In the olden days (like 3 weeks ago), I thought the one task that separated the dreamers from the builders was lofting. But this week I decided there is another indicator of serious intent, at least for traditional boat builders. It's when your reading list starts to include more wood working books than boat building books...
For the last month or so, I've been asking all my new boat builder/wood worker friends where to buy boat lumber. There are many answers to this question: from a company in Brooklyn that sells wood recovered from 200 year-old buildings (built from old-growth timbers that are no longer available), to a company in New Jersey that supposedly sells wood sawn from White Cedars that fell into Jurassic-era swamps, to small lumber mills hidden away in the dark hollows of New England.
However, there is one company that appears -- with positive or negative comments attached -- on nearly everyone's list: M.L. Condon, of White Plains, NY....