Tom Goodwin has designed for himself a sailboat with a traditional look for his home Caribbean waters. "With her shallow draft," he says, "I can skip over a sandbar and touch the rocks as I pass by." She is large enough, without an engine, for space to sleep below -- or on deck with a tent. For maintenance, he says, "It's easy to careen it and clean the bottom."

Ted Brewer has participated in the project as marine architect.