Oh yeah . . . I wanted to post this link to Harry Bryan's website. It's pretty cool. There are all sorts of designs and pictures.

Things have been pretty slow on the boat project. I've been busy with midterms. That's where I place the blame. I have been pricing and gathering materials, but I haven't purchased everything yet. I'm waiting on some material quotes from Stock Building Supply.

I'm also trying to find a local wooden boat builder. I would like to have an expert brain to pick. I am hoping that this week I will be able to get all the materials purchased. Hopefully I can construct the thing the next week. We have a student holiday on Nov. 4th and I am praying that the wood shop will be open. That would be the perfect time to rock out the project.

I really hope I can find a boat builder. I do have the plans and the magazine article I spoke of earlier, but a real person's tips and hints would make me feel a little bit more confident for this project. Oh well, even if I can't find some great boat builder I'm doing this thing either way.

Today has been spent doing a lot of research and price comparison. The design I found has some options when it comes to materials. Plywood seems to be the cheapest material to use for the sides and base of the boat. The instructions I have call for cedar and pine planks, but I am going to do it on the cheap and use the plywood. Doing this requires a chine log in the corner of the boat where the sides join the base. What is a chine log? . . . That's what I've been reading about for the last 30 minutes.
I stopped by the Home Depot earlier this morning and looked around at their materials. That place drives me crazy. The employees saw that I had a long list of materials and were avoiding me like the plague. The one guy who did answer some questions pointed me in the direction of one of the isles in the hardware section and ran. I couldn't get anyone to really help me find the specifics that I was looking for. The few things I did find looked pretty shabby. I've been to Terry Lumber once before and I think I'm going to take my business there. It isn't so busy, and the service is great. Also, their materials are a better grade than anything you can find at Home Depot. I'm going to try and stop there this afternoon.
I also was able to find the wheel assembly online. Looking forward to its delivery.
The jig design will need to be altered a little bit because of the plywood and chine log. I plan on getting the jig built next weekend so I need to figure all that out through the week.

Trout Ponds, Thatcher, ID

Earlier this week, I was able to take a few pictures of the place where the boat will be put to use.

As you can see, there is a lot of grass around the water. I think the design of the boat will work well here. The pneumatic tire below the bow of the boat will roll around easily on the grass. That way people who want to use it can take it from one pond to the other or roll it away for storage in the nearby garage. Also it'll be easy to take down to the river, which is only accessible through a pasture - that means no launch ramp for larger trailerable boats. Below are a few more shots.