How to submit registry information

VEE GULL (aluminum) / Ron Hounsell / New Zealand / / 12-11-03: Vee Gull is just completed. It is all Aluminium with a 202 V6 working through a Volvo Penta leg. The hull is identical to the plans, but I've designed a cuddy cabin for it. I also moved the cabin forward 2ft to give more fishing room and more room to lay out our dive gear. I was worried that the motor might be too small, but this proved not to be the case as we can cruise at 35 knots @ 3600 revs with 4 adults with gear aboard. It is extremely economical to run and only draws 2ft at rest. (see Customer Photos) Note: The plans are not detailed for aluminum constructions.

VERA CRUISE / Keith Thom / Ayrshire, West Scotland ( UK )/ / 4-12-02: Very early collection of materials (plans, ordered Ply Sheets and fasteners delivered). Are there any other Vera Cruise in the UK?? 12-1-02: I now have frames, stem, breasthook, knee and transom complete and ready to frame up on the construction frame. Next to lay the keel and install sheer, chine and battens. Perhaps then I'll understand more of Mark's recent comments in the WebLetter on fairing the hull. Thanks for the plans, given time to think, re think and carefully cut I've encountered few problems. The problem is that now in Scotland it is only about 8 - 10 deg C in day light and epoxy cure takes ages under a temporary canvas shelter. 4-24-03: April in Scotland brings average temperature to something like 15 degrees and the keel, bottom battens, chine and sheer are all epoxied in place. I had great difficulty bending the chine log into place, and eventually abandoned the plan and instructions. I laminated in place three pieces of half inch by two and a half mahogany, (I actually work in metric so these are approx) It really looks like a boat now, I intend to add an additional longitudinal batten along the mid point of the side planking possibly inch by two, for a little extra stiffness to protect against possible docking damage. Next step will be the physical workout with planes and sander to fair up the hull ready for planking. December 2003: Hull planking now complete and sheathed, final sanding and then ready for paint in the spring when the weather warms up. 10-15-04: Still working... the hull was successfully turned in May and the front deck sheets are epoxied in place and sheathed, the deck hatch has yet to be finally fitted and I've started work on the internal joinery for seating and galley etc. When at least the frames for these are in place I'll get the cabin sides (which are already cut) in place and possibly the cabin roof on (The laminated ply beams are already made ready to drop in place), then that will probably be about it for the winter months.
3-24-08: After a long period of illness and spinal surgery I hope that this email to you will help drive me to complete my Vera Cruise "MOKOIA" The hull was mothballed in sheeting and partly heated inside on a thermostat to keep moisture at bay. It has done well and only shows some small areas of a black mould growth which washes off the inside surfaces. Some internal clean up and I hope to continue with the internal construction of galley, heads and berths. Watch this space for some photos soon. (see Customer Photos)

VERA CRUISE / Thaddeus Dolson / / 5-30-04: I purchased plans for Vera Cruise about three years ago and planed to build it when I retired to the Philippines. Well it's been a year and a half since I moved here and I just started about two months ago. It's very hot here so I only work on it in the mornings. I have most of the hull complete and hope to be ready to fibre glass at the end of this month will send pictures after turning.

VERA CRUISE / David Ellingson / Woodstock, IL / / 5-10-06: I've been working on my Vera Cruise several months, sort of in backwards order. I've been working on the electrical/electronics, accumulating hardware, etc. so that when the hull is complete all this other stuff will be complete and ready to install. I bought the frame kit now because Allyn is retiring and it won't be available in the future. But I won’t be able to start on the hull for a year or two. 7-7-06: Here are some pictures of the electrical panels that I've been working on. Helm switches: Will be mount on the helm panel adjacent to the GPS and engine gauges.
Ignition: Start, stop, ventilation, hourmeters, and stuff.
Battery switch.
DC panel: The DC distribution panel.
AC panel: The AC distribution panel.
Front Panel Express did the anodizing, machining, and engraving to my specs. They do a really good job at a very reasonable price, all 5 panels were about $350 delivered to my door. You should add their link to your "Supplier" page. http://www.frontpanelexpress.com/
Next I start on the supporting circuit boards. They perform the signal conditioning for the panel meters, drive the indicator lamps on on the panels, and a bunch of other stuff. Once all this is complete I build the helm box. My plan is to mount all this stuff in/on the helm box then, when the hull is complete, I just mount the completed helm assembly and finish routing the wiring around the hull.(see Customer Photos)

VIGILANT / Haji Kamal / Terengganu, Malaysia / / 2-10-03:
7-30-02: Received Videos, Books (Boatbuilding with Plywood, How To Fiberglass Boats and Inboard motor Installations), Transfer Papers and Vigilant (Plywood) Plans & Patterns. 8-7-02: Sent e-Mails and making telephone calls to local Lumber Yards to negotiate the price and to establish Estimated Time of Arrival at my worksite. 8-12-02: Pay a visit at one of Lumber Yard, confirm order. Purchased a Log with 56" overall diameter, cut to sizes and quantities as required (given extra allowance of 1/8" for Widths and Thickness). 8-15-02: Arranging Checklist & Work Schedule. Built up 60' L x 30' W x 28' Height Work Shelter & AC connections. 9-15-02: Constructed building form for Vigilant using 2" x 6" lumber. Made a first pre-cut for sixteen Frames, Stem (4" x 16" lumber laminated with 3/4" Marine Plywood= 5 1/2") and Transom. Joining 2" x 5" Chine logs and 1" x 3" x 3 layers of Sheer Clamp. Hung all Chine Logs, Sheer Clamps together with 2" x 12" x 2 layers of Keel lumber on the top of scaffolding. Clamped longitudinals to scaffolding with C-Clamps hung a basket at the other end. Every week putting an extra weight into the hanging basket, the purpose is to curve the Chine Logs, Shear Clamps and Keel in the slow and steady manner.
10-3-02: Pre-saturated all the Frames to avoid extreme Tropical weather. Monsoon Season will be arrive soon. Glued Frame Gussets and Fillers with Poxy-Grip and screwed and bolted in place. 1-21-03: All Sixteen Frames with 3" thick Floor Timber, Stem and Transom located on the Set Up as per GLEN-L Blueprint. Precaution given to the Frame # 7 to 12 which located the CB of the boat. Keel, Chine Logs and Sheer Clamps installed on the Frames without any problems encountered. 2-9-03: Installation of Bottom and Side Battens is on progress, hopefully by end of March 2003 the first Marine Plywood for Bottom Planking will be put in place after Fairing process is over. 4-27-03: Just completed 2 layers on Bottom and Side Planking. The third layer for Bottom planking held up for the while, waiting a Marine Plywood from Robbins UK. 11-5-03: Several updates are included with the photos. The hull has been completed, painted, and is ready to roll over. (see Customer Photos)

WANDERLUST / Anthony Ciarochi / Browns Point, WA / / 3-2-03: Installing chine logs and sheer clamps. 8-13-03: Coming along. Check my progress at http://www.ivplanet.net/~ciarochi/boat/Wanderlust.html (continually updated)

WANDERLUST / Edwin S. Coraza / Ormoc, Leyte, Philippines / / 5-31-04: I enjoy building my Wanderlust. I have just completed fiberglassing the hull. I will start putting in the spray rails and skeg this weekend, June 05, 2004. At the same time, I started looking for the best engine and propulsion system to make this boat run at least 30 knots. 9-2-04: I already turned my boat right-side up and I have started working on the decking.

WANDERLUST / Robert N. Holmes / / 4-11-07: Hull is mostly done! I am currently putting the cabin together. Cabin overhead beams are now connected to the side bulkheads. The two overhead sheets of plywood are on my lofting table getting there fourth coat of varnish. The aft cabin bulkhead with cutout for door is also in place. This boat will weigh a bit heavy. Mostly from the false "self bailing deck" and I went a bit heavy framing the cabin deck.(sleeping area). I am not sure how much epoxy went into this project. Lots! And more to go. It's been three years since I started. I only work on it a couple nights a week. This summer! It is realistic, I should be finished.

