So I thought that since I finally settled down, got married, bought a house and had a kid or two I should finally build a boat. Good idea, right? I mean, how hard can it be to raise two kids, keep a marriage alive, maintain a house, have a career (I’m an oceanographer), and build a boat?
It was hard.
Lot’s of other stuff happened.
But slowly, over the years I found snippets of time. This is one of the first stages: I built a building jig, and I’m laying out the bottom for a Welsford Navigator. Turns out John Welsford is an awesome guy. More on him later.
![](https://www.goodwoodboats.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/firstbuild-2-1-1024x768.jpeg)
Another shot of the bottom – made from two sheets of 9mm marine ply scarfed together:
![](https://www.goodwoodboats.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/firstbuild-3-1-768x1024.jpeg)
This shows the cut bottom board leaning against the wall behind the building jig, and the first two bulkheads cut out:
![](https://www.goodwoodboats.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/firstbuild-5-1-1024x768.jpeg)
This is one of the helpers at our house. The centerboard trunk is on the jig waiting for fiberglass sheathing (in the background behind the pumpkin-carver.
![](https://www.goodwoodboats.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/firstbuild-4-1-1024x768.jpeg)
![](https://www.goodwoodboats.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/firstbuild-7-1-1024x768.jpeg)