A place to share YOUR boat building story

Glen-L Marine Designs - 9152 Rosecrans Ave. - Bellflower, CA 90706     

In this issue The Voyage of the Kobuk by Spike Hampson Feedback: Glen-L 14 Restoration by Markus Tessmann Designer's Notebook: A DIY company Photos sent in since the last WebLetter About Moderating Our Forum by Dave Grason Holiday Recipe Shop Talk: Mahogany Recent email

• Photos sizes. When we first put our website online, before anyone had heard of DSL, we tried to follow the rule that a page should not exceed 40 kilobytes. This was the limit recommended by the Internet gurus. For this reason, the photos we posted were small and "optimized". As I look at these photos now, I wish I could redo them, but most were sent in attached to email and we do not have the originals. If anyone sent in photos in the past that you would like replaced, please resend with a note that says they are replacements and I will do my best to update them.
• A suggestion we received on Gayle's survey was to somehow highlight the newest photos that are sent in by builders. So... this issue of the WebLetter includes links to photos sent in since the last WebLetter. I will try to continue this in future WebLetters.
• I have also started to redo photos in the online Boat Plans Catalog (another suggestion). I started with Sailboats. I haven't gotten far, but will try to average 3-4 designs per week, and have the catalog finished in about a year.
• It's Christmas again, the year is almost over. "Where does the time go?" We at Glen-L would like to thank all of you for your patronage and hope you have a joyous holiday season.
  For my family, this is a time for family get-togethers. Early in December, my wife and I visited with relatives from Colorado and various other near and far places in California at a family gathering. My son and family came down from Vancouver for Thanksgiving. Christmas weekend will be spent at my other son's house with my daughter, who will be coming from Portland. Getting together with family is the reason I look forward to this time of year.
  I wish you all a joyous season.

      
Editor      

¡Feliz Navidad! Pensando en ustedes al llegar la navidad y enviandoles este cariñoso mensaje. "Con alegria y esperanza todos los pueblos unen sus voces para celebrar la llegada de la navidad." Deseándoles unas fiestas llenas de bendiciones y de toda la alegria que en sus corazones puedan atesorar. ¡Felicidades Siempre! Alfredo Rodriguez English version

The Voyage of the Kobuk by Spike Hampson I had talked to Spike a few years ago, he planned to travel to Buenos Aires by boat and was considering building the River Rat for the trip. Since that conversation I had often wondered what had happened to Spike's project, if the trip was ever made. In mid-November 2005, I found out. The voyage had begun. The following is taken from Spike's website, http://www.spikehampson.com. We hope to be getting updates as the voyage continues. ...brw The Route Since the objective is to see the country rather than get there, the route will not be terribly direct. The first task is to find a river that gives eventual access to the Atlantic, and the two nearest possibilities are the Missouri drainage and the Rio Grande system. The Missouri offers a far greater variety of route options, so I decided to launch in Wyoming on the Wind River, a tributary of the Yellowstone that eventually feeds into the Missouri. When the Missouri reaches the Mississippi, the most logical course would be downstream to the Gulf of Mexico, but the lure of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence and the Maritime Provinces of Canada is so great that I will go the long way around—out to sea in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and then down the entire eastern seaboard. This is when the seaworthiness of Kobuk will be tested. It will be necessary to cross the open waters on Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. Once out of the St. Lawrence River, the coastal route will require navigation in the open ocean until reaching the northern end of the Intracoastal Waterway. From that point to Florida, however, the cruising will be in protected waters. Crossing the Caribbean will be a matter of avoiding the hurricane season and choosing the right weather conditions for each inter-island passage. At the end of the string of islands lies the delta of the Orinoco which is a natural conduit into the interior of South America. A hydrological quirk makes it possible to transit from the Orinoco into the Amazon drainage system without having to haul a boat out of the water, and this will facilitate passage from north to south across the Amazon basin. Only when well upstream on the Madeira—a major tributary of the Amazon that originates in Bolivia—will it be necessary to haul and transport the boat. The destination will be the Pantanal—a seasonal swamp of vast proportions in the upper reaches of the Rio Paraguay. From there it is a clear downstream run to Buenos Aires. The Log of the Kobuk Failure Sunday, April 4, 2004 Since I had to attend a ski instructors' clinic at Jackson Hole anyway, it seemed like a good idea to drive over to Riverton and check out the site where I hope to launch Kobuk in June. I got into town late last night and spent this morning looking at conditions. They are not good. Where the Wind River passes under the bridge just south of town, the water flow is so low that the stream is riffles across its entire breadth and the water depth is only a few inches. A 20 mile drive north takes me to where the river joins Boysen Reservoir and there the water depth looks manageable... Continue

