The Corcl Story in Pictures

On a family trip to Vietnam, we saw unusual round boats propelled forward by one oar.

These basket-like boats were everywhere.

The boats were fun and funny!

We met a craftsman, who made us our own basket boat with bamboo from his yard.

A woven section of the boat.

The hull before being attached to the gunwale. The boats were made watertight with a mixture of cow dung and tree sap.

This beautiful object arrived at the Port of Baltimore, where everyone asked us what it was.

Our industrial engineer, Inna Alesina began making prototypes with wood, pool noodles and heavy plastic sheeting.

Prototype testing.

Silly testing.

More testing.

The smallest, most nimble craft was everyone's favorite.

The preferred prototype was smaller than the traditional, one-person basket boat.

CAD drawing of the top.

CAD drawing of the bottom.

Foam sheets cut from the drawings' specs.

The cut rim.

The foam sections are glued together.

Our naval architect, David Massey added fiberglass to the model.

Night work.

The original prototype next to the foam and fiberglass model. Pretty close!

The prototype with the pad we designed.

In the dead of winter, we began many sessions on the water.

Our steel mold completed. Our excitement and anxiety level rise.

The first boat out of the mold!

The dedicated team at our manufacturer.

Hitting the water.