Coming Outof the Deep Freeze

OK, it never really got THAT cold here in central North Carolina, but I've lost a lot of my motivation for going out in the cold.  Yes, I could have worked on the boat this last weekend, since it was in the 60s during the day.  Unfortunately, there were those darn chores...

Anyway, the delay is inevitable, since Pam says I can spend money yet.  I'm just to the point I need to buy epoxy and a 16' mahogany board.  That's about $150 out of pocket.  Not going to happen before mid March.  So I've got lots of time to finish the stuff that goes before that.  Hoping to finish cutting up the plywood frames over the next two weekends, but there's no rush.

Did I mention my thoughts on what to build (next) have changed?  I've decided to scrap the Three Amigos in favor of the Travelers:


     7' 10"     8-Ball                  DRIFTER
     15'         Minuet                 NOMAD
     29'         Francis Drake    VAGABOND

You will notice that the boat I previously called "Dusty Bottoms" is now "Drifter".  Same design.  I've still continued with the proportionate size increase, except now the proportion is 1.92.  I could continue this sequence one more size to the 55' LodeStar, but that is more boat than I could ever want.  However, if I was to build such a boat, I would name it WANDERER.

Anyway, had considered the Minuet before since it was small enough to easily fit in the garage, while still providing a small cabin for overnight trips.  I was shying away from the small cabin in favor of the larger one of the Glen-L 25 because it would allow me to be more comfortable, but there's no way I could build the larger boat any time soon.  I figure that I could build the NOMAD starting next year, with a completion date sometime in late 2013 or early 2014.

And the Francis Drake?  Hey, it would be nice to have a larger boat, but I'm realistic.  I will probably NOT be doing any around the world voyages, especially since Pam has an aversion to boats that will have to be overcome.  I believe that the VAGABOND will provide sufficient capacity if I ever do, and it will be a heck of a lot less expensive than the AMIGOS would have been.  I had glanced at this plan before, but had dismissed it since it was a deep keel vessel with a small cockpit.  But I've been reconsidering my position on deep keels, and I do like the lines.