Feedback: Glen-L 14 Restoration

by Markus Tessmann

I intercepted my Glen-L 14 on its way to the scrap yard! It had been donated to the local Sea Scouts, but turned out to be too small, and in need of too much repair to make it worth their while. I wasn't sure about taking it on either, but was convinced by the aluminium mast and boom, and the two almost brand new sails!

Last summer (04), I removed all the rotten decking, seats and flooring and sanded the hull down through all the paint. I coated the hull with epoxy, and put new fibreglass on the keel and chines, dealing with the really bad spots with extra fibreglass and epoxy. I built a new deck, new seats and new flooring, beefed up the transom and added floatation as well. The Glen-L web site was very helpful for this, my first boat building project.

We launched her this spring (named Samgita) and my wife, 2 sons and I have sailed her almost every weekend (and often I'll go mid-week)! We've gone camping in her too and look forward to many years of fun on this boat! She is moored in the ocean about 2 blocks from my home on Salt Spring Island (near Victoria, British Columbia) from about May to October. I scrape the hull about every two weeks, to keep the barnacles and seaweed in check! I love this boat.

Customer Photos

Merry Christmas During the Holiday Season (more than ever) our thoughts turn to sharing the joy of the season with family and friends. We're fortunate to have our daughters and their families here in Southern California and our Christmas Eve tradition is opening ONE present each — always new pajamas for everyone. The rest waits for Christmas morning. We always try to "keep it simple" but go overboard every year, especially with our grandkids. I wish everyone all the best for the Holiday Season, and take time to cherish each day. Darla Schooler

Designer's Notebook: A DIY company During a recent lunch break, we were sitting around shooting the bull and someone brought up the popularity of the DO-IT-YOURSELF movement. It's so popular the designation DIY is commonplace and how, as a company, Glen-L personifies this movement. As a small company we can't afford many of the luxuries of large corporations, but perhaps that's a good thing. Advertising comes to mind. We prepare our own advertising, write the copy, take the photos, set the copy, etc. Taking this load away from us would free up time. But, can someone else write copy about our company? We surely know it best and perhaps our prose isn't always correct, but it seems to get our point over. We, of course, do the designing in house, write the instructions and catalog information, and work out the kits to be furnished. If a Frame Kit is to be made, the designers and shop people coordinate the details. If the boat is built, again it's all done by us, DIY. Many don't realize the custom fittings we make. We make patterns for sand cast parts such as fins, and sailboat fittings such as mast bases, etc. If we need a certain part and it isn't available or prohibitive in cost, we consider making it. A recent case in point is our exposed steering drum for small boats. The manufacturer went out of business and we still had a demand. A pattern for the castings required would be expensive to make; even defrayed over a reasonable number of sales, it wasn't practical. So DIY. Fortunately we have the ability to make patterns for sand castings. So we designed an improved version of the unit, and made the patterns. Even with outside foundry work and machining (we neither have a foundry nor machine shop), the total cost to the consumer, you guys out there, was very fair. When we decided to make some videos on boating subjects we called on a Hollywood group of specialists. Sure they could do it, at 5,000 bucks a day. So DIY. We wrote the text, outlined and shot the scenes, edited the entire works and made masters at a recording studio. And our cost was considerably less than thousands per day. We couldn't have done videos and offered them at a decent price otherwise. Our books are another example. When we considered writing our first book, we contacted the Eastern publishing houses and they were very cooperative. They would edit our text, prepare and print the book and distribute it. Great? Not so, we would be charged for all these service and we would receive a small royalty on each book sold; no guarantee that any would be sold. So again DIY. Overnight we became publishers doing everything the big houses did ourselves and we produced other books as well. Can you the consumer tell if this is a DIY project? Absolutely not. Are we able able to provide our books for less? Positively yes. Many nice comments have been received regarding our website. This is a DIY project that is never ending. Barry, our Webmaster, designed the site, writes the copy etc. Yes he did take some classes in the beginning, but concentration, diligence, and a need to know attitude helped. Are we now experts in the field? Far from it, but compare our site to those prepared (costly) ones done by the pros. Not much difference, but then we know what is required and what must be done to make those who hit our site customers (we hope). What DIY projects do we have pending? Wait and see, but you can bet that something will be required that we can't buy or sell at a price that will make customers, not drive them away.

