Another advantage is that small boats generally get sailed more. Getting a big cruising yacht ready to sail is often a major production, requiring considerable planning, whereas as small boat you can toss in your truck or hook up your trailer on a nice afternoon and go for a sail. As they say, the smaller the boat the bigger the adventure.
@@darcyperkins7041 thanks for the reply 👍 do you sail a punt ? None of these guys commenting on this video have five minutes of sailing a small boat posted . I have posted a few canoe sailing videos on my channel and plan on posting more as soon as I'm done posting my motorized bicycle touring trip from Florida to California and back.
I 100% agree. I have worked as professional crew on big sail and now motor yachts for years. I currently work 8 weeks rotation (8 weeks on 8 off). I worked on a 54m 13 crew 10 guest yacht. The owners are board, finicky have nothing to do. They stay for weeks and moan about everything. Dripping in Gucci and Prada the hate life. I now have 6 months free per year. I will be getting my first small wooden boat as soon as the right one comes along. I could not agree more Chris
That's interesting, thanks for sharing. Having a lot of money and not needing to work is not necessarily a good life. It got me thinking about this quote from E. F. Schumacher's "Small Is Beautiful": "to strive for leisure as an alternative to work would be considered a complete misunderstanding of one of the basic truths of human existence, namely that work and leisure are complementary parts of the same living process and cannot be separated without destroying the joy of work and the bliss of leisure." Good luck on your small boat adventure!
Upon seeing the thumbnail image and title, I knew that your passion and enthusiasm for light, wooden compact craft and dinghy cruising would make for a very interesting, informative and enjoyable video. Beautiful environments, lovely boats, and an appreciation for simple sailing and paddling at one's own unhurried pace, captured by excellent videography made your video a joy to watch. I'm very happy to subscribe and to follow your adventures. Thank you for making and sharing this lovely video, which will inspire others to consider the many benefits of light, compact craft that are a pleasure to use and simple to store, transport and launch. Edited for typo!
Thanks for this wonderful video. I just went sailing between 10pm and midnight last night with my self-built 12-foot-dinghy in our fjord and can only agree to everything you say.
Thank you for confirming my thoughts. On a small boat you are just 20 cm from the water and you have to watch it carefully and respect it. In my case I leave in an inland city and having a 2.65 meter self-made sail boat on the roof of my car I can sail in any pond nearby and have a look at the world from another angle.
You have articulated some fine reasons for small boating as well as shown images of beautiful cruising grounds making it clear that " I need to go soon!"
Thank you, really a video that speaks for me. I have been sailing cabin sailboats for years, and this year I switched into an open boat, (Norseboat 17.5) and it is exactly what you describe. The small dinghy makes me a better sailor.
Well said. Thanks for this inspiring video. Looking forward to enjoy the same pleasures as you. I have about 2 weeks of work left on my boat, this video gave me a boost to get it done.
hi ive crossed the atlantic 10 times in boats from 34ft to 22ft.the ocean is the same size for all of them, my 22ft oyster dredger i crossed 4 times in her, made good times because she didnt slow down in light airs and she was easier to reef so i could push her harder.
Great video and a wonderful look at smaller boats. I too thought along these lines and went with a smaller,trailerable boat over a bigger comfortable boat. I made the right choice,I will keep coming back and checking on your channel!
Perfect testimonial. This is very exactly what I think, sense and experience on wind and human propelled small boats. On my side, we have experienced kayak sailing with a family of five, several multi-day cruises on summers, with kids between 2 and 12 years old. Contact with the elements is truly unique. Outstanding and quite unknown experience ! Thanks so much for the sharing!
I couldn't agree more. It's exactly as you said, when I'm out in my Welsford Navigator, I feel so much a part of everything around me. It's a wonderful feeling that's hard to put into words.
What a great sailing philosophy you have and thank you for sharing your thoughts and ideas with us. I have recently purchased a small dinghy and can’t wait to get out in her and enjoy the freedom and tranquility that being on the water brings. Keep safe and please keep sharing your voyages with us.
