Building my first Boat

The year was 1976.  This was the first boat I designed and built.  It was designed using a slide rule for calculations.  The hull was bonded using resorcinol resin.  I was a student at the time and had limited time for such projects.  We were living in a duplex, and the boat was built in the basement. (Shortly afterwards we bought our own cute little home.) A critical dimension was the size of the kitchen window because the boat had to be brought up the stairs and passed out of the window to get out of the house.  The boat performed well.  I erred on the side of strength when designing, and the boat was heavier than it needed to be but was still manageable.  The freeboard was only about 8-9" which was adequate for the protected waters, small lakes and streams, it operated on.  The plains of Nebraska are windy, and the low profile was very advantageous in limiting wind resistance.  Later I built a crude sail, rudder, and leeboards for it and actually did some sailing.  We sold it when I graduated and moved. 

Postscript:  I am currently building boat #13:  3 kayaks, 2 18-foot powerboats (incl. waterskiing), 2 sailboats, and 6 rowing boats.