“For unto us is born this day in the city of David, a Savior which is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:11 The reason that we observe “Christmas” is in celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Think about it... God saw fit to send His only son in the form of a human to relate to us, to walk as we walk and ultimately pay the final price as a sacrifice for our sins. What an awesome gift He gave! As we gather with family and friends and exchange gifts, keep in mind that the greatest gift has been given—have you accepted it? Merry Christmas Gayle Brantuk

Photos sent in since the last WebLetter...

About Moderating Our Forum

by Dave Grason

Hey guys. I wanted to say "Thank you very much" for all you folks that bring the spam posts to my attention. Usually, I find them myself but they do slip through my fingers from time to time and it's great to have some back-up.

Here's a little insight on how I'm doing this and how it works

My Internet service provider (ISP) is Comcast cable. My home computer stays on 24/7 and because my Internet service is a LAN network, I'm connected to the Internet 24/7. Anytime I walk through my office, it's an easy matter of clicking on a few icons and I'm on the forum. So I can check the boards in a matter of seconds and several times a day. That's one of the reasons that I volunteered to be a moderator. The other main reason is that being a moderator would keep me involved in this forum and thus my boatbuilding enthusiasm would stay higher. That has really turned out to be a blessing because I keep my boatbuilding on my mind.

The third reason that I wanted to be a moderator is that I've been a member of numerous other forums and the moderators on some of those forums don't do what I would consider a very good job. Some allow themselves to be buffaloed by aggressive members, some play favorites, some are extremely anal and constantly split hairs, some are just plain over zealous and some are just plain lax in their responsibilities. I thought that being a moderator would give me some insight on how this job should really be done. I've found out that it doesn't have to be hard at all. In fact, it's as easy or as difficult as I choose to make it.

My usual procedure is this

I have the Glen-L forum page bookmarked so that I don't have to go to Glen-L's homepage and then click on "Boatbuilder forum." But I do have to still log on. As soon as I log on, I always go to "View new posts since last visit." This is where I nail the spammers usually because if they've recently made a post, it'll be right here. I'm usually in and out enough times a day that if a spammer has posted, I'll immediately spot him. Then it's a simple matter of deleting the offending post.

Next I'll click on every thread that has had a new post and I'll read the thread and the new post. I'm looking for folks using profanity, posts that are inflammatory or adversarial and show someone spoiling for any kind of conflict. So far that has never really happened here, which speaks volumes for the quality of our members.

Finally, I'll go back and check any Private Messages (PM's) that I've gotten and I'll respond to them. Actually, I get quite a few PM's and I like that because it lets me know that our members are all very enthusiastic about this forum and about boatbuilding in general.

So here's what I can do

I have the ability to edit your posts. For example if you use a dirty word and it gets past the profanity filters, I can go change it. I can resize your photos and/or post your photos for you if you can't get it done. I'm able to move posts around and can even move entire threads from one board to another. I did this with Kerfunk's "How do you prepare Wood" thread. When it went way off topic, I just put it on the "miscellaneous" board so that folks could keep right on going off topic.

