Week 11: Will The Boat Float?

I resumed construction of my boat this week and am nearly done. I had been away the previous week, and after my plane landed at JFK at 10:00 p.m. and I got home at 1:00 a.m., I immediately worked for 20 hours straight until 9:00 p.m. the following night. I made substantial progress that day, installing the fiberglass G10 plates, transom knees, varnished floorboards, the console, steering system, control box, and tachometer, as well as buoy attachments, the front hatch, and the towing eye-bolt.

The next day, I began varnishing the back of the boat and bought a trailer. To get the boat onto the trailer, I attached ratchet straps to the rafters and hoisted it into the air. I then removed the stand it was on and wheeled the trailer under it. After making some adjustments to the trailer’s padding positioning, I lowered the boat and wheeled it outside!  The following day, I applied some more varnish and mounted the motor. I also hooked up a battery to the outboard for the electric start. 

So finally, it was time to take the boat on the water – or so I thought… I drove the car with the trailer attached to the local boat launch on the Saugatuck River and let the boat loose. After hopping in, I primed the cylinders with oil and tried starting it, and it started right up. It stayed idle because, due to some confusion, my on-site supervisor and I misunderstood the installation instructions and didn’t install the mechanical throttle and shift cables… It was a good thing we had oars because the current was strong, so I started paddling back until one of the oars snapped in half. I thought we’d never get back to the boat launch, but after 10 minutes of aggressive, intense, single oar paddling, we made it back and pulled the boat out. After reaching out to a Facebook Tohatsu engine group, we ordered the correct part and are now awaiting its arrival. 

It’s becoming more and more apparent why boatbuilding is on an apparent decline. The constant purchases and long project timelines make it very logistically and economically difficult. 

Ready to head over to the water.

The console with the tachometer, wheel, and control box.

G10 plates on transom aft.
Transom knees and G10 plates installed.

The boat floats!