Perhaps smoldering best describes my infatuation with this “next boat”. Yes, it could be added to what’s becoming a long list. Some entries sparked. A few smoked long enough to produce half hulls. Others inspired a gathering of materials. And a couple even made it to the lofting floor. This one however has persisted and demands more. She currently has a set of finished spars hanging in the garage, foils and centerboard case reside on the bench and enough milled Atlantic Cedar for a hull rest in the shed. Pictured above is “Next’s” half hull prompting for clear garage space for lofting. Fingers are crossed. This is getting serious. Last week I installed a garage ceiling heater. Hmmm.

A little background: Near six years ago Off Center Harbor offered a video of Skorri, a 16’ centerboard sloop designed by Paul Gartside . Another double ender! Rob Denny of British Columbia had beautifully rendered Paul’s plan #165 accented with Rob’s added cuddy. Struck immediately, I contacted Rob within days of viewing his craftsmanship. Since then, he has humored me with many emailed replies. What a kind fellow.

So much of his Skorri reminded me of the prettiest thing I’ve ever owned, Luna, my L. Francis Herreshoff “Rozinante”. I parted with her in 2019 after 3 years of cruising her, but family, work and house renovations demanded attention away from that fine boat and she needed a better steward. Luna remains the finest Rozinante I have seen. It is all in the details and Luna had them all as Francis intended. I still hope to cross paths with her again, when life gets freer …

Back to Skorri. She stirred wonderful memories of Luna: her shape, grace, patina and scent of cedar. I reviewed the video now countless times. Her builder continued to email encouragement. After a year of pestering him, I bothered Mr. Gartside to see if he’d draw a 19’ version for me. With some back and forth, our answer appeared in WaterCraft issue 150 for December 2021 as design #257. Interestingly, in short order Paul designed a close 14′ sister #260, “Skraeling”. She’s shown blasting along WoodenBoat’s July 2023 cover. Recognizing a “pinup” of sorts, the magazine’s design editor Mike O’Brien reviewed our boat in September’s 2025 issue. And guess who is featured in Paul’s latest anthology, Volume III. Yep, this boat without a name.

I’ve no idea how many plans have been purchased thus far. Paul says the boat has driven quite a bit of interest. Obviously, I’m besotted. She has my attention. Last winter I made this model to study the hull’s volume.

So, we have a start. Several weeks have been invested this past Spring and Fall fabricating boat pieces. I feel like we’re building backwards. Are we 20% done? Now we only need a hull.