What happens when you take a 12-foot boat and set off on a journey that spans continents, rivers, and years of your life? This week on the podcast, I had the absolute pleasure of speaking with Stephen Ladd , one of the most accomplished and quietly legendary figures in the world of minimalist voyaging. His books Three Years in a 12-Foot Boat and The Five-Year Voyage have become cult classics among small boat adventurers — not just for their incredible scope, but for the raw honesty, humor, and insight they offer into life on the margins of modern travel. In our conversation, Stephen takes us back to the beginning: designing Squeak , his 12-foot microcruiser, and setting out alone to discover how far one man can go with a tiny boat and a big idea. We talk about wild rivers, calm anchorages, violent storms, and everything in between — and how these extreme experiences forged both skill and resilience. We also discuss The Five-Year Voyage , which he undertook with his partner Ginny, c...
If you enjoyed Part 1 of our conversation with legendary boat designer John Welsford , you’re going to love what’s in store for Part 2. In this episode, John takes us further into his world of small boat innovation and adventure. We kick things off with a look at the new 7-meter ocean-going boat he’s currently designing—something he hasn’t talked much about publicly until now. It’s a boat meant to cross oceans with confidence, while still staying true to Welsford’s core design philosophy: safety, practicality, simplicity, and real-world performance. From there, we dig into the story behind his new design “Scallywag,” which was born out of a desire for a microcruiser like the SCAMP—but with accommodations for longer journeys and sleep-aboard comfort. It’s a design many have been waiting for, and it reflects the continued evolution of small cruising sailboats. John also shares some fantastic anecdotes about his designs out in the wild. We hear about a SCAMP in Tierra del Fuego , and...