“For the most part society has lost this hands-on capability, but the ‘makers’ are clearly reviving it.” —P. Blacksberg

feet and head dangling out on either side. It would be very hard to tip over, and all the parts float, no matter what happens to the inner tube, which is fairly rugged. The more wind, the better it works. For next season I’m working out how to make a lighter, nimbler, more compact traveling version using telescoping PVC pipe.

Enjoy!

—Mark Suszko Springfield, Ill.

P.S. Keep up the good work, and I’d like to see more boating articles in future issues.

I had to share this project with you, it’s so amusing. It looks like I just escaped from Cuba in it.

I saw plans for this 1940s-era micro-boat while Googling ( simplicityboats.com/corky.html), and thought it would be a hoot to scale it up from a kid-sized contraption to an adult-sized sailer, length about 50". I sailed mine last week.

It can be built and painted in one day, sailed the next. Cost: about $25 for the tube, plus another $30 in materials for the wood, brass screws, and a quart of porch paint to seal it. The sail is made from a simple plastic tarp sewn onto the spars using weed-whacker monofilament; the mast was a closet pole from Wal-Mart.

Photograph by Ryan O’Horo

The entire thing fits in a car trunk when deflated and rolled up. The wood part is basically just a plank under the waterline that connects the “bow” ( holding up the detachable mast) to the “stern” with its rudder, and the entire assembly hangs suspended from the inner tube by web belts.

I modified the original design by scaling up the proportions for the larger tube and adding a detachable keel on the bottom which lets you sail closer to the wind for tacking, and not just straight downwind. My simplified rudder is attached with brass door hinges that have removable pins.

As seen in the photo, you actually ride it sideways,

I love your magazine, I really do. I read it cover to cover and enjoy 99.9% of every issue. But Volume 14’s article on “Mall Living” [page 34] was out of line. Michael Townsend and Adriana Yoto broke the law, yet the interview questions were worded in a way that, in my opinion, almost condones their actions.

Ten pages earlier is an article that inspires us to try and find ways to make our world better (“The Power of Things”) by understanding our power consumption and then reducing it. I guess these two found a way — too bad it was completely unethical. The article uses the word artist to describe Townsend, but let’s be honest — the word should be changed to criminal.

—Jim Kelly Atlanta, Ga.

MAKE AMENDS

In MAKE, Volume 13, page 137, the “Smart Structure” materials list incorrectly gave capacitor values in microfarads. It should have called for nanofarad values.

In MAKE, Volume 12, page 112, a schematic diagram is missing an arrow to indicate which direction to align diode D1. The arrow should point to the right, just like diode D2.

Make: 17