WEE HUNK / Matt O'Neill / Email address not valid 5-6-03 / 9-13-99: Plywood, lumber, SNG Kit on order, studying plans. Sides and bottom stitched together, gluing up transom. Planning to use a Honda 4 stroke. 11-16-99: Close to turn over for fiberglassing. 2-28-00: Late Dec through early Feb too cold to do anything. Now fiberglassed and turned upright. The console and bench have been installed. Have purchased a Yamaha 25 hp 4 stroke. 3-29-00: Fiberglass and resin work complete. First coat of paint is on. Hanging the motor this weekend. 4-12-00: Finished but not in the water yet. (See photos in Customer Photos/Archives)

WEE HUNK / Steve Dziedziak / Olympia, WA / / 7-11-03: I have started cutting the bottom panels. 9-15-03: In the month of August I stitched the sides and bottom, then filleted and taped the seams on the inside. Put in front seat and breasthook, motorwell and inner sheers. I turned the hull over on the first of Sept. Sanded bottom, filled, radiused corners and preped for taping seams. Taped seams this weekend (9/13-14) and applied some fairing compound to level hull in preparation for fiberglassing the sides and bottom. 10-16-03: Epoxied and applied fiberglass cloth to the bottom and sides. Applied extra coats of epoxy to fill weave and faired the bottom a little. Now I am working on the bottom battens. 11-01-03 to 1-16-04: I have finished the bottom (no paint yet). Turned back over to work on the outer sheers, cold weather has slowed me down a little. I am laying out the interior (seats, console and front seating). I am going to go with a walk thru layout, with bow seats. 5-4-04: I have built my consoles in (one on each side) and I am finishing up the front seating. I have cut the holes for, and mounted, the steering wheel and hub assembley. Will be removeing to paint. i have also bought a motor and controls. I am working on setting up control location and routing of cables. I am going to mount motor and then take off to paint then re-install. I hope to turn the hull again and paint the bottom this month. 6-8-04: On 5/29/04 I completed painting the bottom and sides. I will let it dry for a week then turn back over and start to prime the inside and paint. I used the system three water based epoxy primer and WR-LPU topcoat paint. the primer was rolled on (3 coats), then sanded smooth. The paint was applied with a spray gun for the first three coats. I couldn't get it to lay right so I rolled the next 2 coats and tipped it with a brush. Came out excellent. I want to be ready for the water in July sometime (might be a little optimistic). (see Customer Photos)

WEE HUNK / Michel Grandbois / Lennoxville, Québec, Canada / / 6-19-05: Now working intensively on a Wee Hunk and the hull is now formed and look prett good. I hope to have it ready for some whale wachting in the St-Laurence Gulf by the end of August.

WHITEHALL / Brian McGowan / Melbourne, Australia / / 5-10-07: Modified the design and specs to 14’0”. Found that the Internet is the most un-believable library and it is right at the finger tip. You can read and see what others have done and the problems they have resolved, tools they use for best effect, most importantly the experiences and fun they are having/had, just a wonderful adventure at every turn. Strong back and forms completed and assembled. Have collected, scrounged, bought on E-bay, most of the timber (Douglas-fir and some cypress) in major beam form and piece by piece it is being ripped to the various spec’s. Slowly building the laminations of all stems and knees, Scarfing material for planking, risers etc, could not get straight and clear in the lengths required. Life at this stage seems to be at the end of a sander or glue pot. Keel has all but been completed. Completion depended on deciding just how thick the planking would be! The specified half inch is too difficult to bend, when the timber is well aged and dry (very), so we have opted for 3/8” which means the bevel needed to be adjusted. That brings me to the reason for the name “Square One”, we have been back and forward so often and at times seemed as though we would never make any progress. Part of the fun, enough of the chit chat still a long way to go.

WHITEHALL Wood / Casey McGovern / Tacoma, WA / / 9-25-07: I started in 7-2007 and as of now I have a building form set up under cover in the backyard, a transom glued and screwed, and a stem laminated. I am getting a lot of my mahogany and cedar cheap from Second Use Lumber just south of Seattle. I am making sure all the wood is either secondhand or certified-sustainable. I am surprised how few builders there are for this nice design. I will be adding a sail rig.

WHITEHALL / Bruce Kibler / Highlands, NC / / 2-25-08: I have photo's on the Glen-L website of the 17 ft. Whitehall that I built about two years ago. Here is my current contact information in case anybody is looking for help and would like to speak with someone (me) regarding the building of the Whitehall or perhaps even of my whereabouts. If you want more photo's, I can provide some during construction. (See Customer Photos)

WILD THING / Bob Holt / Email address not valid 5-6-03 / 8-6-98: In final stages, almost ready to paint. 6-14-99: Finished. Performs really well with a Mariner 15 hp. (See Customer Photos)

WILD THING / Neal Ball / Shropshire, England ( UK )/ / 2-22-00: Plywood and other timber purchased today. Frames marked out, first 3 cut out. Hull being marked out at weekend.

WILD THING / Phil Harrison / Redwood City, CA / / 9-14-02: My son and I are working on finishing the Wild Thing project that we began last summer (2001). We have just finished fiberglassing the bottom and will put the first coat of Easypoxy paint on this weekend. We plan on turning it over next weekend to begin installing the frames and cowling. We'll send pictures shortly. We are enjoying our Glen L projects. 5-10-03: The Wild Thing and Tempest is progressing at a slower pace these days. We have been working on the projects when we can find a few hours on the weekends. We are at the final finishing stage now on the Wild Thing. I have just finished putting in the final screws and nails last weekend and will spend part of today, filling screw holds and sanding. I plan to start fiberglassing next weekend and then paint the following weekend. We should have the official launch in Early July after my son graduates. I've attached pictures of the final stages of the wild thing and a few pictures of the Tempests Transom Frames and Stem. I want to complete the Wild thing first so we can get it out of the way as it takes up all the room on the make shift work table. I admit we have had a lot of good times with the Wild Thing project and look forward to spending some quality time on the Tempest when we get some room in the tent. (see Customer Photos)

WILD THING / Dan and Alan Levenson / Barnegat, NJ / / 9-11-05: Bought the kit right before the summer but will be reconfiguring the final design. Progressing on schedule. 10-26-05: Ready to fiberglass the topside. Still need to design access to front. Cockpit is next. I will be using a 20 hp for this. Looking to bring the boats weight in under 250# with the motor. (See Customer Photos)

WILD THING / David Henry / Dublin, Ireland / / 2-19-08: I purchased your plans in 2003 and completed the project Feb 04, it was quite a challenge, I worked many late evenings and still married, stitch and glue is very fast to form the hull and Glen – L full size plans were excellent, performance with 15 hp engine is superb and can even catch a jet ski, second hand seats and visor from motorcycle give a sporty look. (See Customer Photos)

XP-8 / Jake Buttrick / / 10-21-00: Bought plywood yesterday and started cutting. 10-24-00: Finished cutting out parts from plywood. 3-30-01: Finished making framing and cutting peices. 5-11-01: Started fiberglassing. 8-13-01: boat finished. 8-17-01: maiden voyage. 5-8-03: I finished my XP8 a couple years ago. Up until last summer I've been using a Merc110, getting speeds just over 25MPH. This winter I finished rebuilding a 1950's Mercury Mark 25, and should get the boat going around 35MPH. Sometime this summer I will finish my 1950's racing engine, a Mark 15H. That should push me over 40MPH, and I could use the MK25 powerhead on the H tower... That would be reeeaaaalllly fast. Can't wait to try it out. My brother has a telephoto lens on this 35mm, so we have some nice shots from the rowboat. As a matter of fact, he has a Pee Wee(Ill send one of those pictures too). The Pee Wee has a 1997 Johnson 9.9HP on it and goes slightly faster than my XP-8 with a 70's Mercury 9.8HP. I'll send a couple now, if you want more, just let me know. Have I mentioned I'm only 19(I was 17 when I comlpeted construction)? I did all the work myself. Only help I got was my brother helped me flip it during construction. (see Customer Photos)

XP-8 / Greg Gardiner / / 2-18-01: Built xp-8 in 1978. Put fiberglass over plywood. Boat still in use. 25mph estimated with 9.9 hp outboard. 5-8-03: Email still valid... Great memories.

