McIntosh Boat: Boat builder Kit Macchi brings her own special blend to her afternoon sails along the Eggemoggin Reach. At 24’ feet Ki...
Maine Schooner Rendezvous/Dance: Schooner Rendezvous, Brooklin, Maine: Each fall in early autumn Maine’s schooner fleet gathers a final time to enjoy f...
Worldwide Classic Boat Show Presentation – Tom Cunliffe & Traditional Boats of Northern Europe: Master seaman and storyteller treats us to yarns about some of the amazing people and boats he’s come across in hi...
Among Old Friends, Part 1 – On Center Harbor: Ever wonder what it would be like to get a floating tour of Center Harbor by two local guys who know the boats, the plac...
A Good Boat Up Close, The Melonseed Skiff: Descended from the rowing and sailing workboats on the Jersey shore in the 19th Century, the Melonseed Skiff has a long...
Port Townsend: How a Legendary Boat-Town was Built, A Presentation from the 2021 Worldwide Classic Boat Show: Carol Hasse and Kaci Cronkhite walk us through a history of Port Townsend and reveal how it became the wooden boat cente...
Slow August – Ghosting Along: With the ever-present sound of the sea being halted by granite outside this protected anchorage, we go drifting along am...
Slow August – Boathouses of Maine: Sailing downeast along the coast of Maine, lazily drifting by these gems, seeding our thoughts....
Slow August – Waiting for Slack Tide: Sunrise in our new favorite anchorage in Vinalhaven, ready to sail out into the day....
Slow August – The Remote Island: The quiet welcome of a remote island harbor can be a spiritual experience.  We feel a deep sense of gratitude to th...
Slow August – Easy Does It: The steady sound of rowing marks the passing of a summer afternoon. So much imperfection (oarlocks, etc.) making up this...
The Six Metre SAGA, A Beautiful Ride: All you need to know about the construction of a vintage Six Metre....
The Poulsbo Boat, A Camp Cruising Motor Boat: The Poulsbo Boat certainly has a lot going for it: she’s seaworthy, commodious, handsome and rooted in the history of...
Life at the Water’s Edge, Part 4 – Where the Shore Meets the Woods: In a close look at where the ocean meets the land, Sarah explains the geology of Maine’s rock bound coast and shows us...
Gear Tips for Camp Cruising, Part 1 – The Packraft: The blow-up dinghy: a camp cruiser’s solution to the tender problem....
Slow Winter in the Currents: A winter afternoon adrift on the currents of Puget Sound....
A Fisherman, A Designer, and A Broker – Friendships Centered on Real Boats: Three old salts sit around a table talking about Northwest salmon trollers. We learned a lot about these noteworthy vess...
Building the Oonagh Rowing/Sailing Dinghy, Part 3 – Ladder Frame, Molds and Transoms: The OONAGH build starts shaping up as Kit dry-fits and fixes the molds and transoms to the strongback. It’s easy t...
Recovering from an Open Boat Capsize, From Denial to Self Reliance: A cautionary moment: Steve Stone purposely capsizes his Caledonia Yawl to show us what to expect when an open boat goes...
Sail & Oar Camp Cruising, Part 2 – Sail More with an Electric Motor: The EP Carry is powerful, light, and weatherproof. A perfect solution to expanding your small boat’s cruising range....
LEGEND – The New Wheeler 38, A Modern Interpretation of Hemingway’s PILAR: The Brooklin Boat Yard has teamed up with the newly reborn Wheeler Yacht Company to create a 21st century interpretation...
Building the Oonagh Rowing/Sailing Dinghy, Part 1 – A Real Rib Alternative: If you’ve wanted something more aesthetically pleasing to replace your inflatable tender, or a wonderful little fa...
Life At the Water’s Edge, Part 2–Crustaceans & Mollusks of Maine’s Intertidal Zone: Watch the fascinating world of the intertidal zone come to life as the tide comes in along the Maine Coast....
Slow August – On the Beach: A warm summer day, an open beach and enough time to take your time....
For the Love of Islands — The Maine Island Trail: It’s pretty magical to be able to land on islands along the coast of Maine and camp overnight. There’s a reason we c...
Designing with Mock-Up Patterns & Prototypes, A Motor Mount for a Caledonia Yawl: Watch as a professional boatbuilder works through a design problem with prototypes to achieve an elegantly simple soluti...
Understanding Wooden Boat Construction, Part 3 – Planking: In the third part of our series on wooden boat construction, Sean illustrates carvel, lapstrake, and cold-molded methods...
Sail & Oar Camp Cruising, Part 1 – Dreaming & Planning: Making a camp cruise fun and safe takes careful forethought. Here are the elements that went into a late summer trip alo...
TUNA, a Retired New Zealand Pilot/Tugboat: A salty little work boat with an appealing history and an equally salty owner. New Zealand at its best....
SQUALLY COVE – The Wooden Boat Shop’s Shearwater 38: Shearwater 38s are handsome, speedy, and sea-kindly powerboats with soup-to-nuts gizmos galore....
Boathouse Concert – Walt & Tina Wilkins Live – Austin, Texas: We feel pretty damn lucky to have Walt and Tina Wilkins do a private house concert for Off Center Harbor. Enjoy the full...
Understanding Wooden Boat Construction, Part 2 – Hull Structure: In Part 2 we see how the basic components of a wooden boat (bilge stringers, clamp, shelf, frames & planking) go tog...
A Tour Aboard KATIE, Harry Bryan’s 20′ Gaff Sloop: Very few boats, big or small, are better thought out in terms of details or lovelier to the eye than Harry Bryan’s 20-...
Gypsy Wagons: A Tour with Master Wainwright Jim Tolpin: Gypsy wagons are an exciting melange of ancient Romani dynamism and aesthetics, and wainwright Jim Tolpin is a modern ma...
Understanding Wooden Boat Construction, Part 1 – The Backbone: This clear and authoritative visual depiction of a wooden boat’s backbone structure will raise your understanding of h...
Every Design, Now Online – MIT’s Herreshoff Legacy Project: The MIT Herreshoff exhibit of models and drawings helps us understand the vast and engaging output of Nathanael Herresho...
The Beloved Bartender – A Proven Seaworthy Design for Exploring the Pacific Northwest: Bartenders are legendary boats of the Oregon coast designed and built to take on the challenges of the Columbia River ba...
Life at the Water’s Edge, Part 1 – Maine’s Intertidal Zone in Winter: The intertidal zone along the Maine coast is a particularly harsh environment, especially in winter. See what fauna and...
The Gaff-Rigged Sloop SKORRI, Paul Gartside Design No. 165: Take a sail on a nifty Paul Gartside 16′ gaff-rigger built by an experienced amateur....
L. Francis Herreshoff – The Man Behind the Designs: In the realm of classic boats, the designs and writings of L. Francis Herreshoff make him a crucial, if not seminal figu...
How to Build a Wooden Boat — AROHA, Part 1 – A Close Look at the Original Boat WHIO, a New Zealand Weekend Cruiser: When WHIO hove into view across our camera lenses, the entire OCH crew found a new boat to fall in love with. As easy on...
CHAMPAGNE – A Float Plan for Life: With degrees in engineering and naval architecture from the U.S. Naval Academy and MIT, plus a 21-year career in the U.S...
We Believe – Platte Canyon High School & the Seventy48: Bailey, Colorado would seem like an unlikely place for boat building or water sports, never mind a yacht club. But that...
The Grasshopper Experiment, Russell Brown’s Fuel Efficient Motor Boats: And now for something completely different: In his search for efficiency on the water, Russell Brown puts legs on a pair...
Harry Bryan’s Off-the-Grid Shop for Building Boats: This visit to the “World of Harry Bryan” might just get you thinking about how you can make your shop a more innovat...
The Shot Tower at Taroona, Tasmania: Ever wonder how lead shot was made in the old days? Well your wondering days are over....
The Tug Yacht LA FILLE, A Family Adventure Boat: A “tug yacht” to some may seem like a contradiction in terms but LA FILLE merges opposite right before our e...
A New Zealand Boat Shop Visit to Brookes Boatbuilders: One of our favorite past-times is visiting boat yards to take walkabouts with talented boatbuilders, and Peter Brookes o...
Advanced Rowing with Havilah Hawkins, Part 2 – The Unvarnished Truth about Ash Oars: The proper oar explained. And who could do it better that Off Center Harbor guide Havilah Hawkins?...
A Visit with Bertram Levy, Part 2 – Sailing His Sweet Double Ender: After savoring the process of building of this magnificent 19-foot sloop, Bertram has invited us to go for a sail. Welco...
A First Time Builder’s Family Boat, the Australian Couta Boat MY GIRLS: So glad to make this video our 500th. Vernon and his “girls” have deeply inspired us....
Slow August – Island Time: The tent is set up, dinner is cooking, and you have the island all to yourselves. Nothing to do except smell the salt ai...
Slow August – Lost In the Moment: Eric’s son Asa is four. Oh, the simple pleasures found in the here and now....
Remembering Sam Manning: Samuel F. Manning lived well and helped countless boatbuilders and marine historians through his career in maritime illu...
Advanced Rowing with Havilah Hawkins, Part 1 – Techniques and Maneuvers: Whether it’s how to feather properly for grace or navigating a crowded dinghy basin- this video will help us keep...
Slow August – Nahmakanta: Early morning at Nahmakanta Lake Camps in Maine’s North Woods. Mists, mountains, alone on the dock, and a moment all t...
KATIE’s Cradle, A Tidal Flat Mooring: The tidal flat of Harry’s Cove is the perfect place to cradle a boat to protect it from the weather or get some ma...
Slow August – Cradle Cove: Sculling; ambling; mosey to the mooring, It’s a beautiful day…why hurry?...
Aboard MASON BAY, a Retirement Boat for Old Salts: Handsome, authentic, seaworthy, rugged, practical and fun to be aboard – for those intrigued by fish boat conversi...
Des Townson’s SERENE, New Zealand’s Family-Friendly Cruiser/Racer: We’re always on the lookout for a really big little family-friendly cruiser/racer (that’s not a typo), so natura...
A Completely Different Venture, Building Your Own Spitfire: We have a soft spot in our hearts for exceptional designs as well as for people who manage a career altering leap into a...
The Marine Photographer’s Eye, Benjamin Mendlowitz in New Zealand: When a photographer with as much experience as our own Benjamin Mendlowitz says of a fleet “I was newly inspired i...
SHANTY, a Proper Little Boat: Step aboard the gaff yawl SHANTY and meet her octogenarian skipper, who built her with his wife while living on one of N...
Live Well, The Cruising Smack STORM BAY, with Tim Phillips: A cruise of glorious sailing along the Tasmanian coast aboard an authentic cruising smack. Fishing along the way for sup...
Going Fast with One Modest Engine, WHIO’s Propeller: When it comes to speed and economy in powerboats, we usually think about hull shape and horsepower first. But what about...
PACIFIC – One Boat, One Family, Five Generations: A little over a century ago, a farmer in New Zealand needed a way to get pumpkins and watermelons to market, and today P...
JANE – A Couta Boat Inspired Motor Sailer, with Tim Phillips: A motor sailer that sails like a witch? Count us in, JANE!...
Harry Bryan’s Foot-Powered Wood Splitter: If you’re heating with wood, have a sledge-hammer you can press into service, and can dig up one of those long, sn...
A Sail Aboard CORA, A New Zealand Mullet Boat: Over a century old with her original planking, once a work boat, now a family boat with a little racing on the side for...
At Home in the Bilge with Maynard Bray, Part 1 – How New Zealand’s Classics Were Built: How do you build wooden boats to last for over a century dependably? Ask the Kiwis, that’s how they do it. So we w...
Slow Summer, Part 6 – New Zealand: As the northern hemisphere is having its boreal winter, the southern hemisphere is enjoying its austral summer. Yet, no...
Going Slow, Small, and Simple Through the Inside Passage to Alaska: In this busy hectic world, it’s nice to see a couple who have made the time to enjoy nature’s grandeur via t...
One Man’s Masterpiece, The Troller-Inspired Cruising Vessel SERIANNA: Bill Page spent a lifetime in and around boats preparing to build the troller-inspired yacht, SERIANNA. And then he spen...
RIPTIDE – A 1927 Cruiser Coming Back to Life: The roaring ’20s were a boom time for recreational boating and nowhere are the joys and aesthetics of the time mor...
Wild Edibles, Part 2 – Near the Beach: From the inter-tidal zone to just off the beach, Tom opens our eyes to the trail nibbles and useful healers all around u...
BETTY Mc, An Australian Crayfish Workboat Turned World Cruiser: In 2007 Rodger and Ali set out on BETTY Mc from Australia for Chile but some where in the South pacific they took a left...
Inger Rankins’ Seventy48 Race, Rowing 70 Miles in a PT11 Dinghy: 70 miles in an 11 foot dinghy… Are you KIDDING me? Racing against teams of rowers? Inger Rankins will give you new...
EASTWARD, A Simple Powerboat for Cruising: Making the switch from a life time of sailing, to cruising in a powerboat, is a big change, and the right boat can sure...
Aboard a Legendary Boat – BURMA, a 1950 Davis-Hand Motorsailer: When BURMA came to town she came as an old friend. She’s gathered many friends and admirers since 1950 all along t...
Thoughts on L. Francis Herreshoff’s Rozinante, with Roger Taylor and Maynard Bray: Two old friends sailing a simple, slippery, and beautiful L. Francis Herreshoff Rozinante on a gorgeous summer day- what...
