Jan '26 Newsletter
Happy New Year friends,
Buckle up for a long one! I’ve just hit all of my deadlines before Amanda and I leave for a six week backpack in SE Asia - a much needed break. We’ve led a courageous start to renovations in our funky Belfast home, while working full time and saving some energy to socialize. I’ll start with sharing some wacky items and furniture work, then chat about boat building.
Generic cabinet installs - in late Sept, I installed 7 full kitchens and bathroom vanities for a low income housing development in Rockport. Weird to have a hard hat on but it was a good change of pace.
Custom Vanity (for us) - speaking of cabinets, I finally took photos from our upstairs bathroom renovation. Just wanted to share my typical shaker style.
Mayette prototypes - I executed another round of furniture for Portland’s Mey & Co. This set of six pieces includes oak and walnut versions of: a daybed, a 4’ bench, and a 6’ bench - all updates from last year’s designs. Keep an eye on the upcoming launch of Mayette, which will include a variety of new and vintage items. These solid wood sitting devices from my little shop will ship knocked down to bolt together, and include custom upholstery from Pistol Pete. More photography should be released soon.
Here are 16 more angular shelves for Mey & co, similar to last year’s but with a whole new palate of color:
(image coming soon)
A new one from me: the Moonbat Nighstand - solid wide walnut, tapered legs, with a dovetailed shelf and concrete top, all made right here. I’d like to offer this in its simple form, or with an inset drawer for those inclined. Other species welcomed. If anyone makes on offer on this first one, I’ll give 60% to the Belfast Soup Kitchen.
I wanted a stool for lighting the wood stove, and decided to play around with a couple designs and have three leftover. I’ve got an assembled milk stool in poplar that I splattered with colored paint, a similar milk stool but three-legged walnut in DIY kit form, and an oak wood stove stool in DIY kit form. Here I’d give 80% to the soup kitchen, and I promise to work on their names…
West ender extension table - this commission for a repeat client in Portland, fits their kitchen nook just right at 42”, and extends to 60” when guests arrive. Pretty sold on the smooth german made slides and hidden stabilizing hardware. The joinery at the tapered leg corners was key, and we did some visible joinery at the stretchers for your feet to enjoy. Gotta love the variety in ash wood.
Try viewing the video on instagram of the operation, modeled by the one and only Amanda:
Point Comfort 18 - my second PC build progressed through the fall and is on track for a summer launch, as I’ll hit it hard when we return to the states. The community joined on a 10 degree day to flip her over by hand, revealing interior glue seams. I’m very confident with the interior work, the challenge will be adapting my wiring diagram for electric outboard power. A zero emission deadrise skiff shall be born!
Last newsletter, I shared Harry Bryan's 23' utility launch Trout, and Paul Gartside's 17' coastal row cruiser. Today, I’d like to share two traditional dinghies, that can both be rigged to sail, and tow well behind a cruising vessel. These two contend up there next to Gartside’s 10’er if I get the space to build something small in the next year.
12-15’ Maine Peapod - many boatbuilders developed their take on this double ended working craft, and it’s been executed as carvel plank-on-frame, lapstrake, as well as strip planked.
13’ Catspaw Dinghy - this transom sterned beauty has also been through several building techniques, after Joel White developed her design from Herreshoff’s Columbia dinghy.
Well, thanks if you made it through this newsletter! I greatly appreciate everyone’s support and look forward to sharing more work this year.
-Elijah