1) An Idea is Born

I have been pondering building my own boat for a few years now. As I write this I have already made a lot of progress on my first "vessel", a 15 foot cedar strip canoe named "Knotty Girl". Prior to choosing this boat, I kicked around a lot of ideas regarding the type of boat and construction method. Although a 25' cruising sailboat would be ideal, it is hard to afford such an extravagance on a grad student salary. I guess I could build the boat and begin a new life as a pirate, but I doubt I have the skill or arsenal to take on the coast guard... oh well. So I settled on a canoe, I purchased the book Canoecraft by Ted Moores in March of 2006. I bought the book mainly for research since I am living in an apartment and don't have a garage to build in. One day I was talking with my friend Matt about my future boat plans when he suggested "Why don't you build it here ?" (referring to his beautiful 2 car garage). Well, I took him up on his offer and purchased my plans for the 15' Prospector Ranger from Bear Mountain Boat Shop, check it out http://www.bearmountainboats.com/15-0ProspectorRanger.htm. Here is the story of the "Knotty Girl".