Just Keep Going, Part 2 – Racing the Drake Raceboat 20′ in Seventy48: Row row row… but for 70 miles? For Team No Dream and 101 other human powered boats, that was the reality of  raci...
Just Keep Going, Part 1 – Building the Drake Raceboat 20: Last year Nate and his brother Cooper tackled R2AK and this year Nate has undertaken to build his first boat and then ro...
Slow August, Down at the Dock: With all the bathing beauties in Center Harbor, sometimes it’s enough stimulation just to stroll the dinghy dock....
Slow August – Afterglow: We have been inhaling since April, building since spring.  Things to do, people coming, Never stopping. Now at last it...
Anchoring, Part 4 – An Outhaul Alternative: In Part 4 of the series Cooper Rooks demonstrates a nifty little trick to keep your boat afloat when going ashore with a...
Slow August – Chasing Dawn’s Light at the ERR: If it’s the first Sunday morning in August, you’ll find us chasing light and pretty boats at the Eggemoggin...
Slow August – Going in Circles: Perhaps the lure of boating is hidden in these epic slow moments that happen when we’re out on our boats?...
North Haven’s Foy Brown – A Waterman Relaxes on His Houseboat: Here’s a guy you won’t find at the mall, and for good reason, he’s too busy working. Living on an isla...
Slow August – Margarita Time: Welcome to “Slow August”. The time we spend on our boats often provides a quiet, relaxing meditation away fr...
Wild Edibles, Part 1 – Plants Along the Beach: When walking along the beach, across a meadow, or through the woods- there’s an astounding world of plant life -bu...
Kayak Wisdom, Part 4 – The Benefits of Greenland Paddles: Veteran kayaker and founder of Pygmy Boats, John Lockwood takes us through why he switched to Greenland paddles and neve...
The World Duckboat Championships, A Classic Fleet Sails Again: Before there were Optimist Prams, at least on the Jersey Shore, there were Duck Boats. And now, thanks to an ingenious D...
Watercraft of the Chesapeake Bay, Part 2 – The Star and The Comet: Kissing Cousins compared: Design components of the Star and the Comet sailboat classes discussed in detail....
The River Home — A Reflection on the Last Two Years: We thought we’d take a moment a look back at some of the places we’ve been, boats we’ve seen, and peop...
Boatshop Talk – Getting Ready for the SEVENTY48 Race: Nate is our guy and he already had great rowing chops and now it’s a whole string of firsts: this is the first boa...
Marine Electronics for Every Size Boat, Part 5 – How an Autopilot Works: Having an auto-pilot is like having another person on board that doesn’t talk back, and Kim shows us how smart the...
Kayak Wisdom, Part 3 – Essential Sea Kayak Camping Gear: Bill Thomas and Jane Ahlfeld show us what sea kayak camping gear and supplies they take out on the water for an overnigh...
Marine Electronics For Every Size Boat, Part 3—Small Multi-Function Display for Power Boat: Here’s a low cost multi-function display between a handheld chartplotter and a full blown system — did he say it...
Marine Electronics For Every Size Boat, Part 4 – Basic NMEA 2000 System for a Sailboat: With a new marine electronics system for your sailboat, pretty much all that’s left to do is mix the cocktails, ri...
Marine Electronics for Every Size Boat, Part 2 – Handheld VHF Radio: Maybe we dosed off for a few years, because we thought VHF radios were all pretty much the same. That is, until we sat d...
Marine Electronics for Every Size Boat, Part 1 – Handheld GPS Chartplotter (vs. Smart Phone): We thought we knew a thing or two about gear for our boats, but then again — we thought having a smart phone with a na...
Daysailing a Herreshoff S-Boat – Serenity at Sea: Long-known for its speed around the race course, the nimble and muscular Herreshoff S-Boat can provide just as much enjo...
A Visit with Bertram Levy, Part 1 – In the Shop & Building Boats: One of life’s fine pleasures is simply hanging out in the boatshop talking shop. And so we stopped by to visit ret...
SILENT MAID – A Barnegat Bay B-Cat That’s Not Your Grandmother’s Catboat: When it comes to catboats, SILENT MAID, the Barnegat Bay B-Cat proves that all boats are not the same....
Rediscovering a Fiberglass Classic, A “New” Graves Constellation: For years we have been noodling around with the idea of picking up an old-time, bullet-proof fiberglass sailboat, sawz-a...
The Aussie 18 – A Sure Bet: In the rough-and-tumble world of Sydney Harbor sailboat racing, the Aussie 18 sailboat – with its astonishing pres...
WIZARD – Herreshoff’s Fishers Island 31: The restoration of the Herreshoff designed and built Fishers Island 31 by boat builder Brion Rieff not only achieves a s...
Ben Seaborn’s Fabulous Thunderbirds, A Badass Family Boat for Racing & Cruising: The Thunderbird sailboat is an economic and versatile weekender/racer/cruiser that offers both performance and below dec...
STITCH, A Ted Geary U.S. Forest Ranger Boat: Take a cruise on a Ted Geary designed powerboat built for the U.S. Forest Service in 1930 and now converted into a live-...
The A-Cats of Barnegat Bay, And a Visit Aboard SPY: Last summer we headed to Barnegat Bay in New Jersey to get the inside scoop from Roy Wilkins on A Cats – the racin...
Coastal Navigation, Part 3 – Finding Latitude, Longitude, & Distance on Charts: Jane Ahlfeld walks us through the process of finding latitude, longitude, and distance on nautical charts for when you a...
Two Drake Rowboats – The Raceboat & The 17′ “Sedan”: For serious rowers who have mellowed slightly over the years, here are two fixed seat rowboats available in kit form fro...
Beautiful West Coast Fishing Boats, PACIFIC – A Retired Halibut Longliner: Climb aboard the F.V. PACIFIC, a retired halibut longliner, to meet Don Macmillan who successfully fished her for many y...
Port Townsend Shipwrights Co-op, A Shipyard Walkabout: Big buildings, proper machinery, tools, and 12 co-op partners, who manage projects, make up the Port Townsend Shipwright...
Restoring Mink, a 1914 Buzzards Bay 25, Part 4 – A New Set of Old Style Sails: In our final visit aboard MINK, we learn about the new suit of old-style sails made for the 1914 Buzzards Bay 25. Sailma...
Cuddling Up With a FOX Kayak (Double Paddle Canoe): The Fox Double Paddle Canoe is so cozy, and this little video clip was so heart-warming — it sparked nicknames for the...
Kayaking the Coast of Maine – So Many Islands, So Little Time: Embracing the summertime dream, Michael and Rebecca meander their way along 624 nautical miles of Maine’s coast an...
Coastal Navigation, Part 2 – How To Use Charts with a Navigator’s Eye: Jane shows us a few tricks to of how to know whether that island in from of you is what it looks like, how to establish...
Coastal Navigation, Part 1 – Charts & Buoys: Nautical charts contain a wide range of numbers and symbols, each transmitting critical information to the mariner. This...
Having a Boat Designed and Built – LA VIE EN ROSE: Having a boat designed and built is an experience in itself. As luck would have it, we caught up with David Lesser durin...
OYSTER, a Rugged 26’ Coastal Cruising Sailboat: OYSTER – a rugged 26′ coastal cruising sailboat – caught our attention during our trip out down in the...
A 16-foot Pilothouse Motorsailer? You’ve Got to be Kidding!: In our travels, we’ve seen a number of fascinating designs. But nothing caught our eye like HEATHER – a 16-f...
The Phoenix III By Ross Lillistone: What can be more alluring than the Phoenix III by Ross Lillistone — a sweet little 15-foot sail and oar boat that can...
Schooner MAGIC, A Family Goes Cruising: When the schooner MAGIC sailed into Brooklin this summer, we all got to witness her arrival with the three young sisters...
Sand Casting Marine Hardware: The Port Townsend Foundry: We visit the Port Townsend Foundry to see how they utilize the sand casting process to create in-house marine hardware....
Watercraft of the Chesapeake Bay, Part 1 – Log Canoe & Bugeye: A visit to the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum is a real treat. It’s packed with the fascinating maritime history o...
The Pocket Cruiser SKYE: A Bill Garden Canoe Yawl Restored by Marty Loken: With her restoration complete, Marty Loken takes us for a sail aboard his Bill Garden designed canoe yawl SKYE....
The Echo Bay Dory Skiff, Easy & Fun to Build, Row, and Sail: Clint Chase takes us for a tour of his Echo Bay Dory Skiff, a perfect little boat for first time builders and for famili...
New Zealand’s Mahurangi Regatta – Featuring Chas Bailey’s NGATIRA: Join us for a day on the water at New Zealand’s Mahurangi Regatta, and get a close-up look at the restoration of t...
Sportyak – The Recyclable Dinghy From Bic®: Join the entire Off Center Harbor Crew as we climb off our high horse and into the Sportyak, the recyclable dinghy from...
A Boat in the Family, A Good Way to Grow up – Aboard the Philip Rhodes Ketch SAONA: After emigrating from England to Australia, Ben built a boat for his young family. They all set to exploring together an...
Where the River Flows, A Moment with Bill Worrell: Sometimes, just when you think it’s a bad day and all is lost, you might just be in a moment that changes the rest...
The Tasmanian Cray Pot, with Tree Marris: The Tasmanian cray pot is commonplace along the waterfront, but actually seeing one made by Tree Marris suddenly deepens...
Herreshoff Marine Museum, Part 6 – In The Boat Hall: The Dinghies: Maynard Bray and Eric Blake finish their tour of the Herreshoff Marine Museum with an examination of Herreshoff’s...
The Australian Couta Boat – A Fishing Boat for a Family Cruiser: Dave and Anastasia thought they’d buy this couta boat, restore it, and sell it, but like a rescued puppy, it becam...
Building Momentum, Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding: Eric Blake joins Head instructor Sean Koomen for a tour of the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding in Port Hadlock,...
Maritime Painter Steven Dews, Painting The Battle of Trafalgar: What a rare treat to experience master maritime painter Steven Dews painting The Battle of Trafalgar! He takes us along...
The Dutch Tjotter, A Frisian Boat in Tasmanian Waters: With their beguiling curves and stunning amplitudes, Dutch boats have always had an air of mystery about them. When a sm...
Aboard a Legendary Boat, K. Aage Nielsen’s HOLGER DANSKE: We climb aboard designer K. Aage Nielsen’s HOLGER DANSKE (his favorite boat) with owners Joy Phillips and Philip M...
How to Build the Off Center Skiff, Part 20 – Launch Day!: In the final part of our series, Eric Blake and Havilah Hawkins’ work comes to a completion as the kids gather to...
Beauty, Craftsmanship & Boating – The Schmee of New Zealand and Doug Marsden: The slightest detour off the beaten path in New Zealand, will bring you face to face with the real story of this great c...
Cotton Caulking with an Aussie Twist, An Ingenious Spinning Machine: Can’t buy it? Why not make it? Take a few pulleys and V-belts, some shafts and bearings; add a right-angle drive and a...
LIMFJORD, An L. Francis Herreshoff H-28: Climb aboard LIMFJORD, an L. Francis Herreshoff H-28 small cruising sailboat designed for anyone to build, adapt and eas...
Restoring Mink, a 1914 Buzzards Bay 25: Part 3 – Putting Exact Period Details in Place: We visit with MINK’s owner and chief researcher to learn about how they put exact period details in place on the 1...
GLORYBE – A Pure Simple Pleasure Boat: When a pleasure boat as sweet as GLORYBE chugs into view, even the most die-hard of sailors start thinking that maybe a...
Ten Dollars and a Dream: Cruising Aboard the Danish Sloop NORNA: With ten dollars and a dream, Kourtney Patterson and Pete Grundvig spent two years cruising the Atlantic aboard their Da...
Gougeon 32 – A Fast Trailerable Catamaran: Jump aboard the Gougeon 32, a fast, trailerable, retro catamaran, as Russell Brown and Alan Gurski give us the inside sc...
It’s a Brother Thing – Team Bunny Whaler & The Race to Alaska: “Making do” with the boat they already had, and living so fully during the journey, we’re inspired by...
Small Boat Adventuring with Teardrop Trailers: For those of us who love the portability, practicality, affordability, and stylishness of little boats, we’d like...
Ingenuity at Work & Play, with Harry Bryan: Harry Bryan takes us off-the-grid again with his ingenuity in both work and play....
Restoring MINK, a 1914 Buzzards Bay 25, Part 1 – An Uncommon Approach: Over the last century, the Herreshoff Buzzards Bay 25 has lived a storied history indeed.  Now, one of the five boats t...
Restoring MINK, a 1914 Buzzards Bay 25, Part 2 – Mink’s Owner and Chief Researcher Weigh In: MINK’s owner and her chief researcher weigh in on the renovation aimed at putting the 1914 Buzzards Bay 25 back ex...
A Father, a Daughter, and a Boat: Cruising in an Iain Oughtred Sooty Tern: A father and daughter take the day for a sail aboard UNA, an Iain Oughtred-designed Sooty Tern. The Sooty Tern is the ki...
The Daughter of a Sailor: In a special guest video, Leney Breeden takes us along her journey of being the “Daughter of a Sailor”....
Soul Sailing: A “soul sailor” (coined today by OCH) is a sailor who sails for the sheer pleasure of sailing. Although they...
Greenland Kayak Rolling with Freya Fennwood: Greenland Kayak Rolling champion Freya Fennwood takes us through a progression of Greenland sea kayak rolls for all type...
