Full-color paper copies of Skinny Hull are now available on a limited basis.

Each issue can be yours for $5.00 plus shipping (about $2.00 domestically).  For those of you who prefer “real” magazines you can lug around with you, these are the same as you see online, and can be read in any room of the house, on your boat, or wherever you do your best reading!

To order:

• Email which issues and how many of each to editor@canoesailingmagazine.com with the subject “Paper Copy“. Include your mailing address!
• We will calculate the cost, and email the amount to you to pay in our PayPal account. If you prefer, you can also write a check of course.
• We will get it out to you in a week to 10 days upon payment.

(From Forest & Stream, February 3, 1900)

The publisher’s low-down on bamboo and how to make it into spars
Ed Maurer, Dunedin, Florida

Bamboo can be used on rigging of any size.

After going through all the work of building my sharpie, the last thing I was in the mood for was building the mast and spars. From the beginning of the project, I had it in mind to use only materials historically available in Florida, since I wanted to emulate a vessel that may have been built here. It may seem like a silly notion, but there you have it.
I had the same issue when I built my canoe sailing rig—I just didn’t want to go through making my own spars. What I found then was cured timber that had been cut by the power company when clearing lines. I found a piece that would make a good mast and two more as spars for my lateen, though they had some intriguing “personality” of their own by way of knots and gentle bends in several directions. However, all three worked like champs and required only a little woodworking and varnish. Hard to beat the look of grown spars!