XP-8 / Darryl Mabee / / 10-31-01: Built complete XP-8 in two weeks during summer vacation in 1990. Put fibreglass tape over bow split over plywood. Boat still in use. 25mph estimated with 9.9 hp outboard. 5-7-03: We finished XP8 about 15 years ago and it is still in occasional use. I get the occasional email about it now and then too.

XP-8 / Ed Carr / Natick, MA / / 7-5-06: Finished project, two XP-8's and trailer.

YUKON / Erik Jansen / Email address not valid 5-6-03 / 7-98: (started 01-01-92): is now almost ready, I have some painting and interior work to do. Motor is installed. Finished 1999 (see Customer Photos)

YUKON / Glen Zwicker / Nova Scotia, Canada / / 05-22-02: Started building in summer of '00. Turned the hull in 09-01. I have the forward cabin area just about finished, and am just now doing the side decks aft to the transom. The cockpit framing is in, and I have all the roof beams laminated, and the mast and spar is glued up. I live just a few miles from Wayne Milner, who has completed his Yukon, and whose magazine-published story is on this web site (look in MISC in the sidebar on the home page). Wayne has been a great help to me, both with advice and physical help, and I would have been reluctant to start building without his encouragement. 1-3-03: The project is now completely "closed in". The windows and doors are in place with the engine (Ford Senator 120) and fuel tanks (2 x 185 imp. gal.) inside but not installed. I am now doing some wiring and plumbing on milder days, and working at sub-assemblies in the shop on most days. The project is outside. I am looking forward to springtime when I can add the bulwarks, rubrails, swim platform, flying bridge, and mast. Tentative launch date is October '03. 5-7-03: Over the winter I installed the engine and aligned it with the shaft, and did all the below-decks electrical, fuel, exhaust, ventilation, heating, plumbing, engine cooling, and other systems. Now I am taking advantage of the improved weather to work outside, and have the bulwarks about half done. It's a lot of fun.....sorta takes over your life though! 05-22-04: The flybridge is now ready for primer. I made a few changes up there. I moved the helm to the far right, and made the seating back-to-back athwart-ship with a two foot passage, fore and aft. She will be then ready for exterior paint. Inside, a bit of sanding will have her ready for final finish. I have all the various mouldings milled and pre-finished. She is going in the water for sure this summer! 6-8-05: Well, she didn't go in the water last summer, but she is in now. Launch date was May 23,'05. I'll put a picture in the Customer Photos section as soon as I can.

YUKON / Tom Schmidt / Frostproof, FL / / 5-2-03: I'm building the Yukon with some modifications. I have completed the site preparation and have the building form up and 9 frames completed. 1-20-04: I've completed the frames and have started planking the hull as of this date. Monitor progress on my website. http://home.att.net/~schmidttl.

YUKON / Kaye Lenn / 60 miles southwest of Washington, DC / / 7-7-03: We have completed the hull of our YUKON have the Deadwood in place and are starting to cloth the hull. We intend to use Vectra cloth as I put it on a previously built boat and very pleased with it's application as well as wear. We would like to correspond with some other YUKON builders.

ZIP / Doug Hodder / / 2-5-00: Cut out frame members, built form. 2-12-00: assembled frames, transom, and stem. 2-13-00 Installed keel and battens. 2-19-00: Installed chines and sheers. 2-26-00: Received plywood, began fairing. 3-2-00: Had heart failure at price of outboard. 3-5-00 I scored a parts boat on the way home from work. I got a 1957 Mercury 45 hp. motor, all the vintage hardware, steering, etc... The beauty of it all is that it matches the motor on the boat in the photo of your catalogue circa 1957. 700$ for the motor and the works. Heart failure averted. 3-17: Finished planking hull. 3-18: Fill and finish screw countersinks. 3-20: Glass tape joints. 3-20-00: Fiberglassed bottom. 4-1-00: painted the hull, two tone, 1/2 inch white stripe with aquamarine bottom and clear coated it. 4-3: took apart building cradle, will reuse parts to fabricate cradle to build out the topside. 4-25-00: Boat is turned over. Floor blocking and carlings in. Intruments are in dash, design detail routed into figured maple with padauk inserts. (See Customer Photos-Archives)

ZIP / Rick Stokes / Canada / / 5-15-00: Tranferring patterns to layout board and frame members. 7-2-00: Completed frame and transom construction; working on form and set up. 11-1-00: Completed planking and fiberglassing hull, preparing to paint. Will transfer to a friend's heated work shop for completion of deck and interior. 7-22-01: Finished (See Customer Photos)

ZIP / David Robinson / Fairhope, AL / / 6-1-00: Fairing the frames, chines, shears. 5-9-03: Slow but steady. Have turned her over and am fitting out the interior. 4" wide slatted cedar side paneling (a la pre-'50's Lymans or pre-war "gentlemans sportster"), slatted cedar seats and duckboards. Am running the wiring this weekend. Then I'll start putting on the deck soon. (I learned over many boats that anything you can do before the deck is on is easier than lying on your back under the deck trying to do it.)

ZIP / Bryce Jeannotte / / 11-3-00: So far I have completed the Stem, Breasthook and Transom Knee. I am working on the transom and have modified it to allow the use of a long shaft motor. I plan to plank the sides and bottom with Okoume/Mahogany plywood and use Sapele for the deck. 5-20-03: Unfortunately my project has been going very slowly. I have been working a lot over the last year or two. I don't know where the time goes but it does just seem to disappear, but I will be getting back to the Zip this fall.

ZIP / Rob Simmons / Lookout Mountain, Ga / / 3-15-02: Built the building frame, leveled and releveled everything... perfect. 3-20-02: Attached the frames, clamping each one in place including the transom and stem. 4-3-02: Bought about 68 board feet of White oak for the keel, chines and decking. Since I bought random-random wood I cut the boards to length and I am ready to attach and fair. 10-05-02: Took a little time off but got back on the project ASAP – Right away found a mistake. The stem was off the centerline by about 3/4 of a inch. I added extra material along the stem to help compensate, plus I will have some creative fairing to accomplish. (Please email me if you want the complete details.) I have put the chines and sheers on and I have started fairing away. 10-10-02: I hate fairing. 11-20-02: Got fed up and bought a power planer. Fairing stinks. 1-17-03: Attached and fitted the battens. It was a little too cold here to use epoxy, so I am waiting a little bit to finish attaching them. Fairing is almost completed and I am about to purchase the plywood for the hull and do the last bit of fairing for a snug fit. I would like to recommend a power planner for ANY AND ALL fairing. It speeds up the process and is easier on your back.