Good Story Paddle Boards – Built with Soul, Matthew Nienow’s Lyrical Watercraft: These stand-up paddle boards are built to handle the waves with ship-like confidence and finesse....
TRIXTER – From Alaskan Mail Boat to Family Cruiser: Every once in a while, a charming old work boat like TRIXTER comes along that does exactly what they do best: provide...
The Boltinator: An Ingenious Tool for Extracting Keel Bolts & Bearings: Got keel bolts to pull? Or perhaps you’d like to pull a hole in the time-space continuum? This shop-built tool doe...
Small Boat Gatherings – Simplicity Afloat: Seeking a simpler life afloat? Small boat gatherings will stimulate your dreams and help you find community....
The Goat Island Skiff, a Fast Boat for Sail & Oar Beach Cruising: Quick to build, a thrill to sail; the Goat Island Skiff is just one surprise after another....
A Good Boat, Up Close: A Cruising Powerboat by John Atkin: The snug and beguiling cruising powerboat is virtually nonexistent these days. That’s why we jumped at the chance...
L. Francis Herreshoff – Yacht Designer, A Book By Roger Taylor: L. Francis Herreshoff (LFH) is one of our favorite designers here at OffCenterHarbor.com, and all of us have had direct...
Ron Mueller’s Eco 55 Power Cat – JUST ENUF: Just when we thought we’d seen about everything in the way of a boat, the Eco 55 Power Cat JUST ENUF slides into v...
Early Navigation Instruments, by Jim Sharp at the Sail, Power & Steam Museum: Schoonerman Captain Jim Sharp takes us on a tour of early navigation instruments through the ages he has collected at hi...
Race to Alaska 2016 – Meet Team Bunny Whaler: Team Bunny Whaler: Two young guys in an open Boston Whaler sailboat facing a 750 mile sail to Alaska. They have the skil...
Race to Alaska 2016 – Meet Team Sea Runners: Thomas Nielsen, with his friend Scott Veirs,  raced in last year’s inaugural Race to Alaska, aka R2AK.   They bu...
Race to Alaska 2016 – Meet Team Sistership: Michelle Boroski – Captain, Johanna Gabbard, Janice Mason, Sherry Smith – Team Sistership is the first all f...
Race to Alaska 2016 – Meet Team Liteboat: At 59, Mathieu Bonnier, owner and founder of Liteboat, has traveled from France to go the distance; 750 miles- from Port...
Race To Alaska 2016 – Meet Team Hot Mess Racing: Team Hot Mess: Four guys in their twenties get their hands on a 37 year old Olson 30 and after a spring of racing in the...
Race to Alaska 2016 – Meet Team Pure & Wild: Team Pure & Wild return from last year.  Same team name and sponsor, but different crew and boat.  They are local...
How to Build a Beautiful Skiff, Part 1 – An Idea is Born With Eric Blake: In this first video, Eric introduces the skiff building project for local Brooklin kids that he and Havilah Hawkins are...
Schooner BOWDOIN Gets a New Deck: When OCH visited the schooner BOWDOIN to see the progress of her new deck, a job which called for the precise joining of...
Passing Like a Dream: As the light of another shimmering summer begins to warm the coast of Maine, we wanted to show our appreciation to all t...
The Schooner MARTHA – Making Something Beautiful Happen: Built in San Francisco in 1907-1908, the 68′ B.B. Crowninshield schooner MARTHA remains a graceful and powerful pr...
Kayak Wisdom, Part 2 – How to Load a Kayak: When looking for balance, let John Lockwood of Pygmy boats walk you through important tricks in how to load a kayak. The...
Kayak Wisdom, Part 1 – Choosing a Kayak for Touring or Recreation: We’ve always wondered about the differences and critical design elements of touring and recreational kayaks. Now w...
Wooden Boats of the Bahamas – Abaco Dinghies of Winer Malone: Winter residents of Hope Town are restoring some of the most cherished wooden boats of the Bahamas — Abaco Dinghies of...
Herreshoff Marine Museum, Part 5 – In the Boat Hall: The Extreme: Take a detailed look at the radical elements of Herreshoff’s more extreme designs at the Herreshoff Marine Museum...
The Smallest Boat in the Harbor — Nutshell Pram & Shellback Dinghy: As time moves on we are discovering that, often, it’s the smallest pleasures that generate the sweetest dividends...
Sailing with Bill Mayher on VITAL SPARK, A Concordia 31 Ketch: Bill Mayher takes us for a sail on his Concordia 31 Ketch VITAL SPARK – a perfect balance of New England workboat...
Making a Pilot House Door, Part 1 – Flush Panel Construction: Woodworking techniques abound as Tony Grove puts together a frame and panel constructed pilot house door for a Northwest...
Making a Pilot House Door, Part 2 – Finish & Fit: Woodworking techniques abound as Tony Grove finishes and fits the frame and panel constructed door for a Northwest Fish...
Celebrate Everything: Remembering Peter Chase: Boatbuilder Peter Chase was an friend to all of us at Off Center Harbor. He represented the best of what we admire (or a...
Creating the Pisces – A Daysailer Inspired by the Herreshoff Fish Class: These days classic daysailers are increasingly popular with experienced sailors with an eye for simple elegance and comf...
The Center for Wooden Boats in Seattle — Our Favorite Place in this Great City: The Center for Wooden Boats in Seattle has long set a standard for bringing people to the waterfront and getting them st...
DAVID B – One Boat, Two Hearts: A skilled mechanical tinkerer and a gifted naturalist/cook turn their combined talents to the restoration of an ancient...
1965 Tollycraft Vacationer, A 25′ Retro Cruiser: In the 1950’s, when many Americans were moving out to the suburbs in two-tone Chevy Bel Airs, a few lucky familie...
Herreshoff Marine Museum, Part 4 – In The Boat Hall: Classic Centennials: Surely the most radiant jewels of the Herreshoff Marine Museum are the boats designed by Nathanael Greene Herreshoff in...
Slowing Down, The Schmee of a Successful Man: Slowing down might get you deeper: Harry Bryan reflects on a hand-made life. The word “schmee” is an OCH-is...
The Australian Wooden Boat Festival, Tasmania’s Warm Embrace: The Australian Wooden Boat Festival in “Tassie” is remarkable for its size, the quality of its boats, and th...
Alden Schooner HEART’S DESIRE – Part 2, The Voyage to Newfoundland: After completing the refit of HEART’S DESIRE, Matt and Jess undertake the voyage of sailing their Alden schooner u...
The Closest Thing to Magic, Of Boats and Boathouses: When Harry Bryan designed and built the little sloop KATIE, he had no idea the magic she would keep bringing to him ...
Shaping Sails for Performance, Part 1 – The Control Lines: Brooklin Boat Yard owner Steve White takes us aboard Vortex, the Swede 55 he has sailed to victory over so many decades,...
Shaping Sails for Performance, Part 2 – Underway: Join Brooklin Boat Yard owner Steve White as takes us for a sail aboard his Swede 55 Vortex that he has owned for over t...
Harry Bryan’s THISTLE, A Pedal-Powered Fin Boat: Ever wish you could swim through the water with a fish’s power and quiet gracefulness? Harry Bryan’s THISTLE...
FRANCIS LEE: The Ultimate Sailing Machine, Part 2 – The Boat Tour: Eric’s tour above and below decks shows Bob Perry’s sharpest pencil at work in the design of FRANCIS LEE. &n...
Norwegian Faering at Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival: It’s not easy for a beautiful boat to stand out at a show among 300 other amazing boats, but this Norwegian Faerin...
FRANCIS LEE: The Ultimate Sailing Machine, Part 1 – The Design Spiral: When a veteran sailor and one of America’s great yacht designers get together to discuss the creation of a sailboa...
Harry Bryan’s Marine Railway: Fall Haul-Out: It’s fall and the north wind is making up in earnest. Time for Harry Bryan to haul his 20′ pocket cruiser K...
How to Furl a Sail, Part 2 – Gaff Rig on a Wianno Senior: Long-time sailmaker (and sailor) Robin Lincoln shows how to furl a sail on her Wianno Senior....
HEART’S DESIRE, Part 1 – New Life for an Alden Schooner: With a community’s help on Martha’s Vineyard and the tireless and skillful efforts of a young couple as they...
Herreshoff Marine Museum, Part 3 – In The Boat Hall: The Early Days: To better understand the development of America’s premier yacht designer, join Maynard Bray and Eric Blake as they...
Building Boat Furniture Using Plywood and Cleat Construction: We visit the Grove Woodworking School on Gabriola Island in British Columbia where boatbuilder Tony Grove demystifies th...
How to Furl A Sail, Part 1 – Marconi Rig on a Concordia Yawl: There’s not one right way to put sails away, but there are definitely wrong ways that cause damage or snickers fro...
Sailing LILY – L. Francis Herreshoff’s Design # 43: Seldom has a man been more comfortable on a boat than OCH Founder Maynard Bray aboard his beloved L. Francis Herreshoff...
Following a Course, A Centennial Tour of GRAYLING: GRAYLING was built 100 years ago as an elegant fishing boat.  When she was restored into a family cruising boat in the...
A Visit Aboard FLYING FISH, A Laurent Giles Vertue 25: The Laurent Giles Vertue 25 is a tried and true blue water pocket cruiser – as evidenced by the scores of these cl...
A Sail Aboard An Alerion 26 – KITTIWAKE: Of all of Nathanael Herreshoff’s great designs, perhaps his beloved ALERION proved to be the most seminal, spawnin...
A Visit Aboard Ocean Pearl, Part 1 – Above Deck: Ocean Pearl was a great boat with aging systems and a definite need of refurbishment.  Her owner had the good fortune t...
A Visit Aboard OCEAN PEARL, Part 2 – Below Deck: Matching new wood with old wood and keeping new systems behind closed doors is what keeps a weathered yacht feeling li...
A Boat for Sail & Oar Camp Cruising — Francois Vivier’s Ilur, WAXWING: Waxwings are the loveliest of birds, and this little Vivier Ilur named after them is lovely as well; versatile, build-ab...
How to Build and Use an Outhaul to Anchor a Boat: Here is a system that allows you to disembark from your boat or dinghy when you are unable to land ashore.  It also ...
A Visit Aboard OCEAN PEARL, Part 3 – The Engine (& Systems) Room: At the center of this 62′ ketch is an engine & systems room housing an array of systems only to be dreamed...
A Good Boat, Up Close – The Albury Runabout ABACO: Looking for just the right outboard boat? Look no further the Albury Runabout. ABACO is a prime example of this classic...
Watercraft Collection of Mystic Seaport, Part 5 – Catboats: The Catboat: Versatile treasure of the New England coast. We take a look at some catboats in the Mystic Seaport Museum&#...
GYPSY, A Visit Aboard A Wandering Blokes’ Boat: A four-generation coastal cruiser built right and kept simple. Seems like there’s a lesson here....
The Native Canoe of the Salish Sea: A Modern Plywood Version by Leif Knutsen: Leif Knutsen is a retired shipwright who lives in the Pacific Northwest and appreciates the fine seakeeping qualities of...
Just About Right – A Visit Aboard VITO DUMAS: Every now and then a young man meets his perfect boat and sails off into a lifetime of watery bliss. Hop aboard the Arge...
The Joy of Having a Boat Built: An Outboard Cruiser Takes Shape: Yearning to cruise in style and burn only three gallons per hour? The joy of having an outboard cruiser built that’...
Piners’ Punt, A Boat for Tasmanian Loggers: Piners’ Punts, a Tasmanian boat design, did rugged duty for Huon pine logging crews up Tasmania’s roaring ri...
Handmade with Tasmanian Timbers, The Schmee of Ned Trewartha: Upon arriving in Tasmania, we heard of Ned Trewartha and the wooden boats, art and furniture he builds in “NedR...
An Electrifiying Twist To The Gunning Dory: G.E.M.A. – The Gentleman’s Electric Mess-About: G.E.M.A, otherwise known as the Gentleman’s Electric Mess-About, has an electrifying new twist on the classic Chamberl...
A Three-Generation Dream Boat – The Herreshoff Fish Class Sloop – PERCH: We pass a significant milestone with this video — our 250th video for members of OffCenterHarbor.com. We fantasize abo...
SPARKLE: The Boat to Beat: In 1947, two NASA rocket scientists started playing around with sailboat design. The result was SPARKLE: the boat to bea...
Lie-Nielsen Woodworking Tools, A Glimpse at How They’re Made: Tom Lie-Nielsen is the man behind the kind of woodworking tools that we would like to pass down to our kids and grandk...
Stepping Into the Unknown, Fly Fishing for a New Life in Tasmania: CAUTION: This video may be hazardous to your regular life. It features a couple who sold everything to go fly fishing in...
A Drift Boat for Fly Fishing, Recurve Style: When drifting down the river of life, why not do it in style? And do some fishing along the way? We take a look at DRIFT...
KINTORE – A Bill Garden Inspired Design: KINTORE: A sweet dream boat with Northwest roots and Bill Garden design finally goes home....
HERITAGE – A Maine Cruise Schooner: The HERITAGE is one of the signature cruise schooners that sails the Maine coast. A beautiful vessel built and sailed by...
The PT-11 – A Nesting Sailing Dinghy: A nesting dinghy has one huge advantage. It allows you to replace your rubber ducky with a tender that rows and sails be...
YONDER – Slow Boat, Rich Life: In Japan, it’s called wabi-sabi — to Joe Coomer, it’s the beauty of patina and the leisurely comfort of a...