Finally, I can completely delete posts. I do this quite often when Internet web trolls surf in and post links to porn sites or online pharmacies and such. At least on one occasion I recently deleted a post where the spammer had made a lame attempt to partake in the thread. At first I thought it was a judgment call on my part. The post definitely contained a link to a porno site but the spammer typed a single line sentence that made it appear as though he was participating in the discussion. But after a little study, it became obvious that he hadn't read the thread and knew neither what the thread was really about nor what he was talking about. But a good solid active member here replied to his post basically asking him what he was saying. I deleted BOTH posts - the spam and the good member's post so that the thread would keep its flow. I came very close to accidentally deleting a member's post one day when I went to click on the "quote" button and hit the "delete" button instead. Fortunately, I got a message window that asked if I was sure I wanted to delete that post. "HECK NO" I don't want to delete it. So I was able to back up and do it right. (whew!)

All of this involves walking a fine line between finding what I know is against the forum rules and making judgment calls that may offend someone who has totally honorable intentions. So folks, if you get something deleted, it may have been by accident or it might have been a misinterpretation. Either way, feel free to PM me and find out if you feel it shouldn't have been deleted.

Here's what I cannot do

I can't ban members. Barry can do that because this is his forum and he paid for the software to run it. I would like to be able to do this because if I could do it, I'd go through the member list and clean out all those members that have come in for the sole purpose of posting spam. That number grows every day and the more time passes, the longer the list gets and the harder it is to keep track of all the spammers. I think that one of the reasons that we're seeing this type of spam is that it's a little too easy to spam this forum. Spammers can surf in and be spamming in as little time as it takes me to log on and check the latest posts.

Also, I can't lock or otherwise close down a thread. On other forums, I've seen a given thread turn into a huge argument and the moderators will just close and lock the thread so that the discussion ends then and there. Again, though, this has not been a problem because of the higher caliber of our members.

Here's what I would like to change if I could and maybe you can help me

The "Miscellaneous" forum is for ANYTHING you want to talk about that is off topic from boatbuilding. You can talk about anything you want from current news events to your latest camping trip or a visit over the holidays from your grandkids. It doesn't matter. This is a community and it's how we become better acquainted and become better friends.

I would personally like to see everyone completely fill out their member's profiles. Fill in something on every blank. Tell us where you're from. You don't have to name the exact city if you don't want to but at least name the state and/or country. List your type of secular work. Also, under interests, list your hobbies other than boat building. This makes for good conversation among friends. It's also something the spammers DO NOT do. Therefore, when I see a member I don't recognize, I'll click on his profile. If all these spaces are filled out, I can immediately see that he's a legitimate member and NOT a spammer. However, in the interest of filling in everything, please don't be silly with this. On another forum, one member put for his location: "Sitting at my computer keyboard ... DUH!!"

So there you have it... a little insight into the tiny world of a forum moderator. Keep the posts coming, feel free to PM me and thanks again to you members that have brought spams to my attention.

We thank Dave for being such an awesome moderator.

Merry Christmas Peace on earth, good will toward men, women, children and animals. Allyn Perry

Holiday Recipe

NPR.org, November 15, 2002 · Every year as Thanksgiving approaches, fans ask NPR's Susan Stamberg for her mother-in-law's recipe for cranberry relish. It’s a recipe that she has read on the air every year since 1971 -– and here, in Stamberg's own words, is how she came by it:

"At the first Thanksgiving of my married life, in Allentown, Pa., my mother-in-law, Marjorie Stamberg, served a fabulous and fascinating cranberry relish. I asked for the recipe, which she kindly provided. I put the recipe for 'Mama Stamberg's Cranberry Relish' on the air every year a few weeks before Thanksgiving, first at WAMU-FM, the local public radio station where I did my earliest air work, and later at NPR for the immediate nation to enjoy."

Years after she had begun sharing it, Stamberg learned the recipe had been clipped from the New York Times by her mother-in-law's sister-in-law Marie Salinger. When, on the air, Stamberg told Times food editor Craig Claiborne about mis-attributing his recipe to her mother-in-law, Claiborne said, "I've gotten more mileage out of that recipe through NPR than I have since it was first published in the Times in 1959!")

Here, with Stamberg's footnotes, npr.org offers two recipes –- the on-air classic, and another dish that Stamberg confesses is her "truly favorite cranberry side dish."

