The Latest

• Tweet

• Tweet

Day 1:  Saturday, April 14th, 2012
Big Rapids, Michigan, USA

Every project has a beginning and ours began several months ago when we ordered The Glen-L Book of Dreams – It is, in fact, nothing less than that.  For several months, my 14 year old son and I considered dozens of possibilities before selecting the McKenzie/Rogue Drift Boat.  With countless lakes and rivers in our region, the 16′ WB/STD will suit our needs perfectly.  When we’re not drifting for Steelhead, our reliable 1976 Long Shaft Johnson 6HP should be enough to get us upstream or across the lake.

Our plans were ordered, received, and reviewed for a few days.  From there we set out to create the perfect work space.  We’ll have approximately two feet passage fore and aft with three to four feet clear on each side.  The planer, saws, horses, and router table are set-up in the adjacent one stall garage.  Later this week we’ll pick up the materials needed for the jig base and fire up the tools.  All ahead full.

Days 1 & 2

Saturday, April 28th, 2012

Our busy lives are making this a slow go but we’re managing a little progress each day.  Today we finished the jig base.  While it may be somewhat over-done, it is plumb, level, square, and rock-solid!  We’ve gone to great lengths to insure the base is correct fearing errors here would likely translate into “alignment mysteries” somewhere down the line.  We’ve held all tolerances to (+/-) 1/8″.

Jig Base - Complete

Sunday, April 29th, 2012

Today we’re headed out to the barn to select prime cuts for the battens, chines, sheers, stem, and transom frames.  Not finding it in any of the suggested materials lists, I used the forum to question the suitability of our seasoned Maple – We have quite a bit to choose from.  Glen chimed in that his brother used Maple for many of his builds and that was good enough for me.  I suspect it will take us several days to mill things down to size.  I also ordered the Poxy-Grip adhesive which should show up in time to assemble the stem and transom components later this week.  So far, so good, and really enjoying this time with my son – Priceless.

Seasoned Maple Stock

Steady as she goes ……