Here Roger and I are carrying the boat down the ramp on a nice sunny afternoon, July 12, near high tide.
After a few minutes adjusting seats and footrests Roger and Addie were off for the first tandem row.
We had launched the boat on July 3 and I was able to try it out single.
We want to keep the boat on the dock, but turned upside down to keep it dry. After lots of discussion Roger and I arrived at a design that seems workable. Here we make the first test of flipping the boat over. It works, but it takes more strength than we would like, so we are going to try some leverage or winch ideas.
So the boat is done and now its time for some great rowing. I think we will really enjoy this boat.
The kit arrived at the end of April, I got started sanding and epoxy coating parts about the first of May. Roger arrived in Maine and joined me about the 12th of May. Generally we worked 2-4 hours each day. The plans say the boat can be built in 100 hours, and that seems about right, although we did not keep an accurate time log. I think we spent a bit more time painting and sanding and varnishing.
I don't think the boat could be finished in less than about 60 days because of the epoxy curing time. Many days we would work just an hour or two, then have to wait 24 hours for the epoxy to cure before we could do the next operation.
Its been a great project, I had not built a boat for many years, and really enjoyed building again.