ZIP / Rolando Perez / Paranaque City, Metro Manila, Philippines / (email address updated 1-05) / 2-17-03: Have done frames no. 2, 4, 5 1/2, breasthook, stem, transom knee. 3-2-03: The form is up, frames & stem secured, keel installed. Chines are being fitted. I am building the Zip as an open utility. Haven't yet determined deck layout. 4-7-03: All support structure have been glued or fitted. The laminated shear took a lot of time to fit & glue. Also had problems with chine: had to add blocking at frame 5 1/2 so it wouldn't spring out and laminated patch on at stem end which was set in a bit aft. Now starting to fair. 5-15-03: Got delayed by holidays but the planking is done. Ready for filling and fiberglass sheathing. 6-10-03: Fiberglass sheathing done, hull right-side up. 9-7-03: The deck has been laid, trimmed and sheathed. 4-12-04: After four months of being idled, I decided to throw the unfinished boat into the lake for a splash test. A 5hp Merc made it plane on calm water! Fitted a 25hp Johnson for size. Gave the deck and the floorboards a quick coat of white paint to keep them cool in the tropical sun to prep her for The Easter holidays. Trailed her past costumed penitents to the Hundred Islands marine park 200km away. So why should we let a little finishing putty and paint get in the way of fun! Isn't this what boating is all about? (see Customer Photos)

ZIP / Bill Johnson / Rumson, NJ / / 8-3-03: Started construction. Built a wooden platfom in my backyard to construct the boat on. 8-5-03: Received Frame Kit. One frame had a large crack in it, but appears there will be no trouble in getting it replaced. 8-10-03: Built building form and begining to level/allign frames. 8-12-03: Received replacement for the cracked frame. 8-18-03: Finished leveling frames, Cut transom for Short Shaft motor (15") 9-7-03 - Fit the Keel, will epoxy it during the week sometime. 10-13-03: Finished installation of chine and sheer. Had to add some blocking to frame 5 1/2 because I had to drill out a stripped screw in the frame itself. Added the blocking for some extra support. Now to start fairing.... 7-5-05: It's been a long time since I've sent an update, so here it goes: Summer/Spring 2004. Finished planking. Placed 3/16" Mahogany Veneers on the transom. Fiberglassed hull. Lots of sanding... Winter/Fall 2005: Placed skeg on the bottom of the hull. Painted the bottom with Interlux VC Performance Epoxy. Lots of sanding... Turned Hull over and placed it on a trailer. 7-5-05: Completed framing for the floorboards. I diverged from the plans at this point. Installed floorboards, but holding off on painting them until the deck is faired and I am not stomping around or dropping heavy tools on them. I have begun installing the deck framing and hope to have that and the motorwell complete in a few weeks. 10-28-05: Finished deck framing and motorwell. Fit the steering and instruments. Painted the inside of the hull with Interlux BilgeKote. Going to seal it up for the winter months, but I think it will be in the water early next summer! 10-10-06: I finished the boat over the summer and launched last weekend Oct 8, 2006. It was a complete success. The boat handles perfectly and is very fast. I can't wait until next summer so that I can enjoy the fruits of three years labor. The pictures of the boat on the water are at the boat launch near my house on the Navesink river. I plan to spend a lot of time there next year! (see Customer Photos)

ZIP / Nathan A. Miller / Fredericksburg, VA / / 10-27-03: Frames 2, 4, 5-1/2 cut and planed from quartersawn white oak. Ordered POXY SHIELD to begin assembly of frames. 11-2003: Decided to trace and cut the bow and stern sections for the side and bottom pieces separately to minimize wastage and then scarf the sections together. Used my power plane to scarf plywood for the sides and bottom. Clamped a steel ruler to the inboard side of the scarf to use as a guide and support for the thick end of the scarf and then made many progressive passes until I got down to a feather at the edge. Process worked fairly well. Only problem in gluing the joints was that on one of the side joints, I didn't have enough weight and ended up with a gap.... fortunately on the inside of the side piece so it won't be showing.... looks like it will be ok mechanically and I don't have enough plywood to do another full side so I will proceed. 12-2003: Completed all frames and transom. Installed on building jig anchored to floor of boat-shop (which I will have to cut away part of the wall to get the boat out.... but that's ok!) 03-2004: Sprung in the chines. None broken. Wish I had done a better dry fit job and cut notches during the springing in... had some misalignment of notches to the log. 05-2004: Not much of a chance to work on the boat. Have the sheers sprung in. 09-2004: Busy summer. Have battens in and starting the fairing process. Had to put 3rd lamination on the forward part of sheers since I am taking off so much wood. 10-2004: Received my shipment of marine plywood from Boulter in Mass. Very impressed with the rapid turnaround and shipping of my order. Got 1/4" mahogany veneer for the sides, stern and forward bottom. 1/4" fir for the aft bottom and to underlay the deck. 3/8" for the motor well, and misc use. Finally done fairing. 03-2005: Completed the hull and used water based stain from Lockwood to stain the mahogany sides (and was able to test it on the fir part of the bottom for practice. 04-2005: Completed the hull and fiberglassing with 3 coats of West 105/207. Wish I had waited to get some higher temperatures to get a thinner epoxy mix. Was above the 60F recommended minimum temperature but the got a lot of sagging due to the thickness of the mix and resulted in a lot of sanding. 06-11-05: Flipped the boat with the assistance of my wife.... (I thought we should have some more people there to help but SHE insisted that we would be able to do it alone.... now that's irony for you). Went over very easily. I rigged the boat with two loops of strap: one around the boat at the forward frame and one around just forward of the stern. Had both straps run through a pulley and which I then attached to a come-along rigged to the overhead of the boat-shop. Just a matter on lifting the boat up and off the building frame and then estimating how high I needed to jack it up to have enough clearance to rotate it about the long axis. Started to rotate the boat slowly.... didn't take as much effort to get it started turning (or to control the turn rate) as I expected.... single man effort. Unfortunately I was about 5" short in the lift room available and when I started to rotate the boat, the widest side near the bow hit the ground. After temporary panic and profanity, I was able to lift the bow up the extra 6" to get it turned completely over. 08-24-05: Completed deck framing and most of the way done framing for the motor well. Have 1/4" plywood underlayment down on the foredeck. Need to figure out how to start ripping 1/4" deck planks from my 8/4 Mahogany and Walnut stock for finishing the deck. 4-24-07: She went in the water July of 2006.

ZIP / Howard Katzman / West Bloomfield, MI / / 5-2-04: Started project April 9th 2004. Built building form, installed pre-coated frames (I purchased the frame kit, what a bargain!), installed keel, installed chine logs. I have a time clock in my garage and am closely tracking hours spent on this project. To date I have 22 hours (an average of 2.75 hours/day worked). 9-28-07: I finally finished her this summer after three years. I'm very pleased with her. She's met or exceeded all my expectations. I have a 1960 Merc 400 (45 hp). I can pull a water skier and we have a lot of fun tubing. (see Customer Photos)

ZIP / Brad Chupp / West Bloomfield, MI / / 6-9-04: I've completed Zip project. I hate to say it, but it took me almost 3 years to complete. Not to say I spent a solid 3 years working on it, but i did take my time. Please feel free to share these on your website with my email address. (see Customer Photos)

ZIP / David Grason / Nashville, TN / / 8-2-004: I've bought Bill Tyson's Zip. He started it several years ago, but it has been lying dormant for some time. Traveled to Ohio and brought the project back home to Nashville, Tn. At the present, 08-01-2004, the hull has been completed and fiberglassed. There is still some sanding to do before it goes to paint and I want to add a skeg. Also, the hull has not been taken off of the building form. I'll be ordering the trailer plans very soon because I want the trailer to be able to conveniently move the boat around the shop as I work on the deck.

ZIP / Don Slomke / / 7-30-04: It starts again. My 9th boat. Purchased first pieces of lumber today. 8-1-04: Transom knee, breasthook, frames 2 & 4 cut out. 8-4-04: All frames cut out, transom cut out, stem, transom knee and breasthook assembled. 8-14-04: All frames and transom assembled. All sheers and chines ripped and planed to size and ready to install. 9-3-04: All framework is done. I will begin plywood planking today. 9-5-04: Rear half of hull planked, screw holes plugged and sanded. 9-30-04: Bottom planking done, ready for fiberglass. 10-2-04: All bottom seams covered with fiberglass tape. 10-7-04 All deck framing complete, ready for plywood. 10-22-04: All decking cut and ready to install. I am going to finish it as an open cockpit since I will be using a 1958 18hp Johnson manual start outboard. 11-18-04: Haven't worked on it for a while, it's deer season, but this week I trimmed the decking, cut out the flooring and got the back seat built. 2-12-05: It's been a while, but I had some nice weather, so I got back to work. The wood work is complete. Now as soon as it warms up a little, I'll start the fiberglass work. 4-12-05: We've had a stretch of warm weather lately so I got to work 'glassing. All the cloth is on, and I hope to be ready for paint soon. The goal is to have it in the water by May 1. (see Customer Photos)

ZIP / Nedelin Karnolski / Sofia, Bulgaria / / 10-26-04: At the moment I am building something like a garage for being able to build my boat. In the same time all the project was translated by a professional and now I am converting all the mesurements to the metric sistem. Hope to have it built it by the end of March.

