A Classic Wooden Rowing Boat
The Wineglass Wherry (WGW) possesses the wineglass transom and smooth double-ended waterline of a classic rowing boat.
When designing her, John drew inspiration from the "beach skiffs" that were common along the New England coast during the late 1800's.Used in the commercial fishery, folks launched through the surf and rowed out to the fishing grounds. Their narrow flat bottoms enabled them to be parked upright on the beach. Their "planked skegs" allowed them to be more easily built and avoided the added weight of heavy keels. Developed before the advent of power, they were superb pulling boats used year-round in coastal waters.

A Marriage of Past and Present
Our Wineglass Wherry is a synthesis of two such boats--the Penobscott Bay Salmon Wherry and the Sea Bright Skiff. Like her predecessors, she exhibits good stability and can handle wind and chop with grace and speed. Her computer designed, woodcore-glass-epoxy hull makes her rugged, light weight and extremely strong.

A Versatile Craft
Our customers put their wherries to multiple uses. Some want exercise and a full body workout. Others quietly pull out at dusk to watch otters feed and osprey hunt. Some want to camp. They load their WGW with waterproof gear bags and row off for the weekend, or longer. (See "The Bowron Lakes--A WineGlass Wherry Wilderness Expedition", for a description of a 15 day trip we Pygmies took in Northern B.C. Canada.) Some folks build the Wherry to row into open saltwater to fish for salmon and halibut. Retired folks put out crab pots and check them daily from their boat. Families pile in for picnic destinations and low-tide exploration. The WGW also makes a fun sailing craft. The fully illustrated construction manual comes with specs for rigging the Wineglass with a 55 sq. ft. Sprit sail or a 42 sq. ft. Marconi. Diagrams show placements for a mast, centerboard or daggerboard, and tiller.

The Stitch-N-Glue Process
Our beautiful multi-chine Wineglass Wherry is a “stitch and glue” boat built upright on the floor. No strongback required. The builder sews pre-cut planks to each side of the bottom panel. Next, the temporary transom and center station frames are "sewn" in place, using 19 gauge wire. The remaining planks are sewn snug around these frames. (This picture shows Designer John Lockwood, 9 hours into the building process.)
After wiring, you then edge-glue all of the seams with a dental syringe filled with epoxy. Let it dry overnight, then cut and pull the wires, remove the temporary frames, and glass the hull, inside and out. The precision pre-cut seats, thwarts, breasthook, knees, transom and gunnels are then glued in place. It is a very easy process. No lofting, no station frames, no strong back, no mold, no spiling, no cutting and no power tools are required. The entire boat can be built in 70 to 90 hours.

Ultra-Light and Strong
The finished boat weighs only 90 lbs. The 6 oz. glass cloth used to sheath the hull, inside and out, goes completely glass-clear when saturated with epoxy. If you plan to put your boat to hard use, we recommend two layers of glass cloth on the exterior and an extra 38" wide piece of cloth down the inside bottom. This brings the weight up to 97 lbs. We offer the necessary materials for these extra fiberglass layers as an accessory.  If you want to stain any of the wood, you must do so before applying any epoxy. Some folks like to personalize their craft, staining the seats and spacers between the gunnels a contrasting tone to the hull. Do a test patch of stain on scrap wood, first. Then, laminate a scrap of fiberglass onto the test piece to ensure that the stain you have chosen does not interfere with adhesion of the 'glass. Finishing your boat with paint or UV filter spar varnish (or a combination of the two) protects your boat from ultraviolet light. An aesthetic finish adds to the pleasure of building this elegant, versatile classic.

We usually ship "Medium" hardener with our kits.  You may order "Slow" (for hot climates) or "Fast" (for cold climates) upon request.  Read the System Three Epoxy Book to help select a hardener. If you would like a copy of the Epoxy Book click here to download.

We also stock Silver Tip epoxy.  SilverTip Laminating Resin is a medium-low viscosity epoxy system that has been optimized for coating and reinforcing fabric saturation in wood-composite boatbuilding.  It has superior wet-out characteristics with little tendency to foam or trap air.  Both the resin and hardener are nearly colorless and are used in an easy 2:1 ratio.  The working time is longer than most boat building epoxies without sacrificing cure time.  We offer this an an option in our boat kits. Note: this item can only ship via Ground Service and is not eligible  for shipments to Alaska. Please plan accordingly. . Please plan accordingly.
 

Full Kit $1359
With Silver Tip Epoxy $1453