Cool Sail Rigging Tips #4 – Calibrating Your Eye for Luff Sag: Seeing the correct shape will help you get the most out of your sail....
Cool Sail Rigging Tips #3, Of Rollers, Coils, & Curves: Coiling rope (or even your garden hose!) and other tips....
Cool Sail Rigging Tips #2 – Tail Bury Lengths for Splicing Braided Rope: Synthetic ropes are strong but slippery. Here’s how to be sure you have enough tail bury length when splicing brai...
Cool Sail Rigging Tips #1 – Turnbuckles & Pins: Rigging tips from the pro on how best to handle turnbuckles and those terrible cotter pins....
Outboard Powerboat Handling, Part 4 – Tilt and Trim: When it comes to speed and fuel economy – outboard tilt and trim may give you a boost....
The RowCruiser with Colin Angus: For when an afternoon row is just not enough, and you’d like to explore beyond the waters close at hand… and...
TEAL – A Northwest Fisheries Patrol Vessel’s New Lease on Life: Welcome aboard M/V TEAL, a 78-foot Northwest fisheries patrol vessel built in 1927, and meet her owner, a courageous, ad...
Virtues of a Small Boat, Gunkholing in a Sea Pearl 21: Whether it’s 5,000 miles on the Great Eastern Loop or tucking into a quiet cove for the night – small boats...
Single Handed Sailing MALABAR II with Jim Lobdell: Whether it’s a 42′ Alden Schooner or a Herreshoff 12 1/2 – single handed sailing is all about knowing...
How to Trim Sails with Carol Hasse, Part 3 – Mainsail Trim: In the end sailing is about safety, comfort and speed – and proper mainsail trim helps with all three. Legendary s...
Outboard Powerboat Handling, Part 3 – Mooring & Beaching: Off the mooring and onto the beach with a few beaching tips for keeping cool along the way (the engine that is)....
How to Trim Sails with Carol Hasse, Part 2 – The Headsail: Legendary sailmaker Carol Hasse shows us how to tell your jib from your genoa and how to manage headsail trim for better...
How to Trim Sails with Carol Hasse, Part 1 – Parts & Points of Sail: Knowing the parts and points of sail is important in deepening the understanding of sailing and how to trim sails. In th...
Herreshoff Marine Museum, Part 2 – NGH’s Workshop with Halsey Herreshoff: Halsey Herreshoff shows us  the tools and workshop where The Herreshoff legend was made. THE MUSEUM: Herreshoff Marine...
Outboard Powerboat Handling, Part 2 – Approaching Another Boat: Coming alongside another vessel with complete control makes boat handling a pleasure....
Refloating the CHARLES W. MORGAN – Maynard Bray Remembers: The story of how the whale ship Charles W. Morgan was refloated at Mystic Seaport is told by Maynard Bray, the man who r...
Outboard Powerboat Handling, Part 1 – How to Dock A Boat: Learn how to dock a boat from a veteran. Avoid the mishaps and dock in style with this safe and reliable docking method....
Herreshoff Marine Museum, Part 1 – The Model Room with Halsey Herreshoff: When we launched OffCenterHarbor.com, we hoped to give our members access to special boats and places that is not availa...
Soul Surfing – A Champion Kayaker Comes Home: OCH staffer Dustin Urban shows us a hint of why he is a world champion freestyle kayaker. NOTE FROM THE FILMMAKER: Dusti...
A Different Kind of Lobster Yacht with Tom Townsend: Tom Townsend takes practical work boats and brings them back to life with no-fuss painted finishes for an ease of care l...
A Good Boat, Up Close – The Chesapeake Crab Skiff: A beautiful spot deserves an equally beautiful boat — a Chesapeake Crab Skiff designed by Off Center Guide Doug Hyla...
How to Make a Boat Mooring System – with Wayne Hamilton: Wayne Hamilton has spent his working life keeping boats secure against the elements in Searsport, Maine’s open har...
A Good Boat, Up Close – The Spidsgatter PAX: OCH Guide Kaci Cronkhite is a legend in the Northwest wooden boat scene.  A circumnavigator and long time director...
Bringing Boats to Life — The Epic Launch of ADVENTURESS at Rockport Marine: Surely one of the greatest yacht restorations in recent history was the rebuild of the Fife schooner ADVENTURESS by Rock...
Boat Wiring, Part 6 – The Two Battery System: After enlightening us all on every aspect of a simple marine electrical system, Don Eley brings it all together by layin...
How to Dock a Boat – Single Screw Inboard: Docking a sizable, single screw powerboat can be quite an adventure. This introduction to basic powerboat handling demo...
Boat Wiring, Part 5 – Overcurrent Protection: Fire in a wire.  This graphic presentation shows what can happen when too much juice flows through too small a wire and...
A Tale of Two Adventuresses – A Puget Sound Experience: Many starry-eyed youth have stepped aboard the schooner ADVENTURESS dreaming of rainbows, dolphins and a romantic life a...
Panga-Inspired Bass-Boat, Sam Devlin’s PELICANO: When we think about applying stitch-and-glue boatbuilding techniques, more often than not, we have small stuff in mind-...
Destination Unknown, The Tahiti Ketch ‘EVELYN’: Tahiti Ketch: Two words summon up a dream that has led so many seaward. Join Astra and Lou as they lay over in Brooklin...
John Lockwood – The Building Of Pygmy Boats: John Lockwood’s life story, on the way to the founding of his company, Pygmy Boats, is as compelling as the kayaks...
Yoga for Sailors, Part 2 – Standing Postures for Strength & Balance: On a boat, balance is very important.  In this session Sally gives us techniques to multiply our balance points four fo...
A Visit Aboard Wooden Motor Trawler RAVEN: An experienced Northwest shipwright and cruiser takes us aboard his own wooden motor trawler, RAVEN, in which there seem...
Outfitting a Small Cruiser for Voyaging, Part 3 – Below Deck: SOCKDOLAGER is just as interesting below decks as she is above.  Everybody can learn something about blue water outfitt...
Yoga for Sailors, Part 1 — Opening the Hips, Legs & Spine: Most of us of a certain age know that being aboard a boat for hours on end can introduce a raft of aches and pains.  Sa...
Selecting Wood for Boat Building – A Few Basics: Here’s the introductory course on wood for boat building with Ted Pike.  Plan your needs, get your wood early, fo...
Outfitting a Small Cruiser for Voyaging, Part 2 – Above Deck: Even if you might not be planning to sail to Bora Bora, you’ll find these outfitting tips useful....
Workboat Beginnings, Part 2 – The Flatiron Skiff: A flatiron skiff is simple to build, easy to maintain, and puts you onto the beach with dry feet....
Outfitting a Small Cruiser for Voyaging, Part 1 – The Cockpit: Outfitting a small cruiser for voyaging for serious offshore work can be quite a challenge, especially when the boat in...
SAGA — A Pacific Seacraft 25’s Transformation: Buy the boat you can afford and make it into the boat you want.  This is the saga of SAGA, a Pacific Seacraft 25′...
A Trailerable Motorsailer – Sam Devlin’s Boat LIT’L COOT: Practical, affordable and seaworthy, this latest Sam Devlin trailerable motorsailer, designed for the home builder, is a...
Aboard a Classic Alden Motorsailer – TRADE WIND: The 1938 Alden Motorsailer TRADE WIND, rebuilt by Rockport Marine in 2011, is a stunning example of the shipwright’...
Workboat Beginnings, Part 3 – Whitehall Boats: Whitehall boats evolved along lower Manhattan’s rough-and-tumble waterfront in the 19th Century.  When a ship mad...
Ladybug Wheelbarrow Boat: Seeing Harry Bryan’s wheelbarrow boat in action across a couple of hundred yards of rock ledge and clam flats on t...
The Schooner MARY DAY, An Evolutionary Rememberance: The 90′ Schooner Mary Day was built in 1962 specifically to carry passengers along the Maine Coast.  We tell her...
Self Rescue from an Open Sailboat Capsize: Through the use of tie-downs and flotation, small sailboat guru Ben Fuller demonstrates how to prepare for the possibili...
Workboat Beginnings, Part 1 – Swampscott Dory & Dory Skiff: From the Grand Banks to the yacht club dinghy float, lapstrake dory skiffs like the Swampscott Dory have been a New Engl...
LARK, a Spirit of Tradition Sailboat from Brooklin Boat Yard: LARK, a spirit of tradition sailboat from Brooklin Boat Yard turns heads both on the mooring and on the race course: It&...
Virtues of a Flat Bottom Skiff: Captain Havilah Hawkins makes his case for a flat bottom skiff.  Simple, versatile, cheap to build, easy to maintain, a...
Watercraft Collection of Mystic Seaport, Part 4 – Room Full O’ Details: Wooden boat detectives Maynard Bray and Eric Blake take us deep into Mystic Seaport’s back shed to explore small b...
Shooting CHARLENA: Ben Mendlowitz has been taking photographs for the Calendar of Wooden Boats for over 30 years and his work has become a...
Sleepless in Port Townsend, Wooden Boat Festival: Coming home to the comforts of good friends and familiar waters has a feeling that’s good for the soul. No doubt,...
Boat Wiring, Part 4 – Making Good Connections: Don Eley shows us which connectors to use and how to crimp and connect them in this boat wiring video. Watch Boat Wirin...
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The Schmee of Havilah Hawkins: Havilah “Haddie” Hawkins, a fourth generation schoonerman, is one of the real originals.  Combine this with...
Rock & Dock System: See the slick and simple technique Ben Mendlowitz put together to keep his dinghy from chafing on his dock....
Sails for Blue Water Cruising with Carol Hasse of Port Townsend Sails: Carol Hasse of Port Townsend Sails has been building “Cape Horn ready” sails for many years.  Whether you d...
It’s All in the Details – Aboard SEAGOIN: SEAGOIN, a snug cruiser from the Thirties caught Eric Blake’s eye last fall at the Port Townsend Wooden Boat show....
Boat Wiring, Part 3 – Wire & Electricity: Don presents a clear way to determine the proper type and gauge of wire to use on your next boat wiring job as well as t...
Anchoring a Boat, Part 3 — Creative Solutions with a Traditional Anchor: Getting a large yachtsman anchor aboard a classic sailing yacht without damaging the topsides, toe rail or deck can be a...
Virtues of a Yawl Rig: We wanted Queene Foster to help us understand the advantages of a yawl rig and traditional yawls because of her long exp...
Just Be, In a Boat: On a remote lake, deep in the famed North Woods of Thoreau country, a family discovers a space and time that’s all...
Pocock Classic Racing Shells: What do you get when you cross a violin maker with a boatbuilder? We imagine it might look something akin to what happen...
Watercraft Collection of Mystic Seaport, Part 2 – A Great South Bay Catboat & Piscataqua River Wherry: Maynard and Eric go back into the building that houses the Small Craft Collection at Mystic Seaport Museum to view a cou...
Watercraft Collection of Mystic Seaport, Part 1- The Broom Closet: Mystic Seaport has one of the world’s largest collections of historic watercraft. There’s a special place th...
Boat Wiring, Part 2 – Marine Battery Cables: Marine electrical systems can be scary, mysterious stuff. In this video series, we asked Professor Don Eley to show us w...
Boat Wiring, Part 1 – How Lead Acid Batteries Work – Wet Cell, Gel Cell, Absorbed Glass Mat: Electrical systems on boats can be scary, mysterious stuff. It’s little wonder that batteries come in black boxes....
It’s All in the Details – Impeccable Bronze Hardware: In Port Townsend at the Wooden Boat Festival , we stumbled upon a beautiful boat built by Paul Siefried, who has a passi...
A Good Boat, Up Close — The Nordic Folkboat LORRAINE: This video about Carol Hasse and her nordic Folkboat Lorraine is what we are aiming for at OffCenterHarbor.com.  Combin...
Aboard a Legendary Boat, Herreshoff NY-30 ALERA: Because her restoration is so historically precise, when you step aboard the New York Thirty Class ALERA in our video, y...
The Eggemoggin Reach Regatta Aboard VORTEX, with Steve White: It’s not often that you have over 100 world class wooden boats lined up on a starting line, a picture perfect summ...
Healthy Boat Snacks, Part 3 – Spicy Sweet Almond Butter: Charlotte gives us a fast and easy way to make a versatile dip that insures that the veggies get eaten on board and don&...
Outfitting for Cold Weather Camp Cruising with Tom Jackson: Tips and techniques by Tom Jackson for the shoulder-season camp cruiser will make the rest of the family want to go out...
Healthy Boat Snacks, Part 2 – Everybody’s Favorite Tahini Dip: Turn Veggies from a healthy snack into a healthy treat with Charlotte’s tried and true favorite dip. Nutritionist...
How to Wire a Bilge Pump – Marine Electrical Systems: Figuring out how to wire a bilge pump to your battery doesn’t have to be a chore to put off any longer. Follow Don...
What’s in Your Ditty Bag? With Geoff Kerr: Geoff Kerr is a seasoned vet at sailing the archipelago of Maine. We have noticed that whether he’s the captain of...
Outfitting a Small Sailboat with Geoff Kerr: Geoff shows us stem to stern how he outfits NED LUDD for a season of beach cruising and island hopping....
No Pressure Water System with Havilah Hawkins: “Trailing edge technology” tackles the problem of a cruising boat’s fresh water system with breathtaki...
Aboard the Legendary Commuter Yacht APHRODITE: Like the Goddess of Love, Beauty and Pleasure she was named for, the iconic 74′ commuter yacht APHRODITE, built in...