ZIP / Ernie Arena / Orlando, Florida / / 11-02-04: Started making ribs and transom mahogany. Plan on using ribbon cut mahogany ply.

ZIP / Kevin Wright / Courtice, Ontario / / 3-20-05: Just starting, strongback members are cut to size. Starting the tracing of the frame members.

ZIP / Gregory Mazurek / Oxford, MI / / 11-3-05: Well I have finally settled in and started building the Glen-L Zip, again. I say again becasue I originally started back in April this year but we sold the home we were in and moved. I was not at the point where I felt comfortable moving the entire boat and building platform together so down it came. The good news is I have a lot more room and a heated garage to boot this time around. The plan is to work through the winter and have the hull flipped by spring. We'll see how that goes. Anyhow, I have the building platform set up square and level with the frames in position. I decided to go with the frame kit since this is my first boat and was anxious to get going. So far all of the lumber is quarter sawn African mahogany that I found from a local mill. I am planning on mahogany plywood for the rest but have not searched out a source yet. I'll try and keep this registry updated as I continue. Hopefully I'll get some pictures posted once I take some.

ZIP / Rick Canton / / 6-28-06: I faired the chines, battens and sheers with a bosch power planer I purchased on ebay, I highly recommend a power planer, especially when fairing white oak. Next was the application of the plywood, I used ribbon striped mahogany on the side planking and meranti marine plywood for the bottom. I had some trouble bending the plywood at the transom but it worked out fine, just make sure you trim off enough plywood in your rough cutting and clamp it good to keep it in place. Several trial and errors when applying the plywood at the stem, but managed to get that applied as well. 8-17-06: I just finished painting the bottom and the transom of my Zip with green Nautical bottom paint. A great deal of sanding, cleaning and re-sanding but it looks great. I am planning to add a white stripe just above the green at the waterline. I am looking forward to turning the boat over in the next few days and put it on a trailer I picked up with my purchase, a 14’ 1960 Crestliner boat with a 1960 Evinrude Lark II motor. I plan to take the hardware off the boat along with the motor to convert it all to my Zip. Things are progressing nicely!. 9-23-06: I have my deck battens on and I have faired them using my power planer and scrap plywood to get the proper fit. The power planer works great, It took me about an hour to get it done. I will be working on the carlings and the seats next as I wait for my shipment of marine plywood to come in for the top decking. I installed my floor, I used ½ inch plastic plywood, it works great, I used 1” x 2” white oak for my floor blocking and then sealed them with epoxy resin. Seats are next, I am planning to go with a 10” height seat at this point, not sure of the design my next picture should give a good view of what I decided. I have 2 months until basketball starts so I hope to have everything done except the finished top decking and hardware. That I will tackle next spring and my Zip should be ready for the June launching! (see Customer Photos)

ZIP / Jerry R. Lindamood / / 10-24-06: Cutting out frames, being built in my shop.

ZIP / Tom Drake / Mount Dora, FL / / 10-24-06: I am just starting my GlenL Zip runabout. At this stage, I have completed the installation of all framing members on the building jig. I am waiting for my fasteners and epoxy from Glen-L which should be shipping this date. While I am quite comfortable with woodworking, I haven't built a boat since my early teen age years which was nearly 60 years ago. I am building this as a project and from a desire to own a classic looking runabout. 9-7-07: I have just completed my first wooden boat and it has been a great experience. Living in Mount Dora, FL, there has not been a shortage of help as this area is a Mecca for wood boat restorers. My wife, Tina, and I are looking forward to our trip to the Gathering to visit with other Glen-L builders. The two photos indicate the influence of our local antique boat restorers in detailing my Zip. If I can be of help to anyone working on a Zip, just e-mail me. (see Customer Photos)

ZIP / Todd Arnette / Williamsburg VA / / 3-7-07: Purchased plans & book "Boatbuilding with Plywood" - Glen L Witt in December 2006 with intention of a Feb 1 2007 start (my 42nd birthday). Construction frame is built as of Feb 1. Transom & Frames are mounted. Transome Knee & Stem/Breasthook assembly is complete As of March 1. I have started to encapsulate the Stem/Breasthook & Transome Knee. I have already learned two lessons I hope to not learn again. Forethought & preparation is pretty handy. And, don't rush; it takes longer to re-do than to do.

ZIP / Eben blue Traywick / Ukiah, CA / / 10-25-07: I am building your Zip. I am 13 years old and we just started the plywood planking. (see Customer Photos)

