In the building manual for the PT 11 it says: "The PT 11 sailing rig is designed to be light and easy to use, not to be bullet proof." In developing this rig, weight and ease of use were the biggest priorities. "Hiking (sitting on the rail and leaning out) is okay for one person to do but not two.  Sailing with two and having one person hiking and the other sitting inside is okay too, just not two sitting on the rail." The PT 11 sailing rig arrives ready to use with all of its running rigging. One small item is up to you and that is the traveler line. This is the line needed to clip your ..read more

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Notice Port Townsend Watercraft will not be shipping out anything during the month of April, 2024 This includes sailing rig drop shipments, print books, bumper, Delrin turndogs, and fillet sticks. Dinghy kit sales are through Chesapeake Light Craft and not affected by this notice. Ashlyn, the one who prints the labels and keeps track of it all will be out of town for the month of April. While away, Russell will be building PT 11 sailing rigs along with other projects on the bench. Sailing rigs on order will be shipped starting in May. If you order our print books  or small items from our ..read more

Every year we make a point of sailing in the Shipwrights Regatta in Port Townsend Bay. This event has a special history and purposefully invites our marine trades professionals to put their tools down for a day and remember why we do what we do by playing on the water. Photo by Chance Bates When we first entered the PT 11, we were by far the smallest boat. Not classified as a racing dinghy and of course, unable to compete with the 505s or Thunderbirds, we entered in the Cruising class. Sometimes that meant a single start in C-class of our 11 feet and up to 40 foot boats and more. Some times th ..read more

Find discounts throughout the store from kayaks and canoes to sailboats and rowing craft, paddleboards to powerboats, even Teardrop Campers and ProKits. All of our complete kits and wood-parts-only kits are marked down. Most carry discounts up to 10%. This sale won't last long, so get on board now for the best prices! Through Tuesday, February 20th. Savings on complete kits: $400 off PT ElevenKit $379 off Peeler SkiffKit $313 off Southwester DoryKit $300 off PeapodKit $271 off Tenderly 10 DinghyKit $235 off microBootleggerKit $219 off Expedition WherryKit $205 off Night HeronKit $150 off Pet ..read more

* Undate to this article: We have received positive feedback on a product called Tef-gel, used by riggers and boaters for the purposes of anti-galling and anti-corrosion in marine environments. We have not yet figured out how to get mini quantities into kits cost effectively but there are small-ish versions available in your local chandlery or online. The PT 11 Nesting Dinghy Connective system is unique and it makes up a decent portion of the cost of the kit. After roughly 200 PT 11's sold to date, there have been very few issues with this connective system. In this article we are aiming to sh ..read more

Our friends at Chesapeake Light Craft will soon be heading west for the Madison WI, and Port Townsend, WA boat festivals.  This is a great opportunity to save on shipping! Save a bunch of money on shipping! Give us a call and we'll bring your big, heavy stuff with us for pickup in Madison and Port Townsend. Boat kits, big heavy items like rowing units, oars, even small orders of plywood, stuff that can be difficult (and expensive) to ship. Boat kit orders are due by August 16 so we have time to cut, pack, and stow in the rig. This offer's only good until space runs out. Call us today! 41 ..read more

The Seventy 48 race this year was a first for PT Watercraft in that there were two PT 11's in this 70 mile event. Our local hero Inger Rankins rowed her 4th race in the PT 11 and it is interesting how every year can be so different. We will start with Inger, whose tracker never communicated to the satellite and many of her fans thought she had dropped out. Think again. While her family and friends in Norway, France, California, Virginia, New Mexico, and Port Townsend were all frantically wondering where she was, she was happily keeping her rhythm over the waves, admiring the moon over Mount Ra ..read more

I tried to load these to Instagram but they all look blurry. I will just load them here and if anyone wants better copies, let me know. It was a perfect and beautiful morning for the start of the race. Fewer boats than usual but it was fun to be on the water with everyone. Friday and Saturday the Seventy/48 human powered race happened and once again Inger Rankins (Team Valhalla)  blew us all away in the PT 11. But there were two PT 11's in that race and I will put together a dedicated post about that. AB ..read more

We have refreshed out books page!  It should be easier now to order books with new Paypal buttons. Note that we have more than Russell's How-to books. Epoxy Basics, Scarfing Basics and Rolling Perfection. We re-published Project Cheers, an adventure of historic trans-Atlantic racing in the early days of the OSTAR. Tricks, Cheating, & Chingaderos lets you in on a master finisher's secrets, by Joni Blanchard. See it here. Toti Bleu, Dream of a Gypsy Wagon, by Suzanne Snadecki, documents the building of a horse drawn gypsy wagon in rural France. It is poetic, informative, beautiful, and ..read more