03/21/2026
Having a level surface to walk on and work from certainly felt like a luxury after all the time climbing and crawling around the bilge.
After installing the sole boards, I got to have some fun with the washboards and establishing the lines that would define the hull. I took inspiration from the classic workboats of old, with steep camber across their decks. Depending on the era and the builder, there are moments where form took slightly more precedence over function. There are always tradeoffs; a steep deck will be harder to stand on, but it will shed water better, plus, it just looks good. Those decisions made by builders over the years were likely shaped by times when they had the opportunity to flex their creative skills and craftsmanship over their ability to build for utility.
At this point I had run out of workable weather to be able to complete fiberglassing and painting the washboards I had built out of marine plywood. and I have exchanged a mix of work and favors over the years and Keith graciously lent me a big triple axle trailer and made some space in his (heated and well lit) shop so I could get the boat there and finished up. After a couple weeks getting spoiled by a climate controlled shop in the middle of January and with the help of some extra hands and tips from the fellas at , we had a hull that looks so slick it was a real shame to not be taking it straight to the boat ramp.
