WE BUILD A MOUSTROSITY
Part One: The Idea is Negotiated
by Lew Clamyan

Dear Conscious Mind,

Please develop a plan for a very simple boat that we can use to test some of our pet theories and also use as a vehicle for bonding with one or both of our kids. It would be nice if we could do this on the road someplace, possibly with our son during the week when our daughter is away with her mother at karate camp.

Yours truly,

The Subconscious Mind

Dear Subconscious Mind,

Regarding yours of the eighth instant, I think that you’ve proposed a viable concept. My initial reaction is that such a boat could be developed.

Would you consider a 2-sheet long Mouse variant, able to carry two crew? I propose to “stretch” a few Mouse hulls in software and see what we get. Just stretching them from 8’ to 16’ should tell us a great deal about the viability of this approach.

Also, I’ll have to see if there are any campgrounds near our destination, because I can’t think of anyplace else to do a ‘field build’ and besides, the kid likes camping.

Please let me know how you react to this approach, and in the meantime I plan to explore the possibilities.

Thanks for a great idea!

The Conscious Mind

Dear Conscious Mind,

A 16’ Mouse, or more correctly Rat, sounds good in principle, but do try for the simplest one you can. Less pieces = less work = less mistakes, and mistakes are hard to fix in the field. Call me a worrywart, but better safe than sorry.

A two-person boat will meet the bonding goal far better than a pair of one-person Mice. A three-person version might be too ambitious at this time. Again, perhaps I am being overcautious, but I see that as one of my roles.

Yours,

Subconscious Mind

Subconscious –

Remember our Least Cuts Boats idea? Maybe a flat-skinny can be done least-cuts?

-Conscious

Hi Con,

Yeah, now that you mention it, LCB sounds good – Dave Beede and T. Lee went further with it than we ever did; perhaps their work contains clues? Also curved cuts are harder to loft than straight cuts, plus for straight square cuts that run the length of the material you can get the guy in the store to just zip them off on the big saw in the shop, costs what? Half a buck a cut? Practically a kit.

-Sub

Subconscious Mind wrote:

> can get the guy in the store to just zip them off on the big saw in
> the shop, costs what? Half a buck a cut? Practically a kit.

LOL! Don’t even need decks – what about lumber transoms?

-C

Conscious Mind wrote:

> what about lumber transoms?

Cool – bulkheads too maybe, cut to same width as bottom panels. Can you do a paddle from the scrap? I suspect so.

Might even omit the aft curved cuts, leave the skegs/fins/whatevers. Superego suggested this on another list. Harder to turn the boat, but the build goes quicker.

-Sub

Sub,

Do you have an address for Superego? Was that from experience or just talk? Either way, it makes some kind of sense.

-C

C, no addr 4 Super, sry – S

S – ok no prob re Sup, 2nite I will draw plans, BOM

Righteous, Con-man. CU 2nite. Peace out – Sub-C

Sub, see attached… -C