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...
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