Building a 22 1/2 foot classic cruiser.

With our design selected in the fall of 1997, it was now time to make the appropriate plans and actions so that we could begin construction in May 1998. Even before we began, we had determined our boat building would be limited from May to November (7 months) and we'd recess from December to April (5 months).

Over the winter, I began to collect as many tools as possible. Our approach was to obtain as many kinds of tools as possible, but focus on capability versus size. Additionally, we were lucky to find sources for refurbished tools which were nearly new but sold for half price. Typical of our purchases was the Delta 8" Tabletop Band Saw we got for $140. With the $800 16" model, you can cut anything in any direction you like. With the 8", you plan in advance and sometimes need to use a jig saw to make a rough cut.

Also during the winter, I bought a dozen books on boat building and had them all read before we started. Knowing what I know now, only two books were necessary for the Glen-L design (cold molded plywood) and are:

1. "The Gougeon Brothers on Boat Construction: Wood and West System Materials"

2. "Boat Building with Plywood" by Glen L Witt.

The Gougeon book explains nearly every possible way to use epoxy and wood, how to easily build tools, etc. The Witt book is about as close to a "cookbook" manual to building a boat as I've seen. Their plans are arranged the same as the book. Chapter by chapter - it's almost like baking a cake (but a bit more expensive).

Another skill we had to learn was use of marine epoxy. I ordered the $10 epoxy starter kit from System Three (http://www.systemthree.com). They have a superior manual that comes with it that details everything you need to know about using their epoxy. Our knowledge of epoxy manufacturers at that point was limited to System Three and West (Gougeon Brothers). We choose System Three for 3 reasons:

1. Lower cost.

2. Error tolerant 2:1 ratio of resin to hardener versus 5:1

3. Technical support. Prior to purchasing, I called the technical support to ask some novice questions. Mr Kern Hendricks himself answered and he talked to me for almost 30 minutes - 15 minutes on epoxy, and 15 minutes on boats in general. I bet if you buy enough of his epoxy, he'll even makes house calls.

In February 1998, cleaned the garage out, painted the walls white, and hung 4 four-foot double fluoresce lamps. Then in March, we ordered the lumber from M L Condon in White Plains, NY. Their cost was very competitive, and it was close enough not to pay a kings ransom in shipping charges. We purchased the entire bill of materials for the hull - approximately 150 board-feet of Honduras Mahogany lumber and about 18 sheets of marine grade plywood. Except for two questionable sheets of plywood, the quality was impressive.

Here's the before and after pictures of the garage: