THE LINEAGE
Four generations. Zero fiberglass.
Capt. Dan is the fourth Thistlewack to study the behavior of corrugate under maritime pressure. The family tradition began when an ancestor mistook a shipping carton for a tender and declined to admit the error.
Today the yard combines practical load paths, careful race-rule review, and an inherited belief that a well-named boat has already solved half the problem.
THE RECORD
Back-to-back honors, entered without embellishment
At the 25th Taft Public Library Great Cardboard Boat Race in 2025, The BumbleMcBees earned Second Place in the Family Boat category and the Captain’s Choice Award for Most Attractive Boat.
At the 26th running on July 13, 2026, The Unsinkable Luau repeated the feat with a second-place finish and the Captain’s Choice Award for collaboration, innovation, and most attractive design. Four honors in two years now occupy the yard archive and, when necessary, the Captain’s immediate field of view.
THE WORK
Pushing corrugated naval architecture forward
Capt. Dan’s method is centered on counter-fluted lamination, controlled scoring, shared-load bulkheads, keelward seams, and exhaustive inspection. He maintains the Thistlewack Patent Registry for advances that conventional naval authorities have been slow to comprehend.
Every commission is treated as a vessel: designed for a crew, built for a course, and expected to meet the water with composure.
THE YARD MAXIM
A captain’s soul and a craftsman’s beating heart
The materials may arrive as boxes. They leave the yard with a name, a registry entry, and specific instructions regarding their conduct under paddle.
For commissions, race inquiries, and respectful patent licensing proposals, write to info@thistlewack.com.
PHOTOGRAPHIC VESSEL RECORD
Captain and craft
