13' White Pooduck Skiff (2005)

One of my favorite Joel White designs, I built a Pooduck back in 2005. It’s a terrific combination of good rowing, sailing, and towing characteristics, and she is fairly easy to build and maintain. Also, to my eye she looks great.

It may at first seem to only a bit bigger than White’s similar Shellback, but Pooduck is noticeably larger and heftier on the water. I enjoyed the little jib while soloing, but it also gives the crew something to do if you’re sailing with a friend. It can be dropped if the wind picks up.

A dedicated person could build a Pooduck as a first boat, but it might be better to start with something like a Nutshell to get the hang of epoxies, lapstrake construction, tools, etc.

I wonder where my Pooduck is now? Around 2010 I sold her to a gentleman who had a place a place on a lake in New Hampshire (if I recall correctly). Enjoying some interesting adventures, I hope…

Alas I do not have any photos or videos of my Pooduck under sail, so I’ve provided some links to other Pooducks out there on the internet. The photos are from Small Boats Monthly and the video from YouTube. There’s an excellent article about a very nice Pooduck in the December 2017 issue of Small Boats Monthly (https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/pooduck-skiff/).