That's a really nice video. I've been a small boat user for more than 50 years and have even lived on three small sailing cabin boats all under 21ft long. Now I'm older I especially like the small boats designed by Matt Layden and Sven Yrvind (I see Sven has commented below) because you get nearly all the advantages of the small open boat but with weather protection and a dry warm cabin too. It's also very nice to go sailing without having to transfer from a dinghy to a larger boat as this is one of the more dangerous things to do on the water. Many thanks for the video.
You hit the nail on the head. Plus with a small boat you save lots of money to use for other activities over a mega yatch locked in an expensive marina. Love my Scamp 12 footer and Ougthred Shearwater 12 footer sail boats. One lug rigged the other with a gaff rig. Yes and the pleasure you get from making a boat lasts a lifetime as you can even tell stories with dementia about building that few other sailors have experienced.
Also, if a small boat capsizes in heavy wind or a storm, you can usually self rescue. That means I go out much more on questionably weather days than my friends with 18 foot boats that they cannot self rescue.
I am building a Paradox 14’ long sailboat in which you are totally enclosed for many of your reasons. I currently have a Montgomery 17 on Lake Erie. I’ve had 6 16-23’ sailboats and the difference in price for everything (sails, maintaining, docking etc.) rises exponentially in only that 7 foot range. A well built 16-18’ with a cabin to seek shelter in is IMO the best compromise .
Also small boats can be managed thru natural strength and weight shift, vs tech and tedious anticipation on large ones. Small doesn't have to be wood but can be plastics.
Agreed! Plastic boats can often be had at lower prices and can be easier to maintain. I just love building boats just as much as sailing them, so for me, wood is the natural choice.
I originally wanted a Portland Pudgy, Canopy and Sail Rig, but UK prices were extremely high (plus the trailer). I started to look at small wooden boats and as my knowledge, understanding and appreciation of them developed, I researched the self building of small boats using plywood, fibreglass and epoxy resin. Videos, forums, websites and books helped immensely, with Roger Barnes, his Dinghy Cruising and Camping Book and Dinghy Cruising Association sparking my imagination. I then discovered micro cruisers, which I'm particularly taken with, Matt Layden's designs being truly outstanding, however, I prefer quite small boats of 10 feet or less. From that, I came across the intriguing, capable and unique Gorfnik, a further development of the Puddle Duck Racer, but with a cabin similar to Matt Layden's Paradox. The Gorfnik designer actually referrers to it as a Simpler Paradox! I really like the Gorfnik cabin and it's ability to sail from inside and to cook, relax, rest and sleep there too! I began buying tools and got two different plans to modify for building a Gorfnik type cabin to fit a very different type hull, both of which are folding and nesting! I agree with your views on wooden boats and look forward to towing my boat by bicycle, and once on the water the folded bike stows in the bow module, removing the need to return to the put in...
I am Currently building the Awesome Paradox sailboat! “Big boat big problems” S Yrvind I ditched my 26’er and have a Montgomery 17 that will get sailed much more cruising Lake Erie and the Florida Keys. Trailer sailers go to windward 60kts!
I sail small plastic boat because I don't want to have to maintain anything . I sail in Florida where wood doesn't last long . You already working to much . Thanks for the video 👍
I sailed the western Swedish coast on a 14 foot boat, when I was 19. After 5 weeks, I met a couple from Bremen on their 38 foot Najad... Their only fear was, if there are any rocks `hiding` under water... In the evening at the harbour I told them my adventures from those 5 weeks, meeting Swedish people, kind, helpful, interested... Instead, the couple of Bremen only met harbour-masters on their 5-week-trip, kicking with their feet to the bow in the morning, taking the cash for another day in harbour... that was all. My conclusion since that time: the lower your planks are, the more you get involved into the area, you entered ! By the way: one of the kindest meetings I had with a couple from Denmark, who invited me for a wonderful dinner on their boat. Next morning they took a picture from my boat and me... and sent it to me later. Well.., what to say under tears: it is right in front of me on the wall ...since 40 years now... Love to Denmark, Sir. Love to the north... we got damned fine neighbours `up there`:) Thank you all !