ZIP / Mark and Donn Shipley / Thousand Oaks, CA / / 12-4-07: My dad built his first Zip in 1956 (in five weeks!), so he's been having a blast working on this one. Status is as follows:
August 11-12: Frames and transom, stem and breasthook fabricated. Mahogany was used for the framing and all plywood is A-A Royal Marine Douglas Fir. We spent the following weekend sanding and preparing everything for assembly.
Sept. 1-3: We built the assembly fixture and attached the aforementioned pieces per the plans, and laid the keel.
The next couple of weekends were spent laminating and installing the sheers and chine logs. I highly recommend laminating these. We experienced no breakage and this allowed us to keep these members full thickness. We added T-sections to the keel and battens, between the transom and Frame Two.
We spent several weekends fairing everything for planking. We did have to do some shimming of the chine logs aft of the stem, to keep the chines positive. I can say that all the time spent fairing and checking everything was very well spent. Tool recommendation: The "David" razor plane. I've used these for years in my model airplane hobby and they work beautifully for fairing the chines and sheers. Lightweight yet extremely robust. Made in Holland, they are available from a number of sources on the internet for about $25. We began installing planking on Thanksgiving Day, while the turkey was on the barbecue. This brought back memories for my dad, because he and my granddad began work on Zip Number One under the exact same circumstances in 1956. All planking was completed over the long weekend. We did have some concerns about plywood cracking due to the Santa Ana wind conditions that weekend, so we lightly misted the planking with a plant sprayer up forward and had no problems.
This past weekend, Dec. 1-2, we got the fiberglass on. Despite the cold weather, we were able to get the cloth wetted out. We put down a ply of six-ounce E-glass followed by a second ply of two-ounce to aid finishing. This will finish out extremely well. We'll be keeping the creature comforts to a minimum to keep the weight down. We expect to have this boat on the water sometime this spring. Power will be a restored 1956 Mercury Mark 55E, and I've already constructed the trailer using your plans as a guide, but TIG welding everything from two-by-three-inch steel tube rather than C-channel. Since this will be a fresh-water boat the tube will not present a problem. One problem with trailers for lightweight boats is finding springs having a low enough rate to allow the suspension to work. Because of this I intentionally built the trailer on the heavy side to obtain a gross weight of approximately 1,000 lbs. using 1,500 lb. springs. We are also willing to share our experiences with other builders.
1-21-08: We righted the hull over the weekend and successfully mated it to the trailer. My guess is that the bare hull is well under 200 lbs. and four of us were able to do this with no scratched paint or hernias.
2-4-08: Now that the boat is righted, we've made some serious progress with the deck framing. Since the majority of our work is done over the weekends, I'll try and provide you guys with a data dump every morning, with photos to follow when we get around to taking them (this seems to fall through the cracks more than anything else). In spite of the rain, wind and cold temps in our drydock/carport over the weekend, we were able to get the forward deck battens and carlings installed. We also began working out the motorwell details before running out of mahogany. We initially had thoughts of making the carlings as one-piece items so that we could "egg-crate" them into the frames. We quickly discovered that this would not be practical since the carlings follow the sheer line. We could have laminated them to do this, but just following the plans turned out to be the best approach. Funny how that always seems to be the case.... We also installed the seatback beam for the front cockpit. This was angled eight degrees from vertical, a figure that just felt right. The rear seatback beam installation didn't go as smoothly. We had originally thought that we could have a 32-inch cockpit with a 12-inch motorwell. On paper this would have given us a small bridge deck between the well and cockpit. When we fitted the outboard to confirm this, we discovered that tilting it up caused the motor's front to foul the deck. Solution? The rear seatback beam is now the front bulkhead for the motorwell and the rear cockpit is shorter at 28 inches. When we get thing cleaned up and hide most of our sins I'll get some more photos onto a CD and send it over. Until then, stay tuned...
2-14-08: Last weekend we faired the forward deck beams and battens for the planking. This was as time-consuming as fairing the hull structure. It really takes a good eye to get everything to flow nicely. Tool recommendation: The Porter-Cable compact belt sander. This is the one that looks like an armadillo. What's nice is that it has sufficient grunt for fairing, but is easily held in one hand. I got mine through Amazon for $109. It's been a real time saver. P-C tools are darn near indestructible, so I consider this one to be a great value. I hope my updates are of some use to others. I'll keep sending them until somebody tells me to stop!
2-20-08: This past weekend we finished the woodwork for the motorwell. We really had to take our time with this one, but we're satisfied with the result. We'll be even more satisfied if the motor fits. Once that was completed we turned to the seating. We wanted something lightweight, but with enough curvature in the right places to keep our butts and backs happy. A couple of hours spent mocking things up and sitting in them finally got us something we could live with.
2-25-08: Here's what we did over the weekend... Most of our effort was spent sanding and cleaning up the hull interior in preparation for applying our epoxy encapsulation. It's amazing how many small details get missed during construction, so this was time well spent. I've heard it said that the difference between a good job and a bad one is usually determined by sandpaper. Once this was done we applied the first coat of epoxy, using a rubber squeegee to work the resin into the wood and to minimize runs and puddles. I've sprayed epoxies thinned with alcohol on other projects, and while this works well it's extremely messy and trashes the spray gun. My advice? Wear an old, long-sleeved shirt and use brushes and squeegees. We also fabricated and installed the mount for the motor controls. This was made from mahogany and ties the right-hand seat support to the dash frame (#4). Our restored 1956 Mercury controls should look really good when bolted up. I'll make sure we get a detailed photo of this area onto the next CD. We'll be installing a Teleflex rotary-rack steering system when it arrives this week, and I'll be sure to get photos of that as well. We briefly entertained thoughts of finding a 1950s Ride-Guide system, but decided that steering is sufficiently critical to use modern equipment. We'll get more photos of our progress on a third CD and get it off to you when we have stuff we think you can use. Stay tuned...
3-3-08: Here's another Monday-morning update detailing our progress over the weekend... We're pretty much finished adding wood until the decking goes on. We spent much of our time nit-picking our fairing of the deck beams. It's amazing how having a 1/16" difference between the sheers can throw things off visually. Again, the Porter-Cable compact belt sander came in really handy. It's light enough that you can really feel where the bumps are--just before they go away! I was astounded at the amount of sawdust we were making, but any wood that goes into the dust collector makes the boat lighter. Fairing is a funny process, and one that is really dependent on the available light. We finally got everything right and, as Dad said, any more carving is only "...like putting lipstick on a pig."
We applied the first of several coats of oil-based urethane varnish to the hull interior under the forward deck. As you know, this is much easier done before the decking is installed. We used Minwax Spar Urethane and I can't recommend this stuff highly enough. Unlike many urethane finishes, the Minwax dries fairly quickly and sands easily. We needed to do this to provide a UV barrier for the epoxy encapsulation. I've used this finish on a sailboat rudder and daggerboard with good results. I did hear that California has banned the Minwax oil-based urethanes, but we found several quarts at the local Lowe's Hardware.
While the varnish was drying, we concentrated our efforts at the other end of the boat. Fitting the controls is proving to be a challenge in several aspects. First, the modern Teleflex cable end, at 5/8" diameter, will not fit through the 1/2" ID tilt tube of our 1956 Mercury Mark 55. Because of this I'll be machining a secondary guide tube from that will attach to the motor forward of its tilt tube. Another item that came really close to biting us is the size of the motorwell width. At 24" wide it's scaled to the boat nicely, but we almost had to cut a clearance hole for the cable when it was fully extended. I think we have a good solution and I'll get photos of it to you when it's installed. In the meantime, my advice to other builders is to make the motorwell 30" wide.
We are getting a few more photos onto a CD for you this week. You won't see much added material, but the hull is starting to get a finished look to it. When we rolled it out onto the driveway for photos on Sunday, we spent a lot of time just looking at it.
Glen certainly has an eye for giving a boat nice lines.
3-5-08: When I mentioned increasing the width of the motorwell, I should have had my set of "Squirt" plans in front of me. Glen showed a really nice method of incorporating the carlings into the sides of the well. If I were to do this again I would move the Zip's carlings more to the boat's center as they transition through the rear cockpit. It would allow the 'well to follow the boats lines more closely and increase its width.
3-17-08: Last weekend was a bit of a bust, but we were able to make up for it yesterday and Saturday. The deck is finally planked! All of the time spent fairing and shimming has paid off. We used Luan Mahogany plywood, which is sold as 1/4" and stamped 5.2MM. It appeared to be on the thin side, so I miked a piece and it's much closer to 3/16" than 1/4." Unlike the junk stuff often used for door skinning, this ply has a mahogany core, making it much better than the common poplar core. It was fairy cheap as well, at $70.00 for four sheets. Although it means nothing to the guy building a boat in Saskatchewan, we bought this at Mayan Hardwoods up in Oxnard. Nice folks and very helpful. All of our mahogany used for the framing came from there as well. Something worth mentioning is that we did see some 1/4" mahogany ply that had an MDF core. It was heavy, very expensive, and I'd hate to see what that MDF does should any water get in there. For clamping, we used our proven combination of Harbor Freight C-clamps and a series of small plywood cawls retained with self-drilling wood screws. You've probably seen all the little square blocks in the photos of the bottom and side planking, and that's what those are. The self-drilling screws are nice because they exhibit no tendency to split wood and are easily removed for reuse. We'll get some more photos onto a CD this week and I'll get it in the mail to you. I think this project is coming on to the home stretch!