Mama Stamberg's Cranberry Relish

• 2 cups whole raw cranberries, washed
• 1 small onion
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons horseradish from a jar ("red is a bit milder than white")

Grind the raw berries and onion together. ("I use an old-fashioned meat grinder," says Stamberg. "I'm sure there's a setting on the food processor that will give you a chunky grind -- not a puree.")
Add everything else and mix.
Put in a plastic container and freeze. Early Thanksgiving morning, move it from freezer to refrigerator compartment to thaw. ("It should still have some little icy slivers left.")
The relish will be thick, creamy, and shocking pink. ("OK, Pepto Bismol pink. It has a tangy taste that cuts through and perks up the turkey and gravy. It’s also good on next-day turkey sandwiches, and with roast beef.")
Makes 1-1/2 pints.

Garlicky Cranberry Chutney

• 1-inch piece fresh ginger
• 3 cloves finely chopped garlic
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• l-pound can cranberry sauce with berries
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (or less)
• ground black pepper

Cut ginger into paperthin slices, stack them together and cut into really thin slivers.
Combine ginger, garlic, vinegar, sugar and cayenne in a small pot. Bring to a simmer, simmer on medium flame about 15 minutes or until there are about four tablespoons of liquid left.
Add can of cranberry sauce, salt and pepper. Mix and bring to a simmer. Lumps are ok.
Simmer on a gentle heat for about 10 minutes.
Cool, store and refrigerate. ("It will keep for several days, if you don't finish it all after first taste!")

Ho Ho Ho...

Shop Talk: Mahogany

There have been many questions about mahogany and discussions on the Boatbuilder Connection. The following may help to clarify the various "mahogany" options.

Family: Meliaceae (mahogany family)

Some economically important species that belong to the Meliaceae family:

• Common name Botanical name (Location)
  
  
• Neem Azadirachta indica (India)
• Crabwood Tree Carapa procera (South America and Africa)
• Cedrela* Cedrela odorata (Central and South America; timber also known as Spanish-cedar)
• Sapele* Entandrophragma cylindricum (tropical Africa)
• Utile or Sipo* Entandrophragma utile (tropical Africa)
• Bossé* Guarea cedrata, Guarea thompsonii (Africa)
• Ivory Coast Mahogany* Khaya ivorensis (tropical Africa)
• Senegal Mahogany* Khaya senegalensis (tropical Africa)
• Chinaberry or Bead Tree Melia azedarach (Queensland, India and southern China)
• Honduras Mahogany* Swietenia macrophylla (Central and South America)
• West Indies Mahogany* Swietenia mahagoni (Caribbean, including southern Florida)
• Australian Redcedar* Cedrela Toona australis (Australia), often included in C. Toona ciliata (seq.)
• Toon* surian (int. trade) C. Toona ciliata (India, southeast Asia and eastern Australia)

* Boatbuilding was listed as a use on US Forest Service website.

True Mahogany

True mahogany comes from three species of the genus Swietenia: mahagoni, humilis, and macrophylla. Although each has different leaves and flowers, their woods cannot be distinguished, even under a microscope. All three require an abundance of sunlight and generally only one tree will grow to maturity in any opening in the rain forest’s dense canopy. Consequently, it's common to find only one mature mahogany tree in every 2 acres of forest. When there's a strong demand for the wood of a relatively few slow-growing trees, overharvesting is the result. The mahogany Cortez’s shipwrights coveted, Swietenia mahagoni—commonly known as Cuban, Jamaican, West Indian, or simply Caribbean mahogany—fell victim to lumber exporters. This species is no longer commercially logged (although plantation-grown wood is available). Neither is Swietenia humilis, or Pacific mahogany, a tree found in Central and South America that yields far less desirable wood. Only Swietenia macrophylla—Honduran or big-leaf mahogany, which grows from Mexico to Brazil—is still harvested from its indigenous forests. However, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) lists Honduran mahogany as a tree at risk of being overexploited, and they require each shipment of the wood to be accompanied by export permits and documentation stating the country of origin. Honduran mahogany today retails for about $6.60* per board foot in the US. (Swietenia is a bit softer than longleaf pine.) Because of the wood's value and popularity, lumber brokers in other parts of the world have bestowed the name "mahogany" on other species of reddish wood as a way to burnish their appeal.