Inspirational inspiring and intelligent. And it's spoken not in your mother tongue. And the added videos show the reality of what you're saying is true, congratulations and I would like to see more of the way you can inspire and educate and create an honest approach with video and youtube.
Well i smashed up the likes. I was hoping to find people getting out there but alas it wasn't to be. We can't count Sven. So I've been carrying the load I've posted a raid i made tired of waiting on Koos Raid extreme . I posted some on homemade plywood sailing canoe as well . Hope your able to get out there while you still can 420ppm no time for building .
I've been thinking about this for a while, and the biggest letdown of a yacht to me is an over reliance on a motor. Yes, you have the sails, but every time you need more maneuverability like entering/exiting a harbor you almost have to start your motor. And I've never been a fan on combustion motors, in fact the humming of a motor on the water is an unpleasant sound to me that I want to do without. I know there are yuloh oars, and some boaters do paddle their yachts to harbor, but these methods can only take you so far. Isn't there some sort of a compromise between rowing boat/yacht that wouldn't require to give away the comforts of a cabin? Like stacking two or three rows of oars and still having that little space for a two person cabin at least? P. S. I know, I've just read what I wrote, a crew of such boat still wouldn't have enough space under a single roof, but I just can't get the idea of inflexibility out of my head. That on a yacht, if you wish to do without your motor, you are reduced to paddling, without any proper oarlocks
Hi Kevin. It’s the Fiddlehead, by Harry Bryan. I’ve made a video about it, which you can find on the Small Boat School channel. I’m also doing a course on building it, starting this summer. Cheers, Mikkel
Thanks! Roger Barnes i pretty much the authority on camp cruising. I have read his books, but I will definitely need to look more into his UA-cam stuff!
I respect small boats for all the aforementioned reasons. I bought a Freedom 21 by Tillotson Pearson. It's as simple as a dinghy to sail (It's a Nantucket style cat boat) yet it still has a nice little cabin with a head, a 2 burner alcohol stove, a sink, an ice chest, and it can sleep 4 people. She is also trailerable. So I kinda get the best of both worlds, although I cannot sail her in very shallow water or beach her like a dinghy.
Another advantage is that small boats generally get sailed more. Getting a big cruising yacht ready to sail is often a major production, requiring considerable planning, whereas as small boat you can toss in your truck or hook up your trailer on a nice afternoon and go for a sail. As they say, the smaller the boat the bigger the adventure.
Very good point!
And having a crew that can go when you want to go.
@@JSomerledhaving crew blows 💨✌
@@darcyperkins7041 thanks for the reply 👍 do you sail a punt ? None of these guys commenting on this video have five minutes of sailing a small boat posted . I have posted a few canoe sailing videos on my channel and plan on posting more as soon as I'm done posting my motorized bicycle touring trip from Florida to California and back.
My man! That's right. This is what my channel is all about.
I 100% agree. I have worked as professional crew on big sail and now motor yachts for years. I currently work 8 weeks rotation (8 weeks on 8 off). I worked on a 54m 13 crew 10 guest yacht. The owners are board, finicky have nothing to do. They stay for weeks and moan about everything. Dripping in Gucci and Prada the hate life.
I now have 6 months free per year. I will be getting my first small wooden boat as soon as the right one comes along.
I could not agree more
Chris
That's interesting, thanks for sharing. Having a lot of money and not needing to work is not necessarily a good life. It got me thinking about this quote from E. F. Schumacher's "Small Is Beautiful": "to strive for leisure as an alternative to work would be considered a complete misunderstanding of one of the basic truths of human existence, namely that work and leisure are complementary parts of the same living process and cannot be separated without destroying the joy of work and the bliss of leisure." Good luck on your small boat adventure!
@@SmallBoatSchool great quote !
@@SmallBoatSchool the joy of work propaganda is strong 💪 in you . 🤣
@@Jarrod_D 😂
@@SmallBoatSchool you got a good comment section, and looking for other guys into small boat cruising to sub to . Thanks for the reply 👍
Upon seeing the thumbnail image and title, I knew that your passion and enthusiasm for light, wooden compact craft and dinghy cruising would make for a very interesting, informative and enjoyable video.