3-24-08: We reached another milestone this weekend, when we applied the sheer cap and fiberglassed the deck. We spent a lot of time preparing the surface since we'll be leaving this area clear-finished. The two-ounce glass cloth pretty much disappears under the resin, so the Luan mahogany grain is really visible. We'll apply another two coats of resin, sanding after each one, and then apply PPG Concept clear topcoat for UV protection. Trim color will be the Sunset Orange Mercury used on their outboards up to 1959. With the Quicksilver Green outboard this thing will be one of the more colorful boats on the water.
Many builders choose to paint a stripe up the center of their boats to hide the panel joint over the strongback, but we wanted to do something different. Using the router and a straightedge clamped in place, we routed out a 1/8"-deep channel 1 1/2" wide down the center of all the deck planking. We then inlaid a piece of mahogany in this channel and sanded it flush with the decking. It was easy to do, it hides the panel joint, and it looks really great.
One point worth noting here is that the 5.2MM-thick Luan mahogany ply we used for the decking has really thin veneers, and I suspect this is the current industry standard. Anyone using this stuff for their decks needs to be really careful with the sandpaper. We didn't look at the Okoume ply, but my guess is that it's no different. We gave our decking the once-over with some #220 sandpaper to remove any lumps and got on with the fiberglassing.
Now that it looks like we've made serious progress, I can get some more photos taken and get you guys another CD. Stay tuned...
3-28-08: We put another CD together for you this week, showing the inlay that covers the decking joint. We now have three coats of resin on the deck, which has completely hidden the cloth weave. We can now wet sand this in preparation for the automotive clear coat. One point I've neglected to make involves wet sanding of fiberglass finishes. Once of my associates at work has a lot of composite experience from his years working for Burt Rutan and he mentioned that wet-sanding of fiberglass can cause a lot of problems later on if the cloth is exposed. Fiberglass is hygroscopic and modern automotive finishes don't breath well, so any water that manages to permeate the glass will be trapped and cause the paint to bubble. Dave was one of the engineers on the 'round-the-world Voyager aircraft and has also built and flown a Vari-Eze, so I trust his knowledge. His advice: Dry-sand fiberglass if there is any chance the cloth might become exposed.
3-31-08: We made some more progress this weekend, but we're really into the detail stuff now. Saturday began on a low note, when I scored a direct hit on my left thumb with a dead-blow hammer. We had temporarily mounted the bow eye using a 3/8" dowel in place of the threaded stud. The idea behind this was that we could apply whatever filler that was needed to fair the eye without the possibility of accidentally bonding in the threaded stud. Worst case would have us drilling out the wooden dowel. As it turned out, wrapping the dowel with tape worked really well and we were able to drive it out with a few well aimed (and one not so well aimed) blows from the aforementioned hammer. We finalized our helm mounting and this was no easy task. We used a Teleflex rotary-rack (Safety QC?) and most modern steering systems are on the large side for a 14-foot boat. We finally ended up making a mahogany bezel that we bonded onto the dash frame and mounted the helm behind this. The appearance is reminiscent of an early Austin-Healey dash. I'll get photos when things are sanded and cleaned up. Much of our remaining effort was directed at sanding the sheers, where the decking fiberglass carries over to the sides. We had sanded this area with #80 paper to provide a good bond between the two, and only a small amount of filler was needed to clean up the sheers. Once this was done we rolled on two coats of PPG K36 urethane primer, using the foam rollers I had mentioned in a previous message. The primer flows out nicely and there was no spray gun to clean. It seems to produce less smell when applied this way. Moving to the aft end of the boat, we finally cleaned up our motorwell and encapsulated it with epoxy. It looks nice, but I really hope its small size doesn't bite us when we make our cable runs to the motor. All projects have those details that keep us awake at night and this is one of those. At this point the only woodwork remaining is in the seating area. We're starting to think that the final paint and fitting out will take another couple of weekends and we'll then be ready for the water.
4-7-08: We're now on the home stretch! On Saturday we applied the final coat of Sand Tan to the hull and masked off the areas that will receive the red trim. As I've detailed previously, we used PPG Concept urethane and applied it with a foam roller. Now we have to decide on the right shade of red.
On Sunday we carpeted the trailer bunks and set the hull on the trailer. With a lot of furniture pads around everything, two of us were able to get the boat onto the bunks without scratching anything. I estimate that the bare hull weighs around 250 lbs. This thing is light!
When I built the trailer last year, I guessed at the boat's center of gravity when calculating the axle placement--and almost got it right. With the outboard mounted I have about 25 lbs tongue weight, but by the time I get the bow stop and spare tire mounted I should be much closer to the design goal of 100 lbs. As a last resort I will fill the bow stop's vertical post with bird shot. If I were to do it again I would place the axle four to six inches aft of its current location.
As I mentioned earlier, the small size of our motorwell is trying to bite us. Fortunately we can fully tilt the motor without fouling the 'well's forward bulkhead, but the steering gear is proving to be a challenge. I've machined a surrogate tube for the Teleflex pushrod, but we've been torn between securing this to the motor or to the hull. Whichever we end up doing, the small space we made for ourselves has created an interesting challenge.
Our latest photos show the decking with the mahogany center inlay and fir sheer cap. Once we get the steering finished I'll get photos of that. It may help someone else who's integrating a modern steering system with an older motor.
4-17-08: We're moving forward with the cockpit trim and a myriad of other tasks. We didn't want to have the edge of the plywood decking exposed, so we're laminating mahogany strips to form a cockpit surround. It's been one of the more labor-intensive tasks to date, but I think the effort will be worth it. I may have mentioned in a previous email that we had some interface problems between our 1956 Mercury Mark 55 and the modern Teleflex steering system. Old Mercs used a tilt tube having a 1/2" ID, but the steering cable's pushrod is 5/8" OD. I had considered building a surrogate tube that would reside in front of the motor, but decided instead to ream out the motor clamps and machine a tilt tube with a larger ID/OD. There seems to be plenty of material in the clamps, but I guess we'll really know when we run this thing! Our small motorwell is working against us as well, but I'll photograph our method for getting around that problem. We have a little more paintwork to do as well. I had a pint of red PPG Concept mixed, for our trim color, and we hope to have that on the boat in a few days. Once we're happy with our painting efforts we'll shoot the deck with a clear topcoat for UV protection. I could believe the price of automotive finishes these days, since my last car-painting project was in 1993. I'm sure I'm putting somebody's kids through college with what I've spent on paint.
I know I keep saying that we'll be "...on the water in a couple of weeks," but I think we're really getting closer now. It's looking like Lake Piru will be the venue for getting this puppy wet the first time, since Casitas is still messing around with their Quagga mussel problem. There will be lots of photos taken that day!
4-24-08: Our progress has been more or less continuous over the last few days. As I mentioned last week, we've been concentrating our efforts on getting the cockpit trim laminated and installed, which has been an incredible amount of work. My dad's been spending his days sanding and fairing all the little pieces we installed over the weekend and his efforts are paying off. Once the cockpit details are completed we'll finish up the seating. One reason for deferring the seats is that I learned from airplane builders that progress tends to slow once you're able to sit in it! Paintwork should be completed this coming weekend and we'll be sure to get photos of that--if it's to our liking. If not we'll be doing a lot of sanding. We'll also install the steering box and cable permanently in the next few days, and figure out where the motor's control cables will route. I also have to make up a wiring harness for the motor's electrics. We had debated on whether or not we wanted electric starting, but finally opted to leave the starter in place on the MK 55. Power will be from a small garden-tractor battery located behind the front seat and next to the fuel tank.
4-30-08: We're still making progress on the boat, although we're down to the little tasks that are hardly worth photographing. We try to spend time on the boat every day, even if its only for 30 minutes. At this point, momentum is a good thing. We spent last weekend building mounts for the battery and gas tank. The former will reside under the seat on the passenger's (left) side and the tank will sit under the bridge decking between the two cockpits. We're doing what we can to keep the center of gravity in a reasonable location, wherever that is. We've seen a number of folks having trouble getting their boats trimmed properly and we've surmised that some of this may result from having the CG too far aft. I guess we'll know when we're on the water. On the subject of batteries, all the marine units I saw at Sears were way too large and heavy for a 14-foot boat, so I settled on a small, garden-tractor unit that weighs only 17 lbs., but has 340 cold-cranking amps available. Any doubts about its ability to crank an old Merc were quickly dispelled when we decided to take the motor out for a little bucket cruising. The only concern I do have is that a tractor battery may not like the pounding it will get in a small boat. If we have any leakage issues I'll try a gel-cell battery from a wheelchair. I wish the various marine suppliers would realize that there are boats out there that need smaller hardware and support equipment. I still need to get the trim color applied and finish the seating. I had to do a little back-tracking when I realized that I wouldn't be able to remove the battery once the seating was finished. A few minutes with the hand saw, a new piece of mahogany, and we were back in business. Some folks paint their way into a corner; I glue my way in. We did finally finish and encapsulate the cockpit surround. As I mentioned in an earlier email, laminating small pieces of wood into this area was one of the most labor-intensive aspects of this project, but we're really happy with the results.
