Finally Production

09/05/2025 - Although it’s been a while since I have posted, I have not been idol. The final shipment of tools have came in. It was my router and stand. Once again, I had to read all the instructions and safety precautions. I then had to practice with some of my left over pieces of wood. I think I am getting a hang of wood working but nowhere near master.

It has been a task to find the right lumber for the boats. When you think about home projects or the DYI warehouses, you think in standard lumber availability, sizes and prices, this is not so true when talking about specialty lumber like White Oak, Douglas Fir, Teak, and Mahogany. You need to be a master carpenter for these. Until I can make Bruce Lee, Jet Li, and Jacky Chan hurt their selves on my boats, I will stick with mother nature’s strength. I am not there, YET!

I have been shopping around both brick and mortar, and on-line. There are very limited sources for these types of woods. I have decided to add Cedar to my possibilities. Not for the floor of the boats (that’s still marine grade plywood) but for the sides and trim. This took a lot of research to make the change. I will continue to try to find a reliable source for other types.

I started my database for my business, it is growing. I will track models, materials, bill-of-materials, inventory, boat costs, and sales. I needs to search for a data source for state taxes by year so I can incorporate that data into my bill-of-sales. There will be more to add as I go along.

I have tested wood glues, they work really well but I would not use them for connecting side walls together to make 12 feet out of 8 and 4 foot pieces. It holds together but doesn’t seem to have the strength that I desire for my boats. I will continue to search for 1X12X12 or 1X12X10 lumber.so that the side walls are strong and straight. I think I found a source for this. Going there today.

I have commissioned several shops around here for custom made items but have yet to hear on their progress. I will be checking in on them later. I was thinking about creating a list of who and who not to do business with. I can take no for an answer but really have a difficult time with a yes answer and no or sub-par action.

09-10-2025 - Spending time assembling the first production boat. using lessons learned from the prototype, I have made sure that my frame was square. I have assembled the top frame (bottom - when it’s upside down) using glue and screws. Allowed for that to dry completely before putting in the deck (floor) of the boat, again using lessons learned, making sure that measurements match. That has been drying and should be ready to assemble the floor tomorrow.

09-15-2025 - Well, I took a couple of days off. I had to try to figure how to move the big pieces with only one person. It’s really not so much as moving them but putting them in place after you apply glue. That will be the task for today.

The boat got delayed, I had to work on a fence to keep our dogs in the yard. We recently had a fence installed in the back yard. But the dogs were able to dig under and get out. We worked on securing the fence and now they stay in the yard. Now, back to the boat.

09-16-2025 - Ok, started assembling the bottom of the boat. I held the mid-section (3X8) off the frame with 4x4 posts so that it is set above the frame so I can begin applying the marine grade wood glue. After I went around the bottom, I lifted the bottom sheet up and removed the 4x4s and applied additional glue to where the 4x4s were sitting. I then lower the mid-section down and screwed in the bottom and applied clamps. I then went under the boat and applied the glue to all seams from the inside.

Afterwards, I applied glue to the two sections for the ends of the boats and screwed them down. I applied additional glue from underneath the boat for the inside seams.

Tomorrow I will apply more glue to fill in any gaps and have a solid boat frame.

09-18-2025 - Found the trailer that I am going to be using for my boats. It isn’t everything that I wanted but after talking to the owner, I found out that what I want wouldn’t be cost effective. The prototype fits well on it after a few adjustments to the trailer. The trailer will do well and will become one of my products. It will work for all of the models we will be building.

09-22-2025 - Finished gluing the sections, this took several days of applying, letting it dry and applying again. I really don’t want any leaks.

I am not sure if I have already mentioned this but I registered my first boat in the Georgetown Wooden Boat Show in Georgetown SC mid-October.

09-23-2025 - Began painting the inside the inside of the boat and the seats. I applied two coats to the inside and seats.

09-24-2025 - Flipped over the boat and started painting the outside. I applied three thick coats of paint. I ran out of my initial order of paint and had to reorder some more to finish the seats.

09-25-2025 - I began installing the hardware. I placed a set of handles on both ends of the boat to be easily picked up. I installed the spring clamps that will hold the paddles and push polls to the walls of the boat. It is really starting to look like a working boat. Tomorrow, I will be visiting the shop that is supposed to be making my seat clamps.

Watching glue dry

Just some of the clamps remained, most have already been removed.

Had to get underneath here to smooth out some of the glue, not an easy task for over 200 lb man.

How the boat fit on the trailer before trailer adjustments to move the boat back about a foot with AI painted prototype boat.

Interior Painted

Painted with Seats and Handles

With Poles and Paddles Installed

Poles and Paddles Installed Waiting for Seat Bracket