Making of Tom Cat

By William Garden

You'll enjoy this – part story, part boatbuilding manual of a small, beetle-cat-like boat, from a legendary designer with probably more of his creations built than any other person. You'll find out not only how the boat is built, but also how the design came to be from someone with a (long!) lifetime of fooling around with boats. As told from Toad's Landing, on an island off British Columbia, it becomes quite apparent that whimsy and fun are not limited to young boys and girls.

The first thing you may notice about Tom Cat is the handsome cuddy. The next thing to realize is she is constructed with a combination of the traditional-plank-on-frame (carvel) and modern-epoxy for the seams. The result is a rugged boat which doesn't require the swelling of planks, or the recaulking of seams in the years to come. If you are just too pure a traditionalist for epoxy, of course you can plank and caulk.