Welcome to The home of the "Backyard Renegade"

I just want to build boats! As you will see I have not really found a definite direction for this new web site, but I know where it will not go. I refuse to turn it into a "boat plans clearinghouse" specializing in redrawn Phil Bolger/Harold Payson stuff for $50 bucks a pop. Neither have I anything against the tried and true manufacturers of floating clorox bottles, but not everyone can afford one. This Site is dedicated to the backyard renegade, the blue collar artist, the parent who wants to take a kid fishin', the would be builder who needs a place to start, the daydreamer, the inspired, the practical, and most of all, the cheap! (Scotty, Sept 98')

Boats for Sailing, sculling, Paddle, or electric.	My Pram...The "Little Joe", a great tender or pond boat.	The "Stanley Sie" A Classic Scrappie
Lets start from the beginning... Out of the 45 or so boats I have built, at least half of them have been different designs. Guys tell me that if I want to make money I need to make TEN at a time, but that would be to much like work! I have built Sailboats, Punts, Prams, Canoes, Dories, Pirogue, and a few boats I call "Classic Scrappies". Like I said before, "I just want to build boats!" Click here to see Scotty's boats.	I call this one "Little Joe" built with the vast Connecticut River in mind. She has a 54" beam, a "Vee" bottom and 13" sides. The bow has an extreme sweep up to the nose which keeps this boat very dry. It has gone through several changes since the first time you saw it, but it has developed into a great little boat. Weighing less than 80 lbs. and with almost 2 cubic feet of floatation this is a great boat for kids and fits nicely on top of your car or in the back of a pickup truck. Click here to see more about my Pram	I'm certainly no Earle Brockway, but since his passing there has been a need for a cheap and durable locally built workboat. A while back a friend brought me a 1958 Brockway . After about 100 people asked if I was going to build some, I went ahead and took the lines. I use Epoxy, Stainless Steel, and Glass tape, the Brockway's used roofing nails and tar. Click here to see more about the Classic Scrappies

All new for 2002
Below is my latest creation. Up until I built this vessel I was not a paddler..in fact I was a real stinkpot but once this one got in my head, I really went nuts. Harrassing my family with several scale cardboard models of this "concept Kayak", they finally screamed..."Oh please, just go outside and build the darn thing!"
So I did. I call this model, "Warcanoe, Type 5". This one is named the "Iona B", after me mum...Click on the image below for more info and photos...

A couple of years ago I asked my friend if I was really a boatbuilder like everyone said. He turned to me and asked, "how many boats have you built?. I answered then, "about 20"...He said, "you'll be a boatbuilder when you've built about 100 boats". Well by the end of this summer I will have built only 50 or so boats, but this pure "Calico Hunter" was designed and built for Jimi (Sockale') as a light weight "carry in" for fresh water fishing. I call this one "Manhattan", she weighs 90 pounds.... Well Jimi, how many boats do I need to build now??

This is a great example of going overboard on what was supposed to be a cheap utility boat...

5/8" Mahogany, Okoume, Bronze Silicone, and Stainless Steel.

Calico Hunter and the War Canoe at the top secret test facility	The War Canoe weighs about 35 pounds and is about 12 feet long.
I weigh about 160 with a wet hat. I am going to make some changes so that she will sit a little lower in the water. Not bad for a first try, huh?	Here's the ballast test..My buddy Jimi (right) weighs about 235 and his friend Randy is just a little less... They still had a good 10" of draft in an 11 foot boat!

Click the photo to the right to see more about the Gloucester Gull, I like this boat, a lot...Wish I didn't have to let it go....But I've got the molds, you bet!

After 40 years there is still no better place for the first time boat builder to start than
Harold H. "Dynamite" Payson. Inspiration mixed with a little common sense...

Terri has set up my message board and I will be watching for your questions and comments. I will also direct some of your questions to friends who are professional boat builders. Click here to visit my message board and post your question, comment, or boat building experience.

3/29/2001 You have been asking me for years and I have finally decided to make plans for "Little Joe" my motor pram available for a limited time at a special price of $25.00. I have drafted them onto 4 professionally detailed 17" X 24" blueprints along with step by step instructions for anyone familiar with "stitch and tape" type construction. Help support SmallBoats.com, order a set today! Besides, I worked really hard on these, if you don't order any I will have issues...and then I will take it out on some poor guy on my bulletin board...and we don't want that to happen.
Click here for prices and further details.

Ira has given us another set of free plans. "The Herring Skiff" and now "The Double Paddle Dory"

Free Plans by Ira Einsteen

Folks have visited this site since September 1998

Our main family business, IDesigns.net, is what makes it possible for me to do what I do. IDesigns LLC is a well established and respected Internet hosting provider with competitive pricing, loads of features for the amateur or professional webdesigner, and technical support available 24/7. If you, or your organization has a website and would like to support a local business, please visit http://www.idesigns.net. Thanks, Scotty

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This document maintained by The Backyard Renegade.
Do not copy this stuff for other than personal use. If you would like to use any of the photos, graphics, or text information for any other purpose, please contact me first. I can at times be pretty reasonable...

SmallBoats.com / IDesigns, LLC
55 Westbrook Road - P.O. Box 303
Centerbrook CT 06409
860-767-3473
...

Scotty (Feb, 01) Those of you who have been here before will see that after 2+ years, I have finally re-built my website . I have some more stuff to put up in the near future, but for now this will have to do. You will find most of the old stuff mixed in with the new stuff ...but it's less of a mess than it was before!

Below are some personal observations not at all related to boating...

About New Yorkers
The fellow was telling a story about being in the hospital interviewing a firefighter injured on September 11. He said that it was "just like in a movie". At one point he thanked the fallen hero for going into the building with no concern for himself or his own safety. "The firefighter lifted his head, and with a thick NY accent said", "Whadidya expect, I'm a New Yorker".

About Americans

Scotty, Sept.16, 2001 After the events of the last week it would be easy for me to hate. But because I am an American, I can't let that happen. In so much of the coverage, in so many of the pictures, there she is, Lady Liberty standing proud, calling to the masses, and crying for her children. God bless New York, strong and proud, the most diversified city in the world. You have shown us a strength, brotherhood, bravery, and determination that exemplifies the best America has to offer, you are indeed the most deserving caretakers of our precious, Lady Liberty. Lady Liberty, watch over your city, our great country, and the people you have brought to it. You and your children should know that we and the world are watching too, we are proud of what you stand for, we will never leave your side, we will honor your call, and we will never forget.

Still shakin' my head about Earnhardt...
	If anything, and if Earnhardt was still here to tell us today, he'd probably walk over to Marlin, put his arm around his shoulder, give him that famous Dale Earnhardt smile and say, "Well heck, Sterling, don't worry about it. That's racin'." Good-bye Dale, it wasn't supposed to happen this way... (text taken from quotes in news reports)