Building a Stitch and Glue Boat, Part 1 – Introduction: The FOX Double Paddle Canoe, a stitch and glue boat designed and built by Bill Thomas, has a long and distinguished pedi...
Sliding Seat Rowing In A Wherry: Achieving the power and speed possible with sliding seat rowing need not be limited to needle-like shells that are half-...
Brilliant Designs, Small Powerboats: Handy Billy, Jericho Bay Lobster Skiff & More: We all know about high-speed production power boats these days. They are everywhere – a cookie-cutter navy of slam-ban...
Boat Handling for Beach Cruising – Anchoring, Beaching, Rigging an Outhaul & Boat Knots: Geoff Kerr is a genuine beach cruising guru. Aboard his Caledonia Yawl NED LUDD, we learn what is involved in anchoring,...
Thoughts On Acquiring A Boat, with Iain Oughtred: Boat designers think all day every day about matching the right boat with the right person. As we had this video topic o...
The Boathouse At Mystic Seaport: There’s a boathouse you should know about if you’re thinking about building or buying a classic boat… The Boathous...
Temple Tiny Regatta: Regattas need not be large and formal functions involving hardcore racing, signal flags, and grown men screaming for roo...
Sculling: At last, a close-up look at an old-time technique that can prove useful under many circumstances. Maynard Bray talks us...
Rowing: Rowing can be a real art form. Maynard Bray takes us for a row and describes techniques that can help you become more gr...
Healthy Boat Snacks, Part 1 – The Three-Day Cabbage Slaw: Potato chips and soda are so 1980’s. We wanted snacks that were healthy and last long enough to take on an overnight c...
Brilliant Small Sailboat Designs – Herreshoff 12.5, Beetle Cat, Buzzards Bay 15 & More: Whether or not you’re in the market for a small sailboat, you’ll love the chance to scan the classic small sailboat...
Basic Sailing In The Nutshell Pram: The first of our how-to-sail videos, this one presents the basics via a Nutshell Pram put through her paces on a dock be...
Anchoring a Boat, Part 2 — Reliability & Versatility of a Danforth vs. a Yachtsman Anchor: When anchoring a boat, you want an anchor that will not only be reliable in good conditions, but one that will be versat...
A Good Boat, Up Close – The Caledonia Yawl: Geoff Kerr takes us for a spin aboard his 19’ Caledonia Yawl NED LUDD. These boats are easy to build, unusually light...
Aboard a Legendary Boat, Malabar II: Of all John Alden’s legendary Malabar designs, MALABAR II is our favorite. We caught up with her owners and took a sai...
How to Anchor a Boat, Part 1: Anchoring a Small Powerboat with a Yachtsman: This video answers two questions facing a small boat owner: what kind of an anchor do I need and how should I use it, us...
Balance 101 on Boats – Free Your Feet: Your balance is key to walking and climbing around on unstable docks, dinghies, and boats in motion. Master yoga instruc...
A Boatbuilder’s Schmee – Wayne Roberts: Co-Founder Steve Stone traveled to New Zealand and helped Wayne Roberts build a boat. The experience was so delightful a...

 

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The Off Center Crew
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Ladybug Wheelbarrow Boat: Click Here To Go Back To The Something Different Chart. The Ladybug Wheelbarrow Boat is an amphibious wonder that gets y...
The Off Center Crew
Sportyak 213 Dinghy: Click Here To Go Back To The Something Different Chart. The Sportyak is car-toppable, cabin-toppable, drag-up-the-beacha...
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Puffin Dinghy 10: Click Here To Go Back To The Fiberglass ChartThe Puffin Dinghy 10 is an economical fiberglass tender with looks that ten...
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Good Little Skiff: Click Here To Go Back To The Traditional Chart. Like most boats by Pete Culler, the Good Little Skiff is hefty, yet eleg...
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Walker Bay 10 – Performance Sail Kit: Click Here To Go Back To The Fiberglass ChartFor those who want economy, utility, lightweight and ease of maintenance, i...
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Dyer Dhow Dinghy: Click Here To Go Back To The Fiberglass ChartWhen it comes to fiberglass dinghies, the Dyer Dhow dinghy long ago set the...
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Dulcibella Tender: Click Here To Go Back To The Traditional Chart. The Dulciabella Tender is a handsome traditional pram for rowing. The la...
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Traditional Peapod Tender: Click Here To Go Back To The Traditional Chart. The Traditional Peapod is beautiful to look at from any angle. The desig...
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Catspaw Dinghy: Click Here To Go Back To The Traditional Chart. The Catspaw Dinghy has sophisticated construction and is based on a Herr...
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Bevin’s Skiff: Click Here To Go Back To The Plywood Chart. More kids have built the Bevin’s Skiff than any other boat in the past...
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Yankee Tender: Specifications  Designer  WoodenBoat  Length and Beam  12’4″ and 4’4″  ...
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Sherpa Dinghy: Click Here To Go Back To The Plywood Chart. The Sherpa dinghy’s designer, John Welsford, is small boat specialist,...
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Nutshell Pram: Click Here To Go Back To The Plywood Chart. One of our very favorites, the Nutshell Pram is hard to beat and comes in tw...
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CELESTE’s Arctic Voyage: Traversing the Bering Sea, Sailing to the Top of America and the Rough Autumn Passages in the Alaskan Arctic: For eight months, our cold-molded wooden cutter CELESTE remained sheltered from Bering Sea storms in the small boat...
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“Anchoring When Solo – The Head-to-Wind Drop Under Sail or Power”: This is an article from Good Old Boat (a magazine we like a lot), written by OCH Guide Karen Sullivan. Good Old Boat and...
Steve Stone
The Secret to Happiness, Part 2: At Off Center Harbor, we like encourage the ideas of slowing down, getting out into nature in simple boats, and making t...
Bill Mayher
The Buzzards Bay 25: An Evolution, of Sorts: Written by Bill Mayher with photographs by Benjamin Mendlowitz My on-again, off-again romance with the Buzzards Bay 25 c...
Steve Stone
Do You Have OCHD? (The Secret to Happiness, Part 1): Hi. My name is Steve, and I’m an addict… After 41 years of explaining away my behavior as a “love of sailing,...
Karen Sullivan
Turning the Page – Karen and Jim’s Excellent Adventure: OCH Guide Karen Sullivan and her husband Jim Heumann have made incredible voyages aboard their Pacific Seacraft Dana 24,...
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The storm trysail: A faithful and forgiving foul-weather friend, by Ed Zacko: This is an article from Good Old Boat (a magazine we like a lot), written by Ed Zacko. Good Old Boat and Ed have graciou...
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A Voyage Through Tasmania’s Southwest Wilderness – Part I, by Bruce Stannard: In the first of a two-part series, Australian author Bruce Stannard joins maritime historian Garry Kerr and bushman Ron...
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A Voyage Through Tasmania’s Southwest Wilderness – Part II, by Bruce Stannard: Bruce Stannard concludes his voyage to Tasmania’s Southwest Wilderness with an account of his journey up the magnifice...
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Simplify Sail Changes — When Solo, Planning is the Key to Smooth Sailing by Karen Sullivan: This is an article from “Good Old Boat”, a magazine we like a lot, and it’s written by OCH Guide Karen...
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“Sailing Una” – By Leney Breeden: Through her words and beautiful photographs, Leney Breeden brings us along a camp-cruising adventure aboard UNA, a Sooty...
Bill Mayher
Good Reads: “Finding Pax” by Kaci Cronkhite: The thing about wooden boats is that in order to survive, people have to love them; and for people to love them, they ha...
Havilah Hawkins
Why This Skiff?: Note: The new skiff that we’re building in Brooklin this summer with local kids was designed by Havilah Hawkins. I...
Maynard Bray
Key Events in the Long Life of the Schooner MARTHA: The following key events came from Doug Cole’s comprehensive article published in WoodenBoat #184 which have been upd...
Nat Benjamin
“Passage to Haiti” – Part 2, The Village of Île-à-Vache: In Part 2, Nat arrives in Haiti where he delivers a boatload of supplies to a local orphanage and shows us the Haitian...
Nat Benjamin
“Passage to Haiti” – Part 1, The Voyage, by Nat Benjamin: This is about sailing and giving, both of which OCH Guide, Nat Benjamin, excels at. In CHARLOTTE, a wooden schooner that...
Steve Stone
Kayak with a Water-Bed-Hammock in the Cuddle Corner: Seriously, this is what the FOX is like in real life…...
The Off Center Crew
Houseboat Design Contest – The Grand Prize Winners: Three Grand Prize Winners We are pleased to announce the award winners of the world’s first Houseboat Design Conte...
The Off Center Crew
Houseboat Design Contest – Honorable Mentions: We are pleased to announce the Houseboat Design Contest’s Honorable Mention Designs: Honorable Mentions Best Paint...
The Off Center Crew
Houseboat Design Contest — Off Center Awards: We are pleased to announce the “Off Center” Awards for the world’s very first Houseboat Design Contest...
The Off Center Crew
Houseboat Design Contest — Other Good Ideas: We are pleased to announce the results to our houseboat design contest. Our thanks to everyone who entered and have revi...
Steve Stone
Charter VELA in Maine This Summer: We just learned of a sailing opportunity that’s so rare and unique, we wanted to pass it along to OCH members̷...
The Off Center Crew
Houseboat Design Contest – Semi-Finalists: Below are the semi-finalists from our houseboat design contest, which has concluded with the grand prize winners, “...
Eric Blake
My Houseboat Dream, by Eric Blake: Here's the "Why?" behind my own houseboat design...
Bill Mayher
A Sneak Peek Into the World’s First Houseboat Design Contest: Enjoy a sneak peek at a few of the entries of the design contest...
Dick Wagner
An OCH-Style Community Boathouse by Dick Wagner: Dick Wagner shares the story of The CWB's first community boathouse...
Bill Mayher
Peter Chase: Boatbuilder and Friend: Bill Mayher shares a few of his own memories of Peter Chase in this written portrait...
Steve Stone
The ‘How, Why & Where’ of the Stone Houseboat: I have been thinking on how to creat a simple life afloat...
The Off Center Crew
The Houseboat Design Contest: The Houseboat Design Contest has arrived!...
Steve Stone
Dreaming of a Houseboat and a Simple Life: I’ve been dreaming of a houseboat, and all this dreaming is keeping me awake at night. I must have sketched this d...
Steve Stone
Ask Her to Dance – The Music & Soul of Off Center Harbor: We get so many compliments about the music on OCH videos, I thought I’d take you behind-the-scenes and share a son...
Doug Hylan
Chesapeake Crabbing Skiff, by Doug Hylan: Some years ago, I was asked to draw a small version of the traditional skiff once commonly used by Chesapeake Bay crab f...
Maynard Bray
1,200 Miles in Eight Days – Seeing the Intracoastal Waterway by Outboard: Following is the article I wrote for the magazine Motorboating & Sailing back in 1996 after Ben Mendlowitz and I bro...
Maynard Bray
Twenty-two-foot Cruising Catboat, Beautifully Depicted: Hand drafting, made obsolete by CAD programs and computers, was once an art form, and yacht designer Fred Goeller’...
Ellen Leonard
Passage to the Aleutians; a Voyage Along the Alaskan Coast: Last year I wrote an Off Center Guide Post about my inspiration and goals to sail to the Arctic and, ice permitting, pot...
Steve Stone
Insider’s Guide to the 2015 WoodenBoat Show, by OffCenterHarbor.com: THE INSIDER’S GUIDE, by OffCenterHarbor.com For Members and Friends of OffCenterHarbor.com Feel free to pass a lin...
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SHELDRAKE, A Charming Little Keel Sloop Designed by OCH Guide Nat Benjamin: This first message just came in from SHELDRAKES’s owner and our friend Steve Corkery—a guy with loads of experie...
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The Concordia Yawl Story; Another View by Llewellyn Howland III: The following is from a taped interview of Llewellyn Howland done by John Eide in March, 2015, for spring issue of The...
Maynard Bray
NO ORDINARY BEING: Lewellyn Howland talks about his biography of W. Starling Burgess: The Burgess name goes back many years when it comes to designing notable yachts, but we’re more familiar with W. Starl...
Maynard Bray
Fine Boat Designs – The Herreshoff Fish Class: I‘m sure that N.G Herreshoff (NGH) realized he’d created something pretty special when he finished carving t...
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Restoring SPARKLE: NOTE: Originally published as an article in Classic Boat magazine in March 2011, we’re happy to share the writing...
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Tasmania & the Australian Wooden Boat Festival: The secret is out on Tasmania — this small, remote island-state of Australia just earned the #4 spot on Lonely Planet&...
Steve Stone
Educating Stella — A Father’s Wish for His Daughter: Wild islands along the Maine coast provide an almost endless trail of playgrounds for camp-cruising in small boats with...
Maynard Bray
An Excerpt from ‘The Dinghy Cruising Companion,’ by Roger Barnes: Here is a gem of a book that OCH Guide Iain Oughtred brought to our attention. It’s a must for anyone who sails a...
Dick Wagner
Three Tricks of the Trade — Some Sage Advice by OCH Guide Dick Wagner: Here are some hard-won tips that may come in handy: Linseed Oil. When I acquired my first sailboat half a century ago, I...
LinAndLarry Pardey
Our Favorite Sailing Rig: The Cutter, by Lin and Larry Pardey: For any sailing boat under 45 feet, nothing beats a properly-designed cutter rig, especially if you sail shorthanded. By...