African Mahogany

The name African Mahogany covers all species of Khaya, although their timbers vary somewhat in character, particularly in weight. The bulk of the timber shipped is produced by K. ivorensis and K. anthotheca each with moderately light-weight, pale to medium-red wood, and it is timber of this type which is accepted commercially as African mahogany; East African K. nyasica is generally similar. A small proportion of K. grandifoliola is moderately light in weight but much of its timber and that of K. senegalensis is darker and appreciably heavier than that normally accepted as African mahogany. It has been suggested that such heavy wood should be marketed separately, and the name heavy African mahogany is recommended. African mahogany generally refers to several different species of Khaya, a tree that grows throughout West Africa. Its reddish-brown wood is as dense and stable as true mahogany (they are in the same family) and has a beautiful ribbon figure when sawn. But because it's more fibrous, Khaya doesn’t carve as easily. It retails for about $4.25* a board foot.

Philippine-mahogany

Philippine-mahogany is the name given to some of the different species of Shorea that grow throughout the Philippine archipelago as well as in Malaysia and Indonesia. The dark red meranti is the closest in appearance to true mahogany, although it has a coarser texture, less stability, and only moderate rot resistance. Because of its hardness, durability, and relatively low retail price (about $2.82* a board foot), it's often used for exterior doors, windows, and decking. Yellow meranti, its far less durable cousin, is also sold as mahogany but is mainly used in plywood and paneling.

* Prices from Reel Lumber, Anaheim, CA; 8 Dec 2005. Reel was chosen because they had all three varieties.

Recent email:

Subject: ? Help
Date: Sat, 10 Dec 2005
From: Frank Leary

Your materials list suggests Philippine red mahogany! Is Santos mahogany acceptable as well, is it the same? I don't know! Help!!
Frank

ANSWER: I had never heard of Santos (Myroxylon balsamum, commonly called "balsamo")... until now. It is not mahogany; is a new world wood. It is rot resistant, but don't know if it has been used for boat building. The description on the US Forest Products Laboratory website says it is moderately difficult to work, but nothing about gluing. See www2.fpl.fs.fed.us/TechSheets/Chudnoff/TropAmerican/html_files/myroxy1new.html for more information.

A general rule of thumb, is that if a wood is being successfully used for boatbuilding in your area, it is probably ok. That may be stating the obvious, but it is something we say when we don't really know the woods in a specific locality. ...brw

We received the following message with an attachment. We did not open it; we know it is NOT from us, but you may not. We have gotten similar messages from banks and well known companies. I do not know how these things are generated or what the attachment is, but beware. This message is not from us.

Subject: Your password has been successfully updated
Date: Sun, 11 Dec 2005 22:45:10 -0700

Dear user main,

You have successfully updated the password of your Glen-l account.

If you did not authorize this change or if you need assistance with your account, please contact Glen-l customer service at: administrator@glen-l.com

Thank you for using Glen-l!
The Glen-l Support Team

Subject: Glossary addition
Date: Tue, 06 Dec 2005

Dear Sirs: A good word to add to your "Glossary of Terms" might be Osmosis - with "See also Hull blisters". The absorbsion of water in a glass fiber hull etc. etc. A better definition might be found in
http://www.daviscoltd.com/nams/Documents/Blister_Report.html
Regards.
Bob Bamford

"In making a gel coat material, a polyester resin is used for the base. To obtain the color and the hiding power desired, a pigment powder is blended into the resin. The resin is thickened to prevent run off by the addition of extremely fine silica powder. Certain clays can also be added to help the flow properties. Finally, extenders or fillers can be added to reduce the amount of resin needed in the gel coat and which in some cases add strength."

Subject: Old boat club registry
Date: Sat, 3 Dec 2005

Swish / Terry Chapman / Pickering,Ontario,Canada / 12/03/05: My dad built a Swish Runabout in the basement of our house in the winter of 1958-59, after seeing the boat on the cover of Popular Mechanics. Before he started building the boat, he knew that he would have to remove the end wall of the basement to get the boat out. This was quite a sight and we have a picture showing the boat coming out. He took the boat to the cottage and used it until the summer of 1963, when it went into the boathouse and sits there to this day, 42 years later. Last summer he gave me the boat and I plan on bringing it home next summer and refinishing it. It will be great to get it back in the water after all these years.
Terry Chapman
Chapman's Auto Relocation Service ( C.A.R.S.)
Mopar to Ya.

