Whitehall page

Based on a classic New York "Whitehall" in the Mystic Seaport collection, the Shenandoah Whitehall is far lighter, faster, easier and less expensive to build in skin-on-frame. Very quick and reassuringly capable, she's constructed of marine ply and cedar stringers. The Shenandoah Whitehall is skinned with extremely tough industrial weight nylon or polyester, yet still only weighs in at 55-60lbs {27kgs} - including full floatation for safety. She's easy to carry and cartop, even for one person -so no trailer or dolly is needed.

Order plans here!

Plans for the Shenandoah Whitehall include:

Full Size templates for the frames, the stem, transom, knees and breasthook - no lofting needed.
A well illustrated step-by-step instruction guide, covering everything you need to know.
Instructions with both metric and imperial measurements.
A list of tools and materials needed.
Sources for uncommon items.
An appendix with useful building hints, epoxy information, and tips for care and usage.
And . . . ME. I am just an email away to answer questions, solve problems or give advice.

Don't take my word for it, though - check out this review by the author of "Rowable Classics":

--- "As you know, I had the great pleasure of test-rowing your Shenandoah Wherry for full week in Maine this July. During that time I put her “through her paces” in all types of water conditions from heavy chop to smooth water. I’m happy to report that she performed admirably, even in a quartering sea, and was extremely “well mannered” in all conditions. Handling her on land was also a great pleasure because she weighs so little compared to similar boats. And speaking of comparing her to other boats: I tested her for real-time speed against an Eddon Gig (Whitehall) which is almost exactly the same length and width, and very similar hull configuration. I used the same Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS device attached to each boat, in turn, to get actual speed readings and rower heart rate, as an indicator of energy output. So here’s what I discovered: at exactly the same time of day, on the same stretch of the river, using the exact same oars and the same GPS device—and producing the same heart rate, I found that your Shenandoah Whitehall was nearly twice as fast as the Eddon Gig which is a rather heavy fiberglass lay-up with wood rails! Not that speed is the only issue, per se, but by simple logic, the Shenandoah Whitehall should require only about half it takes to row a more typical fiberglass or wood Whitehall. It also requires much less to move it around on land as well! (Or hey—put another way, you can row twice as far on the same bowl of Wheaties—and who doesn’t like THAT idea!)

Shenandoah Whitehall

Attention SAILORS
- the answer is no! You will not be able to make a satisfactory sailboat of her. The Shenandoah Whitehall's hull shape is all wrong and she is far too lightly built to handle the stresses of a sail rig. Many have tried, none have been satisfactory.
But you could put a very small sail on her for downwind sailing in mild conditions. Steer with an oar.