Ahoy...Boat Builders!

[Nate Carey]

Russ, I covet your vice!

[Lawrence Smith]

Hi Nate,

About three years ago while up in Maine, I came across a nice little four foot long "Wherry". Being a retired engineer and looking for a project I thought this little boat would make a nice cocktail table for our living room. So I bought the plans, built it and turned it into a table. I thought it came out pretty well. I was just glad at the time that it did not have to float. And little did I know this was the beginning of a disease that has no antidote. I'm now building my third boat which is a twelve foot by five foot pulling boat. Unfortunately the river that I live on is not ideal for sailing or I would do a sailboat for number four. The other problem that I have is this summer has been damn hot down here in Florida. I can only work a few hours each day and I have to give it up. I usually measure it in the number of times that I change my sweaty T shirt. It usually is two changes and then I quit for the day although I did make it to four once. Anyway, I enjoy it and it is interesting to read this forum when I'm on Saw Mill Creek. Keep Posting

[Nate Carey]

Lawrence, we're practically next door neighbors for part of the year. Which river are you referring to?

I only get to Jensen Beach 2 or 3 times each winter, staying a week or two each visit. Eight more years, then I'll be there from Thanksgiving to income tax day. And my plan is to have a fleet of small wooden boats to choose from.

[Lawrence Smith]

Hi Nate,

The river is the Lockahatchee. It has a couple of channels that run through it and the balance of it is quite shallow. Not good for center board sail boats. I would sure like to meet you when you come down this winter. Let me know when you'll be in the area. My e-mail address is larrysmith202@aol.com. I'm looking forward to it.

[Nate Carey]

One of my favorite places to kayak is through Jonathan Dickinson State Park on the Loxahatchee.

Lawrence, do you know these guys? www.boatsmithfl.com
...they do real good wooden boat work...

[Lawrence Smith]

Hi Nate,

Thanks for your reply. I am not familiar with Boatsmith, however I am familiar with the Liberty Yacht they are featuring on their website. I formerly owned a marine electronics company and we equipped quite a few Liberty Yachts as well as Merritts, Garlingtons, Ryboviches and Jim Smith boats. I will have to look them up when I get a chance. Am looking forward to meeting up with you this winter.

Larry

[John Powers]

woodenboat magazine has a great website mainly for the wooden folks and there are sites for wood and canvas canoe types. I check in here but woodenboat.com if full of knowledgable people.

[Nate Carey]

I haven't visited Sawmill Creek in several days 'cause my company is involved in a special project that has me and several others 'round here scrambling.

This morning I have a few minutes breathing room, and upon checking "Boat Building" I'm so pleased to see all this activity.

Bob your thread on oar building is fantastic!

...and now back to the show...

www.tnbuildcommunity.com

[Brett DeFalco]

Alright Nate, here's a build for you...

It's a plywood and epoxy hull, based on the hunting and fishing skiffs
used in the sawgrass of the Everglades back in the 1950's and '60's.
But those skiffs weren't powered, they were towed or poled.
They also didn't come with stowage for 6 flyrods, nor a vented pocket tunnel.
I documented the build, including my mistakes, so out of town family members
could follow the construction. Saved on sending and cc'ing email replies.
Click on the small images in the albums and you can view larger images.
Explanations in the captions under the pics. She's a skinny water skiff for use
in the inshore backwaters of NE Florida. An amateur design and build.
Floats in 3-1/2 inches with two aboard, runs in 12 inches.

link to build albums: http://picasaweb.google.com/bdefalco

[derek sikes]

I had grand plans to build a boat last year but had a daughter instead... So the boat is on the back burner... I do have a lot of books and back issues of Woodenboat Magazine though

[Brian George]

Have a friend that grew up on Long Island. He has a 26" Chrysler and is wanting me to go with him to the Bahamas this winter. I have sailed out of Ft. Lauderdale many, many times so he thinks that what we should be doing to escape the cold, cold winter here in Wisconsin.
I tell him his boat needs some work on the bright work and he tells me to get at it.
Right now it is snowing here in Eau Claire and I'm thinking there might be some merit to what he is thinking...

[Allan Froehlich]

It is a long-held dream of mine to build a wood boat.

I managed to get my start a few years ago as I was a pizza delivery driver:

I was heading down a familiar road to deliver a pizza. The weather was warm and I had my window open. Somewhere to my left, I heard the familiar sound of a palm sander. When I looked, I saw a garage loaded with about 10 canoes and kayaks on one side and a partially completed hull on the other. A man was sanding away at the hull.

I tried to make my delivery as fast as possible and get back to that house with the boats. When I made it there, I approached the man in the garage and, with great enthusiasm, told him how wonderful it was to meet someone with a similar interest. He gave me a grim look and stated that the actual owner of the boat and all of the tools and patterns had died a week earlier. The man in the garage was the son-in-law of the original builder. I was a bit upset about this, but he told me to come back that weekend because he did not know what to do with all of the [junk] in the house.

When I showed up, I found a big pile of plywood and scraps in the front yard. On closer inspection, I found that there were many hull bulkhead patterns in the pile. I knew what I was looking at, so I fought off (literally) anyone who stopped at the road with hopes of getting some free firewood.

I ended up with about 8 complete sets of canoe and kayak patterns!!! When the man in the garage realized that I saw value in these, he searched the house and garage and found 5 more sets of wood patterns, which he gave to me. I soon also had three building frames (strongbacks?) and all sorts of lumber. My dad and I also agreed to purchase all of the tools from the widowed lady, who had little use for them.

I think about building one of these boats soon. The only problem is that I do not have the space or capital to initiate the project. Right now, I am in a wonderful financial situation known as somewhere between graduation from college and finding a job. When I talk to my friends from school about what we want to do when we finally find employment, they talk about cars, electronics, and bachelor pads. I, on the other hand, talk about a nice workshop where I can build boats and furniture.


To have a stripwood canoe is a glimmering goal for me. It is not impossible to achieve, but it is out of reach for now.

[Nate Carey]

Allan, the "keen eared" young person that you are is exactly who I was 40 years ago. Don't think too much about the things you want to do...just do them and don't look back.

[Mac McQuinn]

Guys,

I know you're all scavengers like me and with wooden boats in mind, I've recently discovered a new supplier for future projects. I was running to the Post Office one day last week and looked over at our local Habitat for Humanity "Restore" store down by the waterfront. There's always an overflowing of stuff fro sale from the store into the parking lot and what I saw caused me to make a U-turn and go back.

It was a production built wooden 19'? "Lightning" sailboat in very nice condition, Sitting on a trailer and appeared to only need some cleaning and a coat of paint on hull. Interior was well varnished and there appeared to be a set sails, full rigging and masts inside. I walked inside to get the scoop, $1500 was asking price and a family donated it due to lost storage. There's lots of older homes in the area with carriage houses this could have emerged from. My thoughts are this boat was very well maintained and built in the late 1950's or early 60's. The boat has since vanished although this week on the way to post office again, I looked over and saw a wooden lapstrake 16-17" Runabout, perhaps a Thompson or Chris-Craft. I need to check this out closer for price and condition although it looked nice on a roll and had a trailer under it.

So don't discount the out of the way locations for future boat building projects....


Mac

[Arnold E Schnitzer]

I have plans for a Penobscot 17 and hope to start on her in the year ahead. My wife reminds me I've been saying that for three or four years now...

We went to the Wooden Boat Show at Mystic this past June and it was fantastic. I swore there and then that I'd get started this Fall. Is it Fall yet?