BIRD LADY
Photo by Nicole Stewart
When Les Stewart was growing up, his father often took him out water-skiing on the lakes and rivers of North Carolina. When he had kids of his own, he wanted to create similar memories for them. He had built a cedar-strip canoe in his garage in 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic left him extra time on his hands, and that project kindled his interest in boatbuilding. In 2023, he bought plans for Glen-L’s Malahini, an outboard runabout that would provide his kids with thrills like those he had experienced with his father’s ski boat. He built the hull in glued-lapstrake plywood fashion instead of with plywood panels, as designed, and outfitted much of the boat with hardware salvaged from mid-century runabouts. It took him 28 months of weekends to get to the launching on the Pamlico River in June 2026. The boat was christened BIRD LADY in honor of his wife, Nicole, an avid birdwatcher.
CALIDRIS
Photos by Dave Farrington (left), Sue Philbrick (right)
Dave Farrington wanted a day boat that he could use to enjoy the waters around his home in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It initially took shape in his imagination, and after he talked with boat designer Doug Hylan at a boat show in 2012 in Portland, Maine, Dave sent Doug a 10-page summary of ideas and requirements. Doug used the design of his lobsterboat-inspired D’Anna as a starting point and gave the new design a rounded torpedo stern like those found on some Maine lobsterboats of the early 1900s and the raised deck popular in the same era. Dave began construction the following year and, working weekends, spent the next 12 years building CALIDRIS. Her hull is strip-built in western red cedar, the decks are ’glassed meranti plywood, and the brightwork finishing touches are cherry. The power plant is a 150-hp Yanmar diesel. She was launched in July 2025.