Kaci Cronkhite
Wooden Boats from Tasmania, Part 3: Day Tripping North, then West: Now that it’s clear how heroic the mariners with wooden boats can be in modern Tasmania, and how wild the weather can...
Kaci Cronkhite
Wooden Boats from Tasmania, Part 2: Rescuing the 8-Meter Sailboat VARG: Mother Nature. Of course she’d take charge of my best laid plan for these OCH posts. As boaters, I know you’ll under...
Havilah Hawkins
My Favorite Rig and Why—The Gaff Rigged Schooner, by Havilah Hawkins: Okay, I’ll admit up front that I am a bit biased. In spite of now owning the 50’ sloop VELA, I can’t help myself....
Kaci Cronkhite
Wooden Boats from Tasmania, Part 1: G‘day, mate. On the opposite side of the Pacific from Port Townsend and at the opposite side of the globe from Mai...
Maynard Bray
Herreshoff Classic Regatta of 2014—A Report from Bryan Burdick: Even though I wasn’t in Bristol this year to watch the Herreshoff Classic Regatta firsthand, hearing about the ev...
Ginny Jones
Lodestar Books; Don’t Miss Checking It Out!: The definition of lodestar is someone or something that guides, such as a star; Polaris (the north star or pole star) is...
Ginny Jones
Ginny Jones Reviews THE WHALEBOAT’s Latest Edition: Hot on the heels of the visit by the Whaleship CHARLES W MORGAN to Vineyard waters comes the publication of this fine bo...
Ginny Jones
173-Year-Old Whaleship Charles W. Morgan Comes to Vineyard Haven: Any time one of Mystic Seaport Museum’s major vessels is moved there is considerable angst in the administration and t...
Doug Hylan
SELKIE—My Personal Dreamboat: A 23′ Keel-centerboard Sloop:     I should say at the outset that I am a lazy sailor. Although I have the greatest admiration for the sight...
Ellen Leonard
Why Attempt the Northwest Passage? One Woman’s Inspiration and Goals: I’ve been fascinated with the ocean ever since I was a toddler playing in tide pools in British Columbia.  Really I w...
Karen Sullivan
All At Sea: Here’s a brief excerpt from Karen Sullivan’s book in progress, chronicling the transpacific voyage she and J...
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Dire Strait — An Excerpt from As Long As It’s Fun, by Herb McCormick: A noteworthy book has been released recently — As Long As It’s Fun — the new biography chronicling the lives a...
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A DAY’S WORK, Part II—an excerpt: Some Small Boats: Hosted by OCH co-founder Maynard Bray Bill Bunting’s two books (Parts I and II) entitled A Day’s Work have intrigu...
Havilah Hawkins
CREEK CRAWLER, A Simple Trailerable Houseboat by Havilah Hawkins: Early in the life of OffCenterHarbor we OCH Guides were asked to come up with three boats we lust after.  One of the on...
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A DAY’S WORK, Part II—an excerpt: River Scows: Hosted by OCH co-founder Maynard Bray Bill Bunting’s two books (Parts I and II) entitled A Day’s Work have intrigu...
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A Composting Head for the Tahiti Ketch EVELYN; A Guest Post by Astra Haldeman: We have used a composting head aboard our 33 foot Tahiti Ketch for about two and a half years—it was one of the fir...
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A DAY’S WORK, Part II—an excerpt: Kilnwood Schooners HEATHER BELLE and C.M. GRAY: Hosted by OCH co-founder Maynard Bray Bill Bunting’s two books (Parts I and II) entitled A Day’s Work have intrigu...
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A DAY’S WORK, Part II—an excerpt: Hosted by OCH co-founder Maynard Bray Bill Bunting’s two books (Parts I and II) entitled A Day’s Work have intrigued...
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Rescuing the 83-foot Motor Yacht KALMIA, Part IV (Conclusion); An Excerpt by Anne (Pete) Baker: Hosted by Maynard Bray, Co-Founder of OCH Part III of this story ended with KALMIA and the Bakers heading home after win...
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Rescuing the 83-foot Motor Yacht KALMIA, Part III; An Excerpt by Anne (Pete) Baker: Hosted by Maynard Bray, Co-Founder of OCH Again, the sunrise brought a perfect day for the beginning of a new adventure....
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Rescuing the 83-foot Motor Yacht KALMIA, Part II; An Excerpt by Anne (Pete) Baker: Hosted by Maynard Bray, Co-Founder of OCH Part I of this story ended with KALMIA sinking while her new owners were away...
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Rescuing the 83-foot Motor Yacht KALMIA; An Excerpt by Anne (Pete) Baker: Introduction by Maynard Bray, Co-Founder of OCH If you love small boats, surely you’ve heard about the late Robert...
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The Long Affair: David Bradley and his Herreshoff S-Boat MISCHIEF. A Guest Blog by Ben Bradley: Introduction by Bill Mayher, Co-Founder of OCH Dave Bradley was a hero to a lot of us here in Brooklin.  A great sailor...
Maynard Bray
The Dragger ST. GEORGE: This begins a series showcasing photos from the Penobscot Marine Museum (PMM) that I feel OCH members will enjoy. A larg...
Ellen Leonard
Inadvertently Green, The Budget Cruising Dividend: This article originally appeared in the October 2011 issue of Ocean Navigator magazine.  With its focus on minimalist...
Ellen Leonard
A Busy Day at the Victoria Classic Boat Festival: This August I passed through Victoria, British Columbia just as the Victoria Classic Boat Festival began.  How much fun...
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Small Boat, Large Experience – by Karen Larson: (Originally published in Good Old Boat Magazine). Small Boat, Large Experience A tall-ship captain sails a petite Dana 2...
Ellen Leonard
Rare Birds: Classic Boats Offshore; A Guest Blog by Ellen Massey Leonard: (Note from OCH: In a conversation about this blog, we asked Ellen a bit about her ‘schmee’ and the following...
Geoff Kerr
Iceland and Lofoten; A Trip of a Lifetime. A Blog by Geoff Kerr of Two Daughters Boatworks: I realize OCH is a boating themed site, but bear with me…there are boats to come. Suffice it to say that last March...
Guest Author
Catspaw Dinghy, A Guest Blog by Ben Emory: Sailors sometimes say that the enjoyment a boat gives her owner varies inversely with her size – the smaller the craft...
Ellen Leonard
Messing About—A Guest Blog by Ellen Massey Leonard: In working on my book about my recent voyage around the world, many drafts have transformed the story from a simple trav...
Maynard Bray
My Favorite OCH Videos, by Maynard Bray: Initial Thoughts and Hopes There’s so much great boating stuff taking place these days that sharing it has more than j...
Erik Sayce
My Favorite OCH Videos, by Erik Sayce: One hundred videos and counting! As one who has recently and happily come onboard to assist in the editing and content d...
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Diagnosis: Hemofungiosis; a Guest Blog by Gibby Conrad: Why is it that so many people like old things? For those with an interest in history, they are tactile links to the past...
Kevin Ross
My Favorite OCH Videos (and Why), by Video Editor Kevin Ross: When I first came on board here at OffCenterHarbor we were working hard to get enough videos completed to launch the sit...
Ben Mendlowitz
My Favorite OCH Videos (and Why), by Co-Founder Ben Mendlowitz: When I was first approached to join this project I had visions of helping create content that would be a quantum leap fr...
Eric Blake
My Favorite OCH Videos (and Why), by Co-Founder Eric Blake: NOTE: As we count down to the release of OCH’s 100th video, the Off Center Crew is passing along our own sentiment...
Bill Mayher
My Favorite OCH Videos, by Bill Mayher: As we reach toward putting our 100th video on the OCH site, it’s been interesting and fun to review what we have d...
Harry Bryan
Why I am a Boatbuilder (and Not a Doctor), by Harry Bryan: The purpose of this short autobiographical essay, that I wrote for a local high school job fair, is to offer encouragem...
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Women Boatbuilders in Oregon, Tasmania, and Scotland — a Guest Blog by Anne Bray: Women have taken to building and rowing St. Ayles Skiffs. The most recent skiff launched by women builders is the pink-p...
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Georgia’s Golden Isles, a Guest Blog by Anne Bryant:     We’ve just spent a restful time sitting in one place for over a month. Historic Brunswick, Georgia,...
Maynard Bray
Urban Outlaw and Porsche Passion: Classic boats have been my passion for as long as I can remember. Sketching boats instead of listening to teachers kept...
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Three Cruiser Friendly Towns in a Row; Aboard MIMI ROSE with Anne Bryant: North Carolina, for us, was all about locating and enjoying its ICW stops that boast free docks and sometimes even cruis...
Gubby Williams
A Sail Around the NE Atlantic, by Gubby Williams: Join OCH Guide Gubby Williams for a voyage in the Northeast Atlantic… The Boat: Boomerang is a Laurent Giles desig...
Steve Stone
Willie Nelson, Walt Wilkins, and OCH: I saw a great video recently on the web that I thought OCH members would truly enjoy, although it doesn’t have a s...
Eric Blake
Walkabout Costa Rica and Bangor, Maine: Christmas this year was a little different at my house. For the first time ever my family and I got away from it all. We...
Kaci Cronkhite
Three Tricks of the Trade That I Think Others Should Know About, by Kaci Cronkhite: Managing a large event is a lot like sailing across an ocean. Both require the balancing of big bodacious dreams, piles...
Guest Author
They Don’t Make Postcards for This—Aboard MIMI ROSE with Guest Blogger Anne Bryant: You can hear Norfolk, Virginia, on the VHF long before you get there. Even a day out, you hear plenty of regular announc...
Ben Fuller
Buckets, Bailers, and Stretchers: Buckets, bailers, stretchers: The humble stuff that generally hides beneath the boating radar until needed; then you rea...
Maynard Bray
Motor Yacht ATLANTIDE Arrives in Belfast; A Quick Look:   Last week, fellow OffCenterHarbor founder Bill Mayher and I stopped by Belfast’s Front Street Shipyard, hav...
Guest Author
Cruising South Aboard MIMI ROSE; A Guest Blog by Anne Bryant:   Introduction from OCH headquarters: OffCenterHarbor climbs aboard the 32′ cutter MIMI ROSE with Anne Bryant...
Ellen Leonard
Learning from Experience: Seasickness – My Biggest Disaster and What It Taught Me: Everyone has a different theory about seasickness, but they all agree it’s a disaster. Slight nausea can be overcome w...
Bill Mayher
Giffy and Carol: A Hurricane Story from 1954: On the day Hurricane Sandy is to make landfall on the New Jersey shore, I was up at the general store in Brooklin early...
Steve Stone
Westward Ho! Port Townsend and Beyond: On September 5th, Eric and I boarded a plane to Seattle, Washington to attend the Wooden Boat Festival and shoot a few &...
Maynard Bray
Some Great Old Sailing Photos: 18-Footers Sailing in Sydney, Australia: I love looking at old photos of boats, and for you OCH members who share this passion be sure and check out the great ph...
Geoff Kerr
An Exotic Vacation, Only a Day’s Drive Away—or, Call Me Ishmael: One of the two daughters and I took a few days off during the last week in August. She fleeing the last gasps of the DC...
Peter Neill
Whatever Floats: I was on vacation, suspended in the supportive water of the ocean, and thinking of what it means to float—or to displa...
Eric Blake
Walkabout in Port Townsend, Washington: I had the good fortune this spring to travel to another incredible mecca for wooden boats, Port Townsend, Washington. I...
LinAndLarry Pardey
The Three Boats I Lust After (and Why) – The Herreshoff Buzzards Bay 25, Herreshoff 12.5 & Whio: I’ve had the good fortune to sail on dozens of different boats over the years ranging from 140 foot schooners to light...
Maynard Bray
A Simple Electrical System for the Herreshoff S-class Sloop Mischief: From earlier posts, you may already know that MISCHIEF is one of the Herreshoff S-class sloops and that she was recently...
Ginny Jones
Bob Douglas: Capt. Bob Douglas is an extraordinary man. Not only does he love [old] wooden boats (anything old in fact), he also love...
Bill Mayher
BLUENOSE II and Dauphinee: Maynard’s and Bill’s Nova Scotia Adventure: VISITING the BLUENOSE II SCHOONER RESTORATION   A couple of years ago Taylor Allen, the owner of Rockport Marine, o...
Ginny Jones
Help Support the Film “VANISHING SAIL”: I recently came across this worthwhile project and gave a small amount to their fundraising campaign at Kickstarter. It...
Peter Neill
Thoughts About Islands: If you assume a satellite perspective, you look down upon the earth and view an ocean world in which float islands—be...
Maynard Bray
A Sail in the Herreshoff S-boat Mischief: Luckily, I got to go for sail in the Herreshoff S-boat Mischief a week or so ago, the first boat to raise sail in Center...
Havilah Hawkins
The Influence of Captain Douglas & My Family: When contemplating the many influences in my life, it is hard to know where to start. I could start with my father, who...
Bill Thomas
The Influence of Friends Gathering Down at the Lake: A start in small boats. I could, if I thought about it, trace my introduction to small boats back to a single person, or...
Dick Wagner
The Influence of Colleen and John: My Mentors: I moved to Seattle in 1957 when I was 25 and had just graduated from Yale Architecture School. My first interest in Seat...
Geoff Kerr
The Snow Row: One of the rites of early Spring in the New England boating world is the Snow Row put on by the visionaries at the Hull...
