The boat shown on the previous page is nearing completion and was launched for the first time, on August 24th, 2005. It's first trial met all expectations and drew quite a number of kind comments from other boaters and observers during our first exploration of local canals and coves.

In addition to a number of unique details added to the boat, we have changed the original folding top framing to a permenent structure. The original design was heavy and did not match the classic design of our river launch. Note the closeup photos of the new framing. It is made of laminated marine grade ply, epoxied and varnished to highlight the traditional lines of the boat. The fabric top is very easy to install and has both Velcro and elastic ties for quick installation and removal.

We noted that we had been anxious to test both the 9.8 HP Nissan 2-cycle outboard and the 52 lb thrust 12 volt electric trolling motor. Both operated the boat better than expected.

The Nissan outboard, which comes with the boat, is equipped with both remote steering (through the aft mounted ship's wheel) and remote throttle/gearshift as shown in the photos. The fuel tank is remotely installed in the bow with a fuel flow bulb at the steering station. The engine starts with an electric starter and is easy to lower and raise as needed.

One of the surprises for the first cruise was the performance of the electric trolling motor. The motor (not included with this boat), is mounted when needed, to the side of the engine mounting bracket. The deep cycle marine battery is mounted in the bow with heavy cable bringing the electrical power back to the stern. We lowered the trolling motor's prop so that it was just below the surface (due to shallow water) and turned it on. We had thought that we would need to manually steer the trolling motor with its own handle, but found that once there was enough steerage (water flowing under the boat), the Nissan outboard could be used like a rudder and the boat steered with the ship's wheel. While turning the boat around in narrow canals required the manual turning of the trolling motor, for normal silent/electric cruising the rudder action of the Nissan outboard worked very well.

The electric trolling motor gave us more than enough speed for exploring and the Nissan outboard quickly got us from site to site.

Overall, the boat performed better than we had even planned.

It was easy to launch and retrieve on the trailer.

Below are additional photos::

Showing the new top framing, brass bow and spotlight.

Wood laminated top framing.

Ship's wheel and steering station

Remote throttle/gearshift with electric starting.

Cuddy cabin.

Laminated wood top framing.

Epoxy/Marine Varnish Pine cabin, rubrail and trim with Fir decking.

Outboard motor mount with remote "ship's wheel" steering.

Fir decking with epoxy/marine varished wood details.

More wood details.

Brass bell and spotlight.

Port/Starboard Navigation Lights and heavy Sampson Post.

View of boat on trailer.

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