The Project

Boot Key Harbor, Marathon, Florida

On the previous post, I announced "The Trip".   Now let me announce "The Project"

I have agreement with Dave and Jen for their help to build a boat this summer.   The type of boat is called Geodesic Aerolite.    These boats are made with heat-shrinkable Dacron over a wood frame.  It is similar to light airplane construction.

At first I thought of building a dinghy.  It would be very advantageous to have a dinghy that weighed only 26 pounds.  I could lift it out of the water and put it on deck with one hand.

But our choice is not a dinghy.  Instead, we plan to build the two-person 17 foot long Sheepscott Shell.  See the picture below.   With 12 foot oars and with seats that slide on tracks, Libby and I could make that boat really fly.   We both love rowing, and this boat would be very fun.

But 17 feet is too long to store on Tarwathie's deck.   We can't carry it with us and we can't use it here in Marathon  (12 feet is the length limit for the dinghy dock.).  Instead, I plan to do the woodwork wtih Dave's help in Dave's garage in North Carolina.   Construction of the actual boat would be done in Jen's garage next summer.   We would store the boat at Jen's house, and row it on Lake Champlain and on surrounding rivers.