Below is the result of your feedback form. It was submitted on Wednesday, November 30, 2005
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name: David Roberts

Comments: Have been borrowing the blue book for some time. Got my own copy coming from you now.

Too bad Ken Hankinson retired. I'm building his "Nor'wester". The more I think I understand boat design the more I like that particular boat. Between his excellent design, your very good book and my own personal boat building drill sergant/sensi, I seem to be producing a good boat for the AK Cook Inlet/Prince William sound area.

Again thanks for producing such an excellent book. It has been as important as Mr. Hankinson’s design or my mentors’ help to keep me on the straight and narrow path.

Below is the result of your feedback form. It was submitted on Thursday, November 24, 2005
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name: David Brown

Comments: Built the Z Zip 25 years ago. Still moving along.

Below is the result of your feedback form. It was submitted on Wednesday, November 23, 2005
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name: Lloyd Corliss

Comments: Your plans are still as complete an they were when I was in college, 1952, taking a boat building class at UCSB in Santa Barbara. The project was a class "B" racing runabout with a Ford V8 60 for power. I Got it finished before graduating in 1953. It was unforgettable. Thank you for stirring up old memories. It was nice to see my letter in the "WebLetter". Who knows, there may be a new inspiration just waiting to come forward. You will be the first to know.
Lloyd

Subject: Molly B
From: Jack Lavallet

Well, rats! I got really deep into the story about the Molly B, and then it ended! That ain’t no way to treat a fellow boatist! When will he finish the story??? It’s a great descriptive pictorial.

Subject: pumpkin boat design
Date: Tue, 29 Nov 2005

Hello – My name is Craig Fitzgerald, I’m looking for a rather specialized boat design. This October I paddled my 396 pound giant pumpkin across a pond in Rutland, MA (I’ve attached a photo) and next summer I’d like to sail my giant gourd. I’m not sure if this is feasible as I don’t believe it has ever been done, but that’s why I’m writing to you. My preliminary thoughts are to use a low square sail with a plywood deck that a wooden dowel mast would be affixed to. I may use a paddle for a tiller and as I don’t think I can affix a keel I might use outriggers for stability. The idea is to keep it SIMPLE. My goal is not speed but to just travel from point a to point b. I know I wouldn’t be able to tack, I’d be happy to just follow the wind. Please reply with your thoughts on feasibility and possible cost of your design. Thanks in advance.
– Craig F. Fitzgerald
Ps – I’m giving away seeds
“If I can grow it, I can row it”

Subject: Plywood Date: Tue, 22 Nov 2005

What do think about using 1/4" water resistant luan to build the eightball dingy with? AB Exterior or Marine Plywood is hard to find in my area.
Bill Griswold

ANSWER:
Water resistant does not sound good.
Two things: Structural. You want a plywood with exterior plies that are somewhat close to the thickness of the inner ply. The strength of the panel comes from the opposing directions of the grain. In a panel with three plies, the outer plies run lengthwise, inner ply runs the width. Many luan panels have paper thin outer veneers. This does not give much structural strength.
Water-proof. Water-resistant probably means it will fall apart with prolonged exposure to moisture. Luan is a Philippine-mahogany-type wood. It is one of the least rot resistant in that category.
Do not shop at Home Depot, Lowes, etc. for boat building lumber. You must go to a real lumberyard.

Lumber Suppliers

--
Barry

Subject: RE: Glen-L Questionnaire
Date: Tue, 22 Nov 2005

Gayle,

You are most welcome. No, no official ordination (if that's even a word - ha) - I just like to spread the word about things I like and in dealing with your company I have found you all to be very nice and honest people - very refreshing. Also, and this may sound strange, but at times when I'm stressed out about something I sometimes go to the Glen-L website and spend a half-hour or so looking through all the recently posted customer pictures and browse once again through the various designs and I find it quite relaxing. I bet you didn't even know you all were in the therapy business did you?

Thanks.
Eric

We wish you the happiest of seasons

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