Beautiful environments, lovely boats, and an appreciation for simple sailing and paddling at one's own unhurried pace, captured by excellent videography made your video a joy to watch.
I'm very happy to subscribe and to follow your adventures.
Thank you for making and sharing this lovely video, which will inspire others to consider the many benefits of light, compact craft that are a pleasure to use and simple to store, transport and launch.
Edited for typo!
Thank you very much - I’m glad you liked it. :-)
Thanks for this wonderful video. I just went sailing between 10pm and midnight last night with my self-built 12-foot-dinghy in our fjord and can only agree to everything you say.
Thanks Marcus. Sounds like a wonderful midnight sail!
All good points. A big boat is limited and used less. I had two big boats. Now I have a 17ft and I use it every second I get.
Thank you for confirming my thoughts. On a small boat you are just 20 cm from the water and you have to watch it carefully and respect it. In my case I leave in an inland city and having a 2.65 meter self-made sail boat on the roof of my car I can sail in any pond nearby and have a look at the world from another angle.
Small boats rocks 👌🏻 thanks for sharing 🙏🏻
😄 Thanks, Martin!
You have articulated some fine reasons for small boating as well as shown images of beautiful cruising grounds making it clear that " I need to go soon!"
Your presentation is a delight. Thank you.
Thank you, really a video that speaks for me. I have been sailing cabin sailboats for years, and this year I switched into an open boat, (Norseboat 17.5) and it is exactly what you describe. The small dinghy makes me a better sailor.
Thanks a lot! I love the Norseboat. What a beauty.
Well said. Thanks for this inspiring video. Looking forward to enjoy the same pleasures as you. I have about 2 weeks of work left on my boat, this video gave me a boost to get it done.
Yay! I'm cheering for you!
I love your boat/traveling philosofy! Hope to see more of it. Thanks!
Thanks, Carl!
Thank you! A very well narrated and produced explanation of the classical benefits of a small versatile craft. Who could disagree?
The smaller the boat, the larger the ocean, and the longer the shoreline.
thank you for your thoughts.
Good point! Thanks!
hi ive crossed the atlantic 10 times in boats from 34ft to 22ft.the ocean is the same size for all of them, my 22ft oyster dredger i crossed 4 times in her, made good times because she didnt slow down in light airs and she was easier to reef so i could push her harder.
Great video and a wonderful look at smaller boats.
I too thought along these lines and went with a smaller,trailerable boat over a bigger comfortable boat.
I made the right choice,I will keep coming back and checking on your channel!
Thanks a lot!!
Perfect testimonial. This is very exactly what I think, sense and experience on wind and human propelled small boats. On my side, we have experienced kayak sailing with a family of five, several multi-day cruises on summers, with kids between 2 and 12 years old. Contact with the elements is truly unique. Outstanding and quite unknown experience ! Thanks so much for the sharing!
Sounds wonderful! I just checked out your videos and your outrigger setup looks like a lot of fun!
I couldn't agree more. It's exactly as you said, when I'm out in my Welsford Navigator, I feel so much a part of everything around me. It's a wonderful feeling that's hard to put into words.
Ah, the Navigator. Wonderful little ship!
What a great sailing philosophy you have and thank you for sharing your thoughts and ideas with us. I have recently purchased a small dinghy and can’t wait to get out in her and enjoy the freedom and tranquility that being on the water brings. Keep safe and please keep sharing your voyages with us.
I salute you, you can't beat creek crawling wonderful .
That's a really nice video. I've been a small boat user for more than 50 years and have even lived on three small sailing cabin boats all under 21ft long.
Now I'm older I especially like the small boats designed by Matt Layden and Sven Yrvind (I see Sven has commented below) because you get nearly all the advantages of the small open boat but with weather protection and a dry warm cabin too. It's also very nice to go sailing without having to transfer from a dinghy to a larger boat as this is one of the more dangerous things to do on the water.
