We asked you what you were building, and several more replies trickled in. Here’s an update on two projects from reader, Randy Kaminski:
Moving slow on an Eastport Pram.
Putting a Compac Suncat back together—had to strip paint off topsides, refinish brightwork, and repair several small voids in the gelcoat
Here’s Skip Johnson’s latest project:
QB (Questing Beast) a 21' Proa with cambered panel staysails is currently waiting for inspection by the state of Oklahoma (a state trooper comes by and says "Yep, it's a boat") so I can get registered and titled. Six weeks until the Texas 200.
“Wooden Boat” Dan Mattson’s Peeler Skiff is looking good…
In December 2022 I started the build of my CLC Peeler Skiff from a kit. I am about 350+ hours in (because I’m OCD? - lol). I have made a few minor mods to give it a more traditional look: added a mahogany stem; reshaped the bulkhead top ends to look more like frames than plywood ends; stained and varnished some of the Okoume plywood to look more like the mahogany gunnels; used satin paint instead of gloss; made leather grommets for cable routing (for center console). The boat will be outfitted with a 20hp Honda outboard with center console steerage.
I will have the boat done this month - just in time for summer messing about while camping in eastern WA (pulling grandkids on tube :-) ), and trips to local lakes & Puget Sound near our Stanwood home. For those interested, I have a few videos on the build.
Reader Richard Ilfeld keeps very, very busy…he writes:
I'm building an Osprey II, a two place amphibian flying boat. It's plans built, and will be a multi thousand hour project when finished this fall. I've been at it for nearly 15 years. When I get to something the really frustrates me, I stop and build a boat or piece of furniture.
(from memory) George Couch-designed a V8 river racer; museum quality example in the midwest called Babyface Nelson. Bolger did a knockoff in Boats with an Open Mind callled Sneakeasy.
Guillamot Kayaks. Picked up on the lines and did a family of kayaks called bootleggers. I've built several, this is the two place. Micro-Bootlegger.
Two boats ago I did a little melonseed sailor for the bay carved foam with fiberglass and a step down mast. Since I have a decent canal run to the bay I put a trolling motor in the keel.
Captain Brewin sent us some fun shots of his build:
I am building an Atlantic 17 along with my Brother, Gus Brewin, and good friend and fellow veteran Richard Honan. We meet at Gus’s house on Sunday mornings for work and are treated to fresh baked bread and muffins from Gus’s kitchen. We get the occasional help from neighborhood kids along the way. Great fun!
And finally, Peter Van Sickle is busy with a pretty strip-build…
I am currently working on a Poulsbo boat. This will be 16' X5' with an 8hp outboard. The design has traditionally been carvel planked and I am building it strip covered. I have about 50 percent coverage with stripped. I am looking at late summer launch.
•SCA•
Skip Johnson may need additional evidence to prove to the Oklahoma State Trooper that his creation is indeed a boat. Nice job, btw. Not enough proas out there.
Did anyone else notice that the shops these projects were in look as clean as my living room? A sign of a craftsman, no doubt!
What a nice sampling! Thanks for sharing!