After nine months and roughly 475.00 the boat is complete. And I’m kind of proud of it warts and all.
Early on it became very obvious that there were no reliable reference lines or points so I had to build it mostly by eye. The cockpit and coaming could have been wider, taller and a little more fair. The cockpit is a little too far forward and doesn’t balance with the boat aesthetically. I could have used better cedar and I could have worked on the deck forms to get better radius and flow.
But I have to remember that I started with a hull that was rough and lumpy. I wasn’t trying to build a show boat (Oh! Oh! Oh! I know! New name idea. Cotton Blossom! Uh… on second thought, I’ll stick with John B.)
I thought the red paint was a good choice. It accents the red cedar.
The boat is solid and weighs about 40 lbs all rigged.
For me it paddles nicely. It’s a little twitchy initially but after a few minutes you get used to it. As I use it more, I’ll locate bracing limits to see where it finally lets go and capsizes. And I don’t believe it will be a very fast boat, certainly not in the same league as my Heron but I’ll get in a couple sprints with my wife and her Pungo and see what I’ve got.