Aboard, About, A Boat . . .

May, 2006. Two guys, a ream of blueprints, several sheets of poster board, and a dream of someday sinking to the bottom of Lake Erie in a boat built with our own hands. Yup, it’s time for the boat post.

A joint endeavor combining my legendary woodworking skills* and my good friend Matt’s experience with fiberglass, woodworking and motors, our little boatbuilding project has progressed slowly over the past two years. We purchased the plans from Glen-L in the winter of 2006 and then began work in May. We had originally intended to build a jet boat using the impeller from a used jet ski, but recently decided to modify the design to that of a traditional outboard runabout. The following pictures and descriptions recount the work done so far. From here on, I’ll try to update periodically whenever we make significant progress.

We started working in my dining room with a full set of blueprints.

The drawings on the prints had to converted into full size patterns by carefully tracing each piece onto poster board and then cutting them out.

The full size patterns were then traced onto marine grade plywood, after which we began cutting out the shapes that would form the hull of the boat.

Here’s a finished piece of the hull, followed by the completed transom.

The pieces then needed to be beveled and sanded and shaped.

Once properly shaped, we used epoxy and butt blocks to attach the long planks of the hull together full length.

This picture shows pieces that make up the outer form of the hull and transom; basically, the shell of the boat.

After that, we began stitching the various forms together. You can learn a bit more about the "stitch and glue" technique of boatbuilding by clicking HERE.

In May, 2007, the boat began to take shape.

This picture displays the hull and gives an idea of the eventual length and beam of the boat.

And that’s about where things stand today. More updates to follow!



* After my college roommate and I finished building a bunk bed out of 2 x 4's by hand in college, he gratefully bestowed upon me the title of "Lackee" in recognition of my helpful contributions to the project.

In Which I Begin

I’ve talked about doing a blog for quite awhile and, for no particular reason, I’ve decided to launch today. I’m primarily going to use this as a place to chronicle some of my trips and adventures, share some pictures, occasionally pass on funny, random stories, and narrate the wild exploits of my life (and those of my little dog, too). My goal is to update this thing regularly for at least a year. And since I’d like to provide a bit more info but have no particular urge to structure paragraphs and create smooth transitions at the moment, here’s a Q&A.

Do I think anyone will read this? Nope. Maybe. I don't know.

Does that bother me? Superficially, no. Deep down inside . . . not really. But it would be fun if people did.

What exactly are they going to miss out on? In addition to my unparalleled brilliance and cunning wit, there will be pretty pictures.

What kinds of things will I write about?

Here’s a list. (I love lists.)

1. Travel. Past vacations, potential future trips, places I’d like to go. I may even go back several years and post stuff about vacations I took a long time ago, if only to fill in the gaps now and then.
2. My dog, Wicket. Get used to it.
3. Books. ‘Cause I love them.
4. Music. ‘Cause I love it.
5. Photography. ‘Cause I want to be a photographer when I grow up and get bored being a lawyer.
6. Sports. No analysis or detailed rantings or anything like that. Just occasional Yay!s and Boooo!!s concerning the teams that I follow.
7. My boat. Part of the purpose of this blog is to chronicle the progress of a boatbuilding project that a friend and I started about two years ago. We’re building an 11' outboard runabout from wood based on plans purchased from http://www.glen-l.com./ Pictures of a vaguely boat-shaped nature to follow.
8. The little things that I do now and then to try to protect the environment. My hope is that sharing them will encourage me to keep looking for new ways to help.
9. My list of goals in life, at least insofar as I’m willing to share them. Yup, there’s an actual list. It’s super cool.
10. The aurora borealis. No particular reason, it just always seems to come up.

Am I referring to the boat that hasn't been touched since last fall? No comment.

So, what things will I NOT be discussing?

1. TV. I just don’t care much.
2. Politics. Again, not interested.
3. Current events. I try to stay blissfully out of touch.
4. Children.
5. More stuff that I can’t think of right now. You’ll know it when you don’t see it.
6. Cows.

What’s with the blog name?

Alice laughed: "There’s no use trying," she said; "one can’t believe impossible things." "I daresay you haven’t had much practice," said the Queen. "When I was younger, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."

– Alice in Wonderland