Brion Rieff
The Influence of My Father: I’ll have to go back to my beginnings and say my father indirectly influenced me the most. He is the one who intro...
Walt Ansel
The Influence of a Place and Many People: Imagine me as a kid, growing up in a household where my dad was building skiffs and skipjacks in the backyard. Behind ou...
Queene Foster
Small Boats, High Calling. The Influence of Steve Corkery.: I met Steve Corkery at Coecles Harbor Marina and Boatyard on Shelter Island, New York. He was always there walking the d...
Geoff Kerr
The Influence of the Outward Bound School: I didn’t grow up boating. We lived about 90 minutes inland in North Carolina, and my folks were landlubbers from West...
Peter Neill
The Influence of a Boat and Ben: His name was Ben Massey, and he dates from my childhood. African-American, he worked for my grandfather – as driver, j...
Lance Lee
The Influence of Plato in Foulweather Gear: It blows hard in April at Aberdovey on the coast of Wales… Stan Hugill, last chantyman of the British Empire, was...
Harry Bryan
The Influence of Uncle Bill Barker: William H. Barker, thanks for my life with boats… When asked to give some thought to someone who was a big influen...
Doug Hylan
The Influence of Joel White: “Whether it was counsel and encouragement with a construction or design problem, or going for an afternoon sail, y...
Kaci Cronkhite
The Who’s Who that Inspired Me to Boats: Was it nature, or nurture? In my case, I suspect, both. From Nature: Growing up in Oklahoma, I knew my ancestors and som...
Steve Stone
The Soul Behind Our Videos: If you’ve had a warm feeling when you’ve watched some of our videos — maybe even a feeling that weR...
Dick Wagner
The Three Boats I Lust After (and Why) – Rozinante, Beetle Cat and Scow Schooner: Rozinante: A slim, lightweight hull with a well-balanced ketch or yawl rig, this boat keeps on sailing in the lightest...

 

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Harold A. Burnham: Master Shipwright: The title of this video, though true, is an understatement. Harold Burnham’s family has lived in Essex, MA for 11...
The Off Center Crew
TALLY HO – Episode 158: 1910: A Space Odyssey: Watch Leo Goolden as he brings back the 47’ teak-planked TALLY HO to the glorious gaff cutter she was when launched ov...
Sandy Lam
Conversations with The Lobster Lady, Virginia Oliver: This is one of my favorite stories to discover lately. May we all be as healthy and strong as Virginia Oliver in our fut...
The Off Center Crew
TALLY HO – Episode 157: Hanging TALLY HO’s Rudder: Watch Leo Goolden as he brings back the 47’ teak-planked TALLY HO to the glorious gaff cutter she was when launched ov...
Sandy Lam
Oregon’s ‘Pacific Lady’ and a Friendship Forged at Sea: This is the amazing story of Sharon Sites Adams. Shortly after learning how to sail in her mid-thirties, Sharon became t...
The Off Center Crew
TALLY HO – Episode 156: Fitting the Solid Teak Cap Rails: Watch Leo Goolden as he brings back the 47’ teak-planked TALLY HO to the glorious gaff cutter she was when launched ov...
The Off Center Crew
TALLY HO – Episode 155: 70 miles in TALLY HO’s Dinghy: Watch Leo Goolden as he brings back the 47’ teak-planked TALLY HO to the glorious gaff cutter she was when launched ov...
The Off Center Crew
TALLY HO – Episode 154: TALLY HO’s Rig – Blocks and Sheaves!: Watch Leo Goolden as he brings back the 47’ teak-planked TALLY HO to the glorious gaff cutter she was when launched ov...
Sandy Lam
BALI SANTAI – The Story of a Jukung: It’s rare to find videos that document the fine details of traditional boat building in remote places of the world...
The Off Center Crew
TALLY HO – Episode 153: Hot-Riveting With Heavy Bronze Hardware: Watch Leo Goolden as he brings back the 47’ teak-planked TALLY HO to the glorious gaff cutter she was when launched ov...
The Off Center Crew
“Dip and Sway” in a Bantry Bay Gig: Everything about this music video says “here comes summer!” Great music, interesting boats, and good times o...
The Off Center Crew
TALLY HO – Episode 152: The Challenging Reality of Running This Project: Watch Leo Goolden as he brings back the 47’ teak-planked TALLY HO to the glorious gaff cutter she was when launched ov...
Sandy Lam
Golden Globe Race – And the Winner Is…: Congratulations Kirsten! Well deserved ice cream rewards! This is an amazing article about Kirsten’s history and h...
Sandy Lam
Aboard MINNEHAHA with Kirsten Neuschäfer in the Golden Globe Race: Here’s what it was like aboard Kirsten Neuschäfer’s boat, MINNEHAHA, during her attempt to win the 2022 Gol...
Sandy Lam
Kirsten Neuschäfer Enters the Golden Globe Race: Imagine setting out to sea alone on a Cape George 36, with a race of 30,000 nonstop miles ahead, and rules that limit yo...
The Off Center Crew
TALLY HO – Episode 151: Trial and Error On the Most Expensive Staircase I’ve Ever Made: Watch Leo Goolden as he brings back the 47’ teak-planked TALLY HO to the glorious gaff cutter she was when launched ov...
The Off Center Crew
TALLY HO – Episode 150: TALLY HO’s Front Door (April 1st, 2023): Watch Leo Goolden as he brings back the 47’ teak-planked TALLY HO to the glorious gaff cutter she was when launched ov...
The Off Center Crew
TALLY HO – Episode 149: Electricity Is Dangerous: Watch Leo Goolden as he brings back the 47’ teak-planked TALLY HO to the glorious gaff cutter she was when launched ov...
Maynard Bray
Lovin’ Livin’ in Maine’s Northwoods: We’re proud to embrace simplicity and self sufficiency afloat—but also honor these virtues ashore. So occasionally w...
The Off Center Crew
Dawn Kish Rediscovers Glen Canyon and Tad Nichols: This film is about a conservation photographer, Dawn Kish, documenting the hidden treasure of the Southwest known as Gle...
The Off Center Crew
TALLY HO – Episode 141: Building Tally Ho’s rudder using hardwood & chainsaw-mill!: Watch Leo Goolden as he brings back the 47’ teak-planked TALLY HO to the glorious gaff cutter she was when launched ov...
Nate Rooks
Sailing a Restored Ingrid from WA to the Marquesas: I met these folks in the San Juans in the summer of 2021 as they were just about to head south after restoring their 196...
The Off Center Crew
McKenna Peterson – Alaskan Fishing Boat Captain & Skier: A beautiful short film highlighting a young woman blazing her trail(s)…...
Sandy Lam
NWSWB Alumni Spotlight: Ginny Wilson: Ginny Wilson talks about her journey to becoming a shipwright after studying at the Northwest School of Wooden Boat Buil...
The Off Center Crew
The Northwest School of Wooden Boat Building: For 41 years, the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding has been teaching craftsmanship through boatbuilding and marin...
The Off Center Crew
Recreating the Moment: OCH Member Mark Folkerts shared this beautiful story of love behind this heartwarming video:   “This past win...
The Off Center Crew
Roger Barnes: AVEL DRO in the Netherlands, Part 1: Roger Barnes at his best, and kudos to First Mate Mary. As many of you know, Roger Barnes wrote THE book on small boat c...
Steve Stone
Race to Alaska – The Movie! (Trailer): The Race to Alaska movie is in theaters now.  I could imagine a TIME magazine review saying: “The Feel-Good M...
Steve Stone
Emma Ringqvist & The Art of Slowing Down Time: A beautifully made short film about Emma Ringqvist’s 164 days alone at sea…...
Steve Stone
Roger Barnes: Drizzly Days in the Shallows of Brittany Aboard Avel Dro: Roger Barnes at his finest — heading out when everyone else bails because the weather isn’t perfect: HELPFUL LIN...
The Off Center Crew
The History of the Beetle Cat, with Bill Womack at Beetle Cat Boat Shop: If you’ve wondered how the Beetle Cat came to be, and what’s happening with this design today… Learn m...
Sandy Lam
Katie McCabe: Sailed Solo Around Britain at Age 14: Aside from the fact that she became the youngest person to sail around the UK at 14 years old, she restored her own wood...
Sandy Lam
Wood on Water: An inspiring short film featuring a group of teenagers on a 40-day canoe journey through the Canadian wilderness. Beauti...
Ben Mendlowitz
Lower Salmon River Jet Boat: If you need to practice handling a small boat in rough conditions maybe a trip up these rapids would help you refine you...
Bill Mayher
Four Masted Barque rounding Cape Horn 1928 – Captain Irving: Irving Johnson’s video record of the four masted bark PEKING sailing around Cape Horn is perhaps the greatest maritime...
Sandy Lam
Three Girls in a Boat: A step back in time with a group of women sailing in 1933 on the Norfolk Broads....
Steve Stone
Pink Martini – Amado Mio, Live in Concert: We’ve used this song in two of our videos, and the live performance of the song is quite special, so we thought yo...
Nate Rooks
Preparing a Wooden Boat for Bluewater Cruising with Madison Boatworks: Jonathan and Whitney are restoring a 1960 Ingrid 38 with the intention of living the bluewater cruising dream. In this f...
Steve Stone
Poulsbo Boat – Built by the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding: If you enjoyed the Off Center Harbor video on the Poulsbo Boat, here’s a closer look at the guts of this design an...
The Off Center Crew
Martin’s Boat: ...
The Off Center Crew
Early Testing for an Electric AROHA: While it’s way too early to share details of Pete Sewell’s tests of the electric motor he’s put into W...
Steve Stone
Roger Barnes: Wild Camping in a Cruising Dinghy Aboard Avel Dro: If you’re a devotee of the Church of Wilderness and Simplicity, here’s a wonderful gospel video with Roger B...
Steve Stone
Fretwater Boatworks — Can’t Beat This Place for Fun: Fretwater Boatworks — a legendary someplace in the middle of nowhere....
The Off Center Crew
Sailing on the Chick: Good boats, good friends, and a favorite river. What more do we all need?...
Steve Stone
Sir Robin Knox-Johnston — Sailing Legend: An ordinary chap who became the first person to sail solo and non-stop around the world:...
Steve Stone
W.A.G. Bags to the Rescue: Is he really going there? Ya, sorry — but it’s a reality/question we ran into all summer, and we’ve been t...
Steve Stone
Song of the Paddle, with Bill Mason & Family: Bill Mason and family were pioneers in the field of getting way out there in a boat and slowing down. The filming style...
Maynard Bray
W. Starling Burgess’ Schooners with Randy Peffer & Wayne Ettel: Although he lived only 67 years and was orphaned at age 13, W. Starling Burgess, like his father Edward before him, left...
Steve Stone
The Soulful Art of Building a Flamenco Guitar: Every once in awhile we run across a video that we have to post. Despite not having a single boat in it, there are overl...
Eric Blake
Through the Breaks: Join custom wooden boat builder Jason Cajune and his family on a float trip down the Missouri River, through the Upper M...
Steve Stone
Fishpeople — Lives Transformed by the Sea: A new film by Keith Malloy — just the right length for an evening’s entertainment and inspiration. It’s a...
Eric Blake
Champion Houseboaters: If houseboating was an Olympic sport, this couple would top the podium with gold, silver and bronze. That is, IF they...
Nate Rooks
TALLY HO – Episode 72: Bilge Stringers / Oak problems!: Watch Leo Goolden as he brings back the 47’ teak-planked TALLY HO to the glorious gaff cutter she was when launched ov...
Bill Mayher
Scoggie: From the furthest tip of Nova Scotia comes this sketch of a young boat builder with a philosophical turn of mind and an...
Steve Stone
Hot Racing in Kenya — Lamu New Year’s Dhow Race: Every January 1, crews of local watermen gather on Shela Beach on Lamu Island in Kenya for the most prestigious race of...
Nate Rooks
Roger Barnes: Sailing and Swing Aboard Avel Dro: British expat and dinghy cruising guru Roger Barnes relishes the small-boat opportunities in France. In this new video,...
Nate Rooks
3000 Years Under the Sea: Featuring beautiful 16mm color film and narration from cameraman Stan Waterman, 3000 Years Under the Sea tells the story...
Steve Stone
Roger Barnes: A Rogue Mariner on the upper Thames Aboard Avel Dro: We sure love the way Roger Barnes brings us aboard, with such grace and humility, letting us in on the world of dinghy c...
Steve Stone
I Just Realized That I’m a Wimp: Just can’t help but post these videos even though they don’t have a single boat in them. After watching the...
Steve Stone
Double Rainbow All the Way: Still brings any room of people to laughter, still beautiful, and now legendary all over the world . . ....
Maynard Bray
Rowing & Sailing to Matinicus Island, with Sam and Susan Manning: Here’s an old PBS show with Susan and Sam Manning rowing and sailing out to Matinicus Island. Thanks to OCH member...
Steve Stone
Camel Finds Water: Probably too old for this myself, but I hope my kids do it someday:...
Nate Rooks
The Passage: Growing up, growing old, and the wild places that define us: When my brother and I set out on our own Inside Passage adventure, the stories of historic paddlers like Betty Lowman Ca...
Steve Stone
Camp Cruising Georgian Bay In An Open Boat: If you’ve ever dreamed of heading way north to sacred waters with an open boat — to cruise for days without seei...
Steve Stone
Alone in the Wilderness, with Dick Proenneke – Part 1: So many of us have dreamed of chucking it all and building a little cabin on a remote shoreline in the wild. In the 1960...
