| As everone who has ever built a boat knows, you start by
building a frame (called a strong back) that you attach the boat
frame's to. Once the frame's are secured to the strong back, you
make sure the strong back does not move. Only I have a wife that
insisted on parking her car in the same heated garage at night. The
garage being only 19'X 20' meant that I had to come up with a way to
move the boat in the center when the car was not there. So before
adding wheels to the strong back, I had to make sure nothing would
move during construction. And it worked, the frame's never shifted
and the boat came out true. It also forced me to clean up each
night. The boat went together fairly easy, I used marine
plywood, oak, mahogany, and epoxy through out the building of the
Redwing. I took some 2" X 10' pine and other lumber to fit the hull
when it was time to roll it over. The side's were very flexible and
I was concerned about damaging it. It worked out very well.
The cabin door's were a real challenge. I now have great
respect for louvered door's. The anchor's for door handles were made
from one piece of walnut. They really were easy to make. But like
any building project, after awhile it seemed like I would never
finish. But that's history now. This boat is not a speed boat, its
meant for lazy cruising down a somewhat quiet river. Top speed for
me is about 6 to 10 MPH, that's why I named it "Pokey Hontas". Just
a little humor.
Ken Duda |
