Looking back and reminiscing on the Bo-Jest build, time to note the top ten:
#1 Most satisfying – The scope and complexity made it challenging which in turn made it fun.
#2 Most expensive – Powerplant. Total cost around $4000 for two motors and gearboxes (have spare one). The spare was purchased for sentimental reasons since it reminds me of the very first motor we had on our family work boat while I was a toddler, Farymann 12 hp. Just had to have it. Motor installed is Volvo MD 2020, NOS.
#3 Biggest boo boo – Covering the temporary screw fastener heads with epoxy (sloppiness) while encapsulating, difficult to undo. (I precut all components, temporarily assembled using sheetrock screws to check for fit, then disassembled, shipped across the Atlantic then permanently assembled).
#4 Funniest moment – I came home from work to find my dear wife beaming with pride. She planted the garden that day and made some real nice tomato stakes using the longitudals teak battens I precut the previous week. But it was just some wood she said.. No honey, that was teak… Oh… On the positive side, she can tell the teak from pine now…
#5 Most difficult – Disassembling temporarily assembled hull (see #3)
#6 Best investment – A set of plans… Could not have done it without it…. Excellent value…
#7 Most often heard comment – You need a bigger motor… Well, maybe… Maybe not… I can do 7.5 knots but routinely cruise around 6. At this speed I burn 1 liter of diesel per hour. Pushing her up to 7.5 nearly doubles consumption. A gallon of diesel is around $8 here in Croatia. I am retired, have all day to get there and am somewhat of that type B (slow) personality.. If I wanted speed, I would have built something different.
#8 First component made – I laugh at this myself since it makes no sense but it was berth cushions. See, I purchased several pieces of closed cell foam at a nautical flea market and did not want it sitting around (and get thrown away by my Admiral). Since I did not have all the lumber yet to proceed with the hull and did have ample time, I made the cushions working off the prints.. They fit great…
#9 Biggest worry – will the components warp out of shape during shipping. I am happy to say everything went together without a hitch when assembling it (please note that all components were thoroughly encapsulated prior to temporary assembly).
#10 Biggest flaw in finished product – Don’t think I would change anything if doing it again. She was fun to build, relatively inexpensive, seaworthy, handles great in forward and looks great. Her biggest draw back is lack of directional control in reverse especially if there is some wind on the beam. But hey, how long do we spend going backwards in cross wind…
Reprinted with permission from Sam Marfat aka “Island girl” from the Glen-L Boatbuilder Forum. See Sam’s Bo-Jest build photos in his Gallery here.