I am sorry about confusing some of you last night when you tried to open my blog. I tried to put a picture in and I evidently did it wrong and everything went away, and it was so late I didn’t want to do it again, so we will try again tonight.

I am building a boat as many of you know. It is 24 ft long, 8 ft wide and has a flat bottom with a slight rake in the front. It is called a pacific dory, and is a very stable boat to use for fishing in the ocean. It is made out of plywood which goes over ribs made out of 2×4’s and 2×6’s, and then covered with 18 oz fiberglass cloth and epoxy. I filled the various voids between the ribs with 20 cubic feet of pored in place styrofoam which gives it an additional 1,200 lbs of floatation. I have an 85 horsepower Johnson outboard engine on it which is mounted in a motor well 4 ft up from the back of the boat with a center console with the controls and steering wheel, and under the console I have a 65 gallon fuel tank. I put in two bilge pumps that pump 3800 gallons an hour each with a built in activation switch, and I have 4 very comfortable seats in it. I have thoroughly enjoyed building this boat from plans that I bought on the internet, in fact I have had so much enjoyment on this project that I have thought of selling it and building another one.

I will finish painting it, then I will do the electrical wiring, then I will put on the various finishing touches like rod holders, a radio, gps, fish finder, anchor system, cleats and grab bars. The next thing is to do a little work on a boat trailer that I bought for one dollar, and I will be ready to take it on its maiden voyage. My plan is to drive it up to Alaska in July and fish for halibut out of it. I am excited about this upcoming adventure. Keeps me young, excited, and full of passion for life. Sorry for the poor quality of my picture, I got epoxy on the lens of my camera!