Many thanks for the video.
Thanks a lot for sharing your thoughts!
I would happily learn Danish & move to your country if I could sail in the places you show...
😄 I’d love to have you here!
You hit the nail on the head. Plus with a small boat you save lots of money to use for other activities over a mega yatch locked in an expensive marina. Love my Scamp 12 footer and Ougthred Shearwater 12 footer sail boats. One lug rigged the other with a gaff rig. Yes and the pleasure you get from making a boat lasts a lifetime as you can even tell stories with dementia about building that few other sailors have experienced.
Man, your video give me a wonderfull view of traveling with small boats. Combine with camping is perfect. 🤗😍
Thanks - and yes! It's wonderful. 😍
My favourite sailboats are a Lelievlet and Lelieschouw
You have a great small boat cruising area. The tideless Baltic is perfect for easy camp-ups and the variety of un-spoilt islands is wonderful.
I think size dose matter as
it depends on what you are using a boat for and where you go. I live on my boat and i live in Australia NSW.
Gerard.
It definitely does! Small boats should normally only be used in sheltered waters.
Also, if a small boat capsizes in heavy wind or a storm, you can usually self rescue. That means I go out much more on questionably weather days than my friends with 18 foot boats that they cannot self rescue.
wéóñg ¹⁸ foot boàt ßoñt càpizés usàley
Very interesting
Thanks, Sven!
I am building a Paradox 14’ long sailboat in which you are totally enclosed for many of your reasons. I currently have a Montgomery 17 on Lake Erie.
I’ve had 6 16-23’ sailboats and the difference in price for everything (sails, maintaining, docking etc.) rises exponentially in only that 7 foot range. A well built 16-18’ with a cabin to seek shelter in is IMO the best compromise .
Well said. I agree wholeheartedly.
Just got a 12 foot boat and built a mast for it, we are ripping now so much fun
Small boats and I have many are like potato chips... you can't have just one😂
Also small boats can be managed thru natural strength and weight shift, vs tech and tedious anticipation on large ones. Small doesn't have to be wood but can be plastics.
Agreed! Plastic boats can often be had at lower prices and can be easier to maintain. I just love building boats just as much as sailing them, so for me, wood is the natural choice.
I originally wanted a Portland Pudgy, Canopy and Sail Rig, but UK prices were extremely high (plus the trailer).
I started to look at small wooden boats and as my knowledge, understanding and appreciation of them developed, I researched the self building of small boats using plywood, fibreglass and epoxy resin.
Videos, forums, websites and books helped immensely, with Roger Barnes, his Dinghy Cruising and Camping Book and Dinghy Cruising Association sparking my imagination.
I then discovered micro cruisers, which I'm particularly taken with, Matt Layden's designs being truly outstanding, however, I prefer quite small boats of 10 feet or less.
From that, I came across the intriguing, capable and unique Gorfnik, a further development of the Puddle Duck Racer, but with a cabin similar to Matt Layden's Paradox.
The Gorfnik designer actually referrers to it as a Simpler Paradox!
I really like the Gorfnik cabin and it's ability to sail from inside and to cook, relax, rest and sleep there too!
I began buying tools and got two different plans to modify for building a Gorfnik type cabin to fit a very different type hull, both of which are folding and nesting!
I agree with your views on wooden boats and look forward to towing my boat by bicycle, and once on the water the folded bike stows in the bow module, removing the need to return to the put in...
Thanks for sharing your story, and good luck building!
I am Currently building the Awesome Paradox sailboat!
“Big boat big problems” S Yrvind
I ditched my 26’er and have a Montgomery 17 that will get sailed much more cruising Lake Erie and the Florida Keys. Trailer sailers go to windward 60kts!
Very interesting n spoken from the heart 💓👍
I sail small plastic boat because I don't want to have to maintain anything . I sail in Florida where wood doesn't last long . You already working to much . Thanks for the video 👍
That makes a lot of sense. For me, though, building and maintaining the boat is as much fun as sailing it, so I like that part of the process too.
