Built & Launched Registry
Marla Hooch
Power Dinghy
- Registry No.
- BL-000002
- Hailing Port
- Clinton, CT, United States
- Launched
- 8 September 2012
Laid Up Oldest Boat
- Builder
- Adam Riso
- Design
- Power Dinghy
- Length
- 12′3.7 m
- Launched
- 8 September 2012
- Hailing Port
- Clinton, CT, United States
12 Foot Cedar Strip Dinghy
The Story
In the builder’s words
Before MARLA HOOCH ever touched the water, she existed as little more than a collection of lines on paper and an idea that refused to go away.
Her design came from John R. Clark of Compumarine, a small-craft design company known for creating cedar-strip boats that could be built by amateur boatbuilders. Clark’s catalog included dinghies, tenders, skiffs, fishing boats, and other small craft intended for rowing, sailing, or modest power. Rather than producing finished boats, Compumarine supplied plans that allowed builders to transform ordinary strips of wood into something both functional and deeply personal. MARLA HOOCH is a Compumarine 12-foot Power Dinghy design, a strip-planked skiff design offered specifically for small-motor use.
The hull took shape one strip at a time from western red cedar, with mahogany and pine used throughout the boat. Cedar-strip construction rewards patience. Each narrow piece contributes only a small part of the hull, but together the strips gradually create its sweeping curves. Once the wooden structure was complete, the boat was covered with fiberglass cloth and epoxy resin, preserving the beauty of the wood while adding strength and protection.
WoodenBoat magazine had helped inspire Adam to begin the project. That influence eventually brought the story full circle when MARLA HOOCH was featured in the magazine’s online Boat Launchings collection—a home-built wooden boat becoming part of the same tradition that had encouraged her construction. gave the boat a personality before she even reached the water. Marla Hooch is also the unforgettable second baseman portrayed by Megan Cavanagh in the 1992 film A League of Their Own: unconventional, underestimated, and exceptionally capable when given the opportunity to perform. It is an appropriate name for a small wooden boat that may not look imposing beside larger vessels but represents an enormous accomplishment by her builder. She looks great from a distance but up close you can see the drips of the epoxy. What a looker! A quiet trolling motor provided her power, allowing her to move through the water at the unhurried pace that seems natural for a handcrafted wooden skiff. She was not built to overpower the harbor. She was built to enter it gracefully.
On September 8, 2012, after three years of work, MARLA HOOCH was launched at Port Jefferson, New York.
Builder Knowledge
Practical lessons from this build
- What I Would Do Differently
Clean the squeezed-out glue between planks before it dried to cut down on sanding!
Build Progress
1 of 1 stages complete
100% 1 of 1 stages (13 not applicable to this boat)
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Complete 8 September 2012 From her record
The Build
3 milestones, in order
-
SEPTEMBER 2009
The start
Work began on a still-unnamed cedar-strip dinghy, but a few months into the build, my daughter arrived and the project went into dry dock for a while. Eventually, I found my way back to it, adding one cedar strip at a time until the little boat slowly began to take shape.
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JANUARY 2012
Gunwale
The cedar-strip dinghy begins to come to life in a crowded workshop, its rich wood grain glowing beneath the warm light. With the interior taking shape and a row of clamps holding the gunwale in place, the photo captures the satisfying stage when a collection of individual strips finally starts to look like a real boat.
Norm Johnson ⚓Founder Member
Comment 1 ·
Adam Riso Builder ⚓Founder Member✎Build Chronicler
Builder reply to Norm Johnson ·