Building a Welsford Navigator

The compartments in the bow are sanded and painted and sealed, and a king-plank is fitted over the bow to support the weight of someone on deck. A samson post through this king-plank is a good place...

Each compartment in the Navigator has stringers that have epoxy drips and need rounded edges and fairing before painting. Which means working in awkward positions, sometimes dangling head down...

So I find I actually love planking! On this particular design, which isn't actually traditional, it's easy. You need a piece of plywood long enough to reach from stem to stern, and wide enough to...

Stepdad Phil comes again to help, and we get transom attached, and most of the fore-and-aft stringers epoxied in. The boat is fairly stiff now, and has it's final shape and is almost ready for...

More time flies by, and my stepfather Phil visits and helps out! We get the last of the frames attached, and a veneer on the transom: book-matched burled maple. It will look nice when the varnish is...

OK. I really do have a full life ... it seems like I'm not making progress on this boat, but the kids are now 8 and 9 years old and every minute I work on this boat is time when I'm not parenting,...

OK, the kids are 5 and 6 years old: we made it through the toddler stages and my wife is no longer in danger of losing her mind. Time for more Navigator building! Here I'm done putting together the...