Great Video... Thanks for making it.
Thanks a lot for watching!
Awesome video!!
Thanks! :-D
I sailed the western Swedish coast on a 14 foot boat, when I was 19. After 5 weeks, I met a couple from Bremen on their 38 foot Najad... Their only fear was, if there are any rocks `hiding` under water... In the evening at the harbour I told them my adventures from those 5 weeks, meeting Swedish people, kind, helpful, interested...
Instead, the couple of Bremen only met harbour-masters on their 5-week-trip, kicking with their feet to the bow in the morning, taking the cash for another day in harbour... that was all.
My conclusion since that time: the lower your planks are, the more you get involved into the area, you entered !
By the way: one of the kindest meetings I had with a couple from Denmark, who invited me for a wonderful dinner on their boat. Next morning they took a picture from my boat and me... and sent it to me later. Well.., what to say under tears: it is right in front of me on the wall ...since 40 years now...
Love to Denmark, Sir. Love to the north... we got damned fine neighbours `up there`:) Thank you all !
Wonderful. Thanks for sharing your stories!
Thanks for sharing, looks fun
Thanks - and it is! 😄
Inspirational inspiring and intelligent. And it's spoken not in your mother tongue. And the added videos show the reality of what you're saying is true, congratulations and I would like to see more of the way you can inspire and educate and create an honest approach with video and youtube.
Wow, thank you Ross!!
Small is beautiful....
I assume you're referring to the book by E F Schumacher? One of my favorites!
Wonderful. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you, Ben!
Well i smashed up the likes. I was hoping to find people getting out there but alas it wasn't to be. We can't count Sven. So I've been carrying the load I've posted a raid i made tired of waiting on Koos Raid extreme . I posted some on homemade plywood sailing canoe as well . Hope your able to get out there while you still can 420ppm no time for building .
I've been thinking about this for a while, and the biggest letdown of a yacht to me is an over reliance on a motor. Yes, you have the sails, but every time you need more maneuverability like entering/exiting a harbor you almost have to start your motor. And I've never been a fan on combustion motors, in fact the humming of a motor on the water is an unpleasant sound to me that I want to do without. I know there are yuloh oars, and some boaters do paddle their yachts to harbor, but these methods can only take you so far. Isn't there some sort of a compromise between rowing boat/yacht that wouldn't require to give away the comforts of a cabin? Like stacking two or three rows of oars and still having that little space for a two person cabin at least?
P. S. I know, I've just read what I wrote, a crew of such boat still wouldn't have enough space under a single roof, but I just can't get the idea of inflexibility out of my head. That on a yacht, if you wish to do without your motor, you are reduced to paddling, without any proper oarlocks
thanx my buddy~
Happy to help
what design is that double paddle canoe?
Hi Kevin. It’s the Fiddlehead, by Harry Bryan. I’ve made a video about it, which you can find on the Small Boat School channel. I’m also doing a course on building it, starting this summer. Cheers, Mikkel
@@SmallBoatSchool I suspected as much, it has nice and distinctive lines.
Great video. You should check out UA-camr "Roger Barnes". His dinghy sailing videos are very cool.
Thanks! Roger Barnes i pretty much the authority on camp cruising. I have read his books, but I will definitely need to look more into his UA-cam stuff!
Here a humourous saying in German:
Der eine fährt ne Jolle,
Der andre fährt ne Yacht,
Der ene hat viel Spass,
Der andre es zu was gebracht.
😂
I’ve sent you emails re your courses
I ts ok if you stay in Danemark
👍✊🙏
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I respect small boats for all the aforementioned reasons. I bought a Freedom 21 by Tillotson Pearson. It's as simple as a dinghy to sail (It's a Nantucket style cat boat) yet it still has a nice little cabin with a head, a 2 burner alcohol stove, a sink, an ice chest, and it can sleep 4 people. She is also trailerable. So I kinda get the best of both worlds, although I cannot sail her in very shallow water or beach her like a dinghy.
That sounds like a lovely boat. Thanks for sharing!