After a discussion and a long search for a more appropriate boat for M and I to sail in on the lakes around our area, I decided I’m going to build a boat that is (hopefully) aesthetically pleasing and more appropriate for grown-ups with limited sailing experience. I chose an Iain Oughtred design called the Wee Seal. It is a pretty little boat, about 18’6” in length. I’ve never built a boat but I’ve built many other things so it should be a fun challenge. It will have internal ballast, which means it’s not counting on us to stay in the boat. Also, it will be big enough for more than the two of us so we can bring along company, but small enough that I can launch and sail it by myself. I plan to modify the build just a bit by using slightly lighter plywood on the hull than called for and augmenting it with fiberglass. This should retain the look of the boat while improving the durability in our freshwater lakes with rocky bottoms.

I finally started my new, bigger, small boat project, which will replace the one we crashed last summer. I sold that boat to a nice young family from Laramie. Don’t worry, I’m still working on the MEA-C. I just want a smaller boat for the lakes close to home. Below is a picture of the build rack and another of the first 2 stations in place.

Build Rack

First 2 stations