The Off Center Crew
Governor Hammond’s Reflection on Dick Proenneke at Twin Lakes, Alaska: Here’s a reflection on Dick Proenneke by Jay Hammond, Governor of Alaska (1974-1982). Imagine being one of those y...
The Off Center Crew
Dick Proenneke’s Cabin Today: Here’s a nice little look at Dick’s cabin, as it is today, part of Lake Clark National Park. See what this c...
Steve Stone
This River, by The Warren Hood Band: Thanks to OCH member Stephen Clark in Austin for turning us on to Warren Hood and this song. And thanks, Warren, for all...
Steve Stone
Sandy Hook Remembrance Sculpture Built at Brooklin Boat Yard: Check out the beautiful sculpture that Todd Skoog and Rick Chamberlain built at Brooklin Boat Yard for the Sandy Hook Re...
Steve Stone
Pushing the Limits of a Dragonfly Sonar & GPS Chartplotter: When thinking about marine electronics on small boats, this video is thought-provoking… Like: “Where do you...
Steve Stone
Why I Build — Stone Mason Jane Dewitt: In the “Age of the Kardashians”, I’m sure glad we’re starting to see more short films about wome...
Steve Stone
Creatures of the Sea: Turn the volume up, click full screen, and get lost for a moment in a dream of fishing and creatures of the sea… T...
Steve Stone
Martin Litton’s Grand Canyon Dories: Thanks to Off Center Member Nathan Lunstrum for submitting this new Flotsam Video: The late Martin Litton believed the b...
Steve Stone
Denali’s Raven: Check out the primal beauty and strength in the land, people and life choices…...
Steve Stone
YUKON in Tasmania: It was a stunning afternoon yesterday in Tasmania — at the end of a beautiful sail on the old working ketch KERRAWYN w...
Steve Stone
Anchor Point: What a remarkable story of forgiveness and grace. Thanks to J.T. Van Zandt, a fly-fishing guide in central Texas, for op...
Steve Stone
Live From the Heart, Be Who You Are: Wish I would have seen this when I was 16 years old. Just sent it to my daughter, Stella…...
Steve Stone
Slomo Describes the Neurology of OCHD!: If you think you may have OCHD, you’ll definitely want to check out this video from the New York Times. Slomo̵...
Steve Stone
Off the Grid on a Homemade Island: A 45-minute boat ride from the nearest town sits a sustainable island floating off the coast of Vancouver Island. With a...
Emma Mathis
Paddle to Seattle: If you ever thought kayaking was just for a short outing, check out this great adventure of long-distance paddling. Josh...
Steve Stone
Lego Car & Jet Bicycle?: This young man reminds me of an uber-talented classmate in film school at CalArts, Teddy Newton. Fast forward 20 years,...
Steve Stone
Aboard a Legendary Houseboat – Meet the Moron Brothers: Who says you need a flawless houseboat design? Join the Moron Brothers as they take a journey down the Kentucky River in...
Steve Stone
A Maine Lobsterman, with E.B. White & Eugene Eaton: Since the beginning of OCH, I’ve wanted to grab the camera and jump aboard a lobster boat with one of the local Ma...
Eric Blake
Four Season Off-Grid Tent: I have a crush on this four season off-grid tent, as a houseboat idea.  I have a new crush every day. None of them are...
Eric Blake
Modern Tiny House on Wheels: Check out how cozy and cool a tiny home can be. This 227 square foot house was built by Yestermorrow design students in...
Maynard Bray
A 1955 Floating Caravan (aka Houseboat): Here’s a 60-year-old idea that would work today. It’s lightweight, and the concept is simple enough to build...
Steve Stone
Sailing Around the World in LA VAGABOND: Is it true that good things happen when you let go, take a leap of faith, and flow with the river of life? I love how Ri...
The Off Center Crew
Sailing the Northwest Passage in a Junk-Rigged Wooden Boat – Parts 4, 5 & 6: We are presenting the complete video series of Chris and Jess Bray’s entire voyage on OffCenterHarbor.com, and her...
Ginny Jones
Schooner Martha in the 2015 Transpac Race: Here is a little video of the 1907 (yes, she’s 108 years old) schooner MARTHA in the 2015 TransPac Race. She was t...
Steve Stone
Sailing the Northwest Passage in a Junk-Rigged Wooden Boat – Parts 1, 2 & 3: I first heard about Chris Bray from friends in Tasmania. Chris grew up circumnavigating the earth on a small sailboat wi...
Ben Mendlowitz
Gloucester Fishing Schooner ADVENTURE in Action: Gloucester historian, Joseph Garland, introduces the 1926 dory Gloucester fishing schooner ADVENTURE, a National Histori...
Steve Stone
2015 Australian Wooden Boat Festival Video: Here’s a teaser video recap of the 2015 Australian Wooden Boat Festival recently released by the festival and gi...
Bill Mayher
Racing the New York 40 CHINOOK: Enjoy a race aboard the New York 40 class yacht CHINOOK, courtesy of ClassicYacht.TV. Designed by Nathanael G. Herreshof...
Eric Blake
A Shipyard Comes Alive at Mystic Seaport, with Walt Ansel: Here’s Off Center Guide Walt Ansel talking about his life at Mystic Seaport....
Steve Stone
Tom Cunliffe Visits the Axe Yacht Club in South Devon: I just love this video. Off Center Guide Tom Cunliffe visits the Axe Yacht Club in South Devon and gives the lay of the...
Dustin Urban
Sailing, Surfing and Inspiration in French Polynesia: I first learned about Liz Clark and the Voyage of Swell through the National Geographic Adventurer of the Year Awards. L...
Dustin Urban
Birthright: A beautiful story of transcendence, of freedom and fluidity found on the water. Disclaimer: Although we are proud that O...
Erik Sayce
Building a 70-Foot Scow Schooner on Martha’s Vineyard: Scow: The Zen of Boat Building is a feature-length documentary that chronicles the journey of world reknown driftwood a...
Ben Mendlowitz
Riva Speedboat Historic Factory Production: Riva speedboats built on the shore of Lago d’Iseo in northern Italy are famous the world over for their style, des...
Eric Blake
CHRONOS & The Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta 2014: Since y’all seemed to enjoy the Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta video I put up recently, here’s a longer one f...
Bill Mayher
Lowell’s Boat Shop on “Craft in America”: Thank you to OCH member Peter Brackenbury for bringing another wonderful film to our attention. In this episode of the t...
Ben Mendlowitz
The Pilot Cutter, Past and Present: The history of the traditional pilot cutter is detailed in this terrific video. Prior to the industrial revolution, pilo...
Eric Blake
The Comanche Story with Ken Read: Take a look at the 100ft carbon sloop Comanche built for Jim and Kristy Clark. From the first layers of carbon being lay...
Dustin Urban
Sailing the HMB ENDEAVOUR: A fixture of the biannual Australian Wooden Boat Festival is the HMB ENDEAVOUR, a full-size replica of the British Royal...
Steve Stone
Australian Wooden Boat Festival 2013: Here’s a nice highlight video of the 2013 Australian Wooden Boat Festival. Can you tell we’re getting excite...
Eric Blake
Expedition to the End of the World: If the trailer’s any indication, this could make for quite an entertaining viewing. Anyone seen the full film? It&...
Steve Stone
Team New Zealand Training in Moths: I was in New Zealand when Team New Zealand won the America’s Cup for the first time.  The entire country came to...
Dustin Urban
Wild Tasmania – Rock Climbing Freycinet National Park: As I explore films about the mythical land of Tasmania, this quirky story grabbed my attention. I have an affection for...
Steve Stone
Tall Ship Sailing in Tasmania: The anticipation is building for OffCenterHarbor’s first journey to the Australian Wooden Boat Festival in Hobart,...
Steve Stone
Sheltered Passage – Life as a Fisherman in Tasmania: Fisherman Des Whayman shares his memories of simpler days as a fisherman on the Entreacsteaux Channel in Tasmania. This...
Maynard Bray
Building Wooden Lobster Boats, with Chummy Rich: If you’ve ever wondered how those beautiful Maine lobster boats and their pleasureboat sisters are put together, step...
Eric Blake
Simple Living by the Sea in Northern Norway: This short film will put a smile on your face. Traditional boat building and simple living at its best in Northern Norw...
Erik Sayce
Viking Longship DRAKEN HARALD HÅRFAGRE: Built in Haugesund, Norway, and launched in 2012, the DRAKEN HARALD HÅRFAGRE is the largest viking longship built in mo...
Steve Stone
Rescuing New Zealand’s Orcas: Few animals represent the power of our oceans as well as the Orca – the most intelligent predator on earth. For th...
Dustin Urban
A Tribute to Martin Litton, Wooden Dory Pioneer & Grand Canyon Savior: My Grand Canyon visit with environmentalist and wooden dory pioneer Martin Litton began with a thunderous “BOOM...
Steve Stone
Strangers at Sea – Crossing the Atlantic in the Ocean Masters New York to Barcelona Race: Two men take two weeks to sail 3,700 miles. The Ocean Masters New York to Barcelona Race is a tale of grueling mental en...
Dustin Urban
Remote Paddling Adventure on the Headwaters of the Hudson: I was surprised to learn that the headwaters of the Hudson encompass a remote and rugged wilderness worthy of exploratio...
Steve Stone
Finding Closure on the Sea Floor: This video is a fitting (albeit belated) salute to our veterans. Follow along as the Bent Prop Project searches for the...
Erik Sayce
Cruising Alaska, Part 3: In the final installment of the ‘Venture to Alaska’ series (check out Part 1 here and Part 2 here), 65-foot...
Erik Sayce
Traditional 1880s – Inspired Gentleman’s Cutter: Inspired by the Victorian yachts of the 1880s, the traditionally-built gentleman’s cutter INTEGRITY is a beauty. S...
Steve Stone
Volvo Ocean Race Video – To The Ends of The Earth: The First 40 Years: This is the place to start if you want to get up to speed on the history of the Volvo Ocean Race. Disclaimer: Although w...
Dustin Urban
Classic Herreshoff Schooner Elena – A Racing Replica: Thanks to OCH member Roger Rodibaugh for bringing this film about the classic schooner ELENA to our attention. She’...
Steve Stone
New Zealand’s Akaroa Classic Boat Show: Some nice small classic boats and New Zealand scenery are on display in this video of the Akaroa Classic & Tradition...
Steve Stone
The Path of Yellowstone’s Rivers Changed by One Species: For those of you who, like me, enjoy being on boats because it brings us into the wild — here’s a remarkable pie...
Dustin Urban
Cruising Alaska, Part 2: In part two of ‘Venture to Alaska’, our hosts are cruising Alaska, and we’re treated to scenes of Alas...
Erik Sayce
The Inside Passage to Alaska: Part nature film, part super yacht advertisement, this video is chock full of great scenery from the inside passage to A...
Dustin Urban
Matthews Boats, Motor Yachts and Cruisers: Matthews Boats were produced by the Matthews Boat Company in Port Clinton, Ohio from around 1890 through the mid 1960...
Dustin Urban
David Crosby’s Legendary Alden Schooner MAYAN: Folk rock and classic wooden boats – they’re a beautiful pairing, as we’ve written about here and here...
Steve Stone
Herreshoff Torpedo Boat STILETTO – Nice Aerial Footage: Here’s a video showing cool arial footage from a drone by Tips from a Shipwright — this one featuring the He...
Dustin Urban
Betsy Davis on GLORYBE Wooden Boat Restoration: Betsy Davis’ 100-year-old wooden boat GLORYBE burned and sank in a tragic fire at the Seattle Yacht Club in 2002. Foll...
Dustin Urban
Twenty Eight Feet: Life on a Little Wooden Boat: Here’s a lovely little film about a man who has chosen a simpler life living aboard a 50-year-old wooden boat he r...
Dustin Urban
Carol Hasse of Port Townsend Sails: By all accounts, Carol Hasse of Port Townsend Sails is a treasure to the wooden boat community, and our time with her ha...
Maynard Bray
WANDER BIRD Rounds Cape Horn – 1937: See what it was like back in 1937 to beat around Cape Horn against the prevailing westerly winds known as the “roa...
Ben Mendlowitz
Fun on Foils: Seeing these boats fly around San Francisco Bay is like watching something straight out of a science fiction movie. At ...
Bill Mayher
5 J-Boats Race at St. Barth’s Bucket: Here’s some footage of J Boats sailing at this year’s St. Barth’s Bucket.  Makes a nice counterpoint...
Steve Stone
Old Boat Stories, Episode One: Splinter: Here’s a video from our friends over at the Antique Boat Museum, located in the 1000 Islands on the St. Lawrence R...
Maynard Bray
Rick Mercer on the Bluenose: This one’s a hoot. Canadian Broadcasting’s Rick Mercer visits the Bluenose. Here’s a link for more inf...
Bill Mayher
QUIET TUNE with Doug Hylan: Among the loveliest boats ever built–and we don’t say this lightly–is QUIET TUNE, the L. Francis Herre...
Bill Mayher
The Ship Builders of Essex: A world apart. Sit back and enjoy as this 1940’s documentary evokes wooden ship building in the legendary town of...
Ben Mendlowitz
LYNX – “America’s Privateer”: Here’s a nice piece on LYNX, a 76-foot topsail schooner designed by Melbourne Smith, built by our friends at Rockp...
Maynard Bray
Dorade: Training to Win at Les Voiles de St. Barth: Here’s a good video about a great boat....

 

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