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Subject: Duck Trap Wherry Fritha
Builder: Philip Archer

Philip emailed to say:

I finished building my Duck Trap Wherry in June 2005 and would have written to you sooner had it not taken me two years to work out how to use my digital camera. We've had two summers with "Fritha", and we've rowed her in the sea off the Isle of Wight, on the Norfolk Broads, the River Thames at Oxford, the River Dee at Chester, Lake Ullswater in the Lake District, and the River Coquet and North Sea at Amble in Northumberland. She's added a new dimension to our holidays and feels like another member of the family. Her looks have been highly praised everywhere, and it's interesting to note that the highest praise has come from the professional boatbuilders who have seen her... I was particularly pleased with our visit to Amble, which is a small fishing town with a long history of boatbuilding. The boatbuilding industry is now dead unfortunately, but Fritha acted like a magnet drawing the remaining old boatbuilders to her, and I had several long and interesting conversations. She was also well received by the fishermen, some of whom still net for salmon from open boats in the way I imagine Lincolnville salmon fishermen did.

Building Fritha was hugely pleasurable, and I'm glad to find owning and using her equally so. Thank you.
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This is Fritha ashore at Amble in Northumberland.

Learn more about the Duck Trap Wherry.

Subject: Rodney (Newfoundland Trap Skiff Family)
Builder: Derrick Burry

Derrick emailed to say:

Hello Ducktrap,

Just thought that I'd send you a couple of pictures of my new boat with the sail made from the sail plan that you sent me. The sail was made by Michele Stevens Sail loft in Nova Scotia. The dimensions were copied exactly as the plans detailed and it worked out very well. Thank-you!

Sometime during this coming winter I'll be ordering your plans for oars.

The boat pictured is what many Newfoundland fishermen call a rodney or punt - particularly along the Northeast coast of the island where I am from. If the boat was made solely with sailing in mind it was usually called a sail punt and was frequently outfitted with 2-3 sails. With the single sail as you see pictured the boat was most often 14-16ft in length and the sail was much smaller and was used mainly running before the wind or on a broad reach. They were not built with centerboards and as a result were less efficient beating into the wind.

I was particularly struck by your version of the Newfoundland Trap Skiff design that you have and I thought you'd be interested in the boat that I've built. Mine is 17.5 ft in length and is 5ft wide and was built pretty much by eye - which was the common way to build small boats here in Newfoundland.

Beautiful job Derrick.

Subject: Christmas Wherry
Builder: Ewan Kennedy

Ewan's Christmas Wherry was launched in May...that's her builder in the red shirt, and they are sailing on Loch Melfort in Scotland. The two photos were very kindly forwarded to us by Richard Pierce, a close friend of the builder and himself a designer. His website is www.rfhpierce.co.uk. Interesting stuff.

(This wherry appeared in the last issue of Water Craft magazine.)

Subject: 13' Lapstrake Canoe
Builder: Walter Simmons

This is one of the photos we were waiting for in order to complete our latest Boatbuilding in Pictures CD, Lapstrake Canoes...

This sleek 13-footer weighs in at less than 45 pounds.

Place: Pittwater & Sydney, NWS
Subject: Rhodes Wherry
Builder: Noel Frith

Photos of our boats under sail are scarcer than hen's teeth. Our thanks to Noel for sending along this great shot of his beautiful little Rhodes Wherry.

'Couldn't resist this shot of the builder with the Sydney Opera House in the background.

Our snail mail address is:
Duck Trap Woodworking
P.O. Box 88
Lincolnville Beach, Maine 04849

Our physical address is:
9 Simmons Ct.
Lincolnville,ME 04849