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.