The Enki drawings are finally done. You can check them out here: http://shoelessmusings.blogspot.com/2016/05/enki-drawings-done.html

New blog post, 

Click here.

Hello everybody,

Building the 16 foot double ender with transom. Is solid lumber, say Sapele, a good idea for the transom, rather than plywood? Thanks

If a sucker is born every minute, I must have been born more than once... 

I picked this boat up over the weekend.  It was rougher in person than I expected (hoped) from the pictures, but I liked the size and its history -- it was built 35 years ago to run the Grand to support a bunch of kayakers.  I can't imagine taking it down there with no compartments and about 10 scuppers (covered now by the small pieces of wood on the gunwales) cut-in at floor level to encourage self bailing.…

Enky continues to take shape on the drawing table. Check out the progress here.

http://shoelessmusings.blogspot.com

This is my !8 almost ready for Cataract, Westwater and the Main.  Built the floor up 12" for self bailing over the winter and ready for Epoxy finish. …

Some thoughts on hatch design can be found here.

Well, looks like it is time!  The ocean sailing urge has returned, and I can't take it with me to the Caribbean!

I've built four bright finish drift boats over the years in Sapele and Meranti. This was finally to be a keeper for myself!  For this boat I wanted to do something different, with a nod to minimizing maintenance. So this one is a wood boat with glass and epoxy on both sides of a Ocume core. The chines are heavily built up of glass and Kevlar-- designed to break…

OCTOBER 2009 : One cannot have too many boats. My current boat, a 1995 Don Hill 16 x 48 with two watertight compartments is a great boat. It has served me well while guiding, training students as well as running private trips.



Now it is time to build a bigger one. One that can take more gear, beer and what not. I have been thinking about this boat for about 3 years. The hows, how bigs, whys, hull shapes and such.



I decided to take a Don Hill 18 x 54 plan…

I am a 71 y/o flyfisherman from the SF Bay area.  I built one of Greg's kits (great guy) a number of years ago.  I used the meranti  ply. Encapsulated it as he instructed with two coats of epoxy and 6 coats of varnish.  I wasn't happy with the original foredeck (lines kept slipping down thru the open corners, so I built a deck which completely covers the bow.  I also laminated an arched white oak thwart to support aft knee braces.  The "furniture" and floorboards are spruce, making a nice…

Olympic National Park in a DB    Here's the latest adventure in our National Parks in a wooden drift boat chasing steelhead on the Olympic Peninsula on SuperBowl weekend.  Great time to be on the water.  Hope you enjoy this one.

GH

Dagenwulf – A Sea Serpent.

Shiver me Timbers!

“They say that there is a way to navigate at night by the stars in the sky. I never learnt....”

If I ever tried to explain how I finally arrived at the name ‘Dagenwulf’; people would look at me very strangely indeed. And as for describing the actual inspiration for the artwork and the thought process that ensued after, they would lock me up in the nearest Looney-bin and throw away the key once and for…

‘Shiver me Timbers!’

“The previous owner of this boat no longer has the time to restore ‘Fame’ to her former glory.

She will require draining of some rainwater from the bilge and above the floorboards, drying out and a complete cosmetic overhaul.”

Sounded so innocuous on the EBay website, didn’t it?

There it was, a seven day auction posting; which caught my attention on the latter part of the fourth day. And it had been inadvertently put in the wrong…

For those who wish to spend time on the boat and own a personal boat or is likely to rent a boat for personal or recreational use, it is good to have a driver’s licence or certificate, so that the driver is authenticated to drive the boat or vessel. A driver's certificate is the first step for a safe and pleasant boat ride inshore. A driver’s licence proves…

Good morning fine craftsmen  I have a dory for sale.  I paid $5800 for it last month, then a friend decided to sell me his boat that I've been drooling over for years. So the first one has to go. It was built by 3 carpenters in 1999 I believe in Durango, CO. It is decked and very stout. 16' roughly, with both oar locks, and pins & clips. Needs a bit of minimal hull work, nothing major. Comes with 3 Smoker oars and a trailer. I posted pictures on this site, and can get more this week.…

Last year there was some discussion about having a Wooden Boat Outing somewhere in the East.  I have had discussions with some folks here and on other forums about having one here in the Mid-West, possibly Michigan.

If the is anyone interested in participating or to help put one together please add you comments here. We'll see what interest there is and go from there.  Don't be shy!

Dorf

I've never been a proponent of a motor on a drift boat, but....  After a few times down the local rivers here in Michigan I am thinking it might be better to drop in at a location and then fish the river either Upstream or downstream then motor back to the drop-in point (Increases time fishing vs. rowing).  I end up fishing just a small portion of the rivers.  The spotting fees here are reasonable, money isn't the primary issue, it's the time spent rowing Frog Water to the take out point is…

I'm currently finishing up a 17' Don Hill McKenzie River drift boat and am trying to decide on which anchor system to use. would greatly appreciate any input. Thanks in advance

This boat was built in Salt Lake in 96.  I found her in 05 and she was in fair shape.  Hoping to fill our permit next summer in Grand Cayon.  Have redone gunnells and such several times.  This is a retrofit to bring the cockpit up 11 inches and drain through the bottom of footwell will be big.  Feel free to leave your remarks.  I will be moving the oar position at least 12…