Tom Allbrecht is a close friend and neighbor, avid fisherman and outdoors man. who, if this saying is true; "you can tell the men from the boys by the size of their toys" Is a giant among men! For years he has cherished an old dinghy that was literally being held together with fiberglass patches. He was surveying this memento of good times past one day with his son Andy. He wistfully said " I think I'm going restore her and put some more fiberglass on it" As quick as a flash, Andy replied " Dad, Burn pile!" So it did, but not before we took some measurements and over the winter built a close replica.
Drawing up plans from an idea, building the jig, figuring out which bit to do first seems so much more satisfying than buying a kit. Probably more expensive but the result is unique for sure!. One important lesson of this build is that when you have a fore and aft measurement of 8 feet, one needs more than an 8ft sheet of ply wood. Aargh!
She is certainly not perfect but has provided a really good learning experience for Tom and me.
We are looking forward for someone to put the first scratch on her, then we can stop worrying and she can become the 'freighter' she was designed to be
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