5-14-08: I think we'll finally have all our painting completed this coming weekend--if the winds don't return. We've had pretty good luck rolling on color, but this didn't work so well when we attempted to roll on clear PPG urethane. Time to break out the spray gun.
Last weekend I reamed out the motor clamps for the 7/8" OD tilt tube I had to fab to accommodate the Teleflex steering cable. If anyone else is planning to do this it's worth noting that the thread is 7/8-14. Due to the size of our tiny motorwell, we had to cut a hole in the left side to allow the steering linkage to attain full travel. I'll be sure to get photos of this on our next CD. When it comes to motorwells, wider is definitely better, but I think we came up with a sanitary solution to a sticky problem. The only steering-related task remaining is to fab up the link between the motor and cable.
Hopefully we'll have something worth photographing this weekend. Until then, stay tuned...
5-27-08: It's been a couple of weeks since my last update, but we've been making progress on the endless list of small tasks that seem to eat up all the time on this project. We took advantage of the long weekend to permanently install the helm and steering cable, and to get the electrical details worked out. With the latter, we decided to install the magneto, choke and starter switches on the dash rather than use the locations on the Mercury engine controls. We also made up and installed the battery cables that will run from the battery's location under the right seat back to the motor. Early Mercury outboards with electric start used a mil-spec Amphenol connector to connect the motor to the boat's electrical system. I tried to locate a new one through Amphenol and other sources, but had no luck with this effort. After attempting to clean all the 50-year-old potting compound off of the original connector, with the idea that I'd be able to solder in new wiring, I elected to eliminate the connector entirely and bring the motor's wiring out as a pigtail that will make its connection inside the boat. I think our solution will look sanitary and be reliable, and I'll get photos once everything is installed and smoke-tested. We did do a little more bucket cruising to get the outboard dialed in, but I finally broke down and bought a set of fixed-jet carbs from a Mercury Mark 35A. The debate over fixed-jet versus adjustable-jet carbs continues to rage on several forums, but Mercury went over to the fixed-jet units sometime after our motor was built. I think the guys who take old motors and tune them for "maximum scream" like the adjustables, but we want reliability THEN performance. We still have some minor painting to complete. We sprayed on the final coat of automotive clear on the deck and it looks great. I broke down and bought a HVLP spray system and I highly recommend one of these for anyone who does a lot of painting and is tired of overspray getting all over the place. Once we get all this rubbed out we'll spray on the red trim I've been talking about for weeks. Since our last exchange I was able to get our registration taken care of. Once again, the nice folks at the Simi Valley DMV office made this quick and easy. They all wanted to see the photos of the boat and thought that it was a cool project. I was in and out in 30 minutes and only $19 poorer. I know I've been describing this project as "being on the home stretch" for several weeks now, but I really think that we'll see water in two or three weeks, barring complications. I'll keep you posted.
6-11-08: We are making progress! I finished the painting two weeks ago and last Sunday we found the best way to get 30 gallons of water to leave a trash can in a big hurry--and this was with a test wheel fitted in place of the prop! So far, our 50-year-old motor appears to be a good one. I replaced the adjustable-jet carbs with units from a Mercury Mark 35A (same engine as our Mark 55E), so I wouldn't have to adjust the top-end mixture at full throttle. I think this will turn out to be the right decision. All that remains now is to finish the seating and some steering linkage details, and tie off all wiring and hoses. There are also a couple of trailer issues as well. I slightly miscalculated the boat's CG and we only have about 40 lbs of tongue weight and I'd really like to see 60 - 80 lbs on the hitch, so the bow stop upright will be filled with birdshot. As an occasional bird hunter I can think of a better use for that much #8 shot ... I suspect we'll be taking her out for the first time in a couple of weeks. The detail stuff is just taking a phenomenal amount of time, but I try to get at least one task - however small - finished daily.
6-17-08: We are making serious progress. As I mentioned in a previous message, the hull painting is finally completed and this past weekend we turned our attention to the electrical and steering systems. The biggest challenge was integrating the 1956 Merc with the 2008 Teleflex steering and controls. I had to fabricate a steering link that looks like it will do the job, and also ended up machining new pieces to allow the throttle and control cables to connect directly with the motor. Mercury, for reasons known only to them, used a 1/4-40 adjustment thread on their cables, while the modern items have a 1/4-28 thread. Having access to a lathe and mill has been a big plus for these unexpected surprises. We also confirmed that all our electrical runs work--including the all-important kill switch--and our dash installation looks great, at least to our eyes. One thing that drives me nuts is to see wiring not secured properly, so I spent several hours carefully securing everything behind the carlings with Adel clamps. Having no wires exposed really cleans up the interior. The seating is finally in! After getting everything glued in place, Dad and I commented that "It looks like a park bench." Actually, it looks pretty good and, more importantly, it didn't add much weight to the boat. Project weight gain creeps in gradually and we've put in a lot of effort to ensure that we didn't end up with a heavy boat. I was also able to install the tie-downs to the boat and trailer and only have to finish the bow stop, before being able to trailer this thing. I'm still kicking myself for not guessing the boat's CG correctly, but these things happen. I had originally figured that the back of the front seat would be the correct CG, but it's actually several inches aft of this--and this is with a light motor. Anyone doing this with one of the modern four strokes is advised to carefully plan axle placement with this in mind. I once towed a trailer with too little tongue weight and it was a memorable experience. With the motor running well and only some minor detail work to complete, I think we could be on the water this week. Unfortunately, I have a large project at work that is likely to mess up any weekend plans, so the maiden launch will probably happen late next week, barring complications. We will take pictures!
6-25-08: We're finished! Last weekend my dad and I agreed that there is nothing keeping us off the water at this point. There are a few little cosmetic details we can deal with later, but after another bucket cruise on Saturday to set the idle, we realized that we can't put it off any longer. I intend to have an "eye problem" tomorrow (you know--the one where you can't see yourself going to work!), and we'll be heading up to the lake early in the morning. As promised, I did get a close up photo of how we accommodated our steering in a motorwell that is way too narrow. I also had to fabricate the linkage integrating the old Merc to the Teleflex steering. I used some 316L stainless tube that had the correct ID to allow it to be tapped 5/16-24 for the Heim joint. I have to say that this has been one of the most rewarding projects I've undertaken. Start to finish for everything (boat, trailer, motor) has been 14 months. Cost-wise, I think we have about $6,000 in this project, including the trailer materials and motor. This makes me feel really good, as a friend is about to dump $18K on a new Bayliner! As a bonus, I think I have enough scrap lumber to get most of the way through something smaller, so I just bought a set of "Imp" plans. It never stops ... Anyway, many thanks to you guys for all the support and for posting almost all of my craziness in the registry. Thanks especially to Glen for a really nice design. We've had compliments from everyone who's stopped by, and while we like to think it's our craftsmanship, none of our efforts would matter if the design hadn't been right to begin with.
6-27-08: I thought you and the rest of the gang would like to know that we launched yesterday morning, at Lake Piru. Another ZIP is on the water! It was a little more windy than I would have liked, but we got in a couple hours of running and on one pass I saw 5,000 RPM. With the wind and the chop, I got the prop out of the water a couple of times. We couldn't get full RPM with the 13"-pitch prop, but the 11" really woke things up. The attention we paid to getting the bottom straight must have paid off, because the boat jumped up on the plane with absolutely no porpoising. She does ride a little bow-high, so I suspect we need to re-trim the outboard. After we deal with some issues with the motor (unreliable idle), we'll head out again, hopefully under calmer conditions. Motor troubles aside, it was a very successful day. We were the subject of a lot of attention from other boaters and all were amazed that we'd built the boat from plans. There's just something about a wood boat that seems to attract folks nowadays. Lake Piru unfortunately has no convenient area for someone with a camera to catch a beach run at speed, so all the photos of us up on the plane show a lot of water with a little, tiny boat out there somewhere. I certainly appreciate your efforts in sharing our project with everyone. This was my first-ever drive at speed in a wood boat and I was amazed at the sound made by the water against the hull. I would describe it as the sound an acoustic guitar would make if someone were compelled to beat it on the water! It's definitely a smooth-water boat. We should have our motor troubles licked pretty quickly and we'll get back out there again. I can see myself using up all my comp time at work this summer!
7-15-08: I addressed our magneto issues mentioned previously. Thanks to Arlie in Missouri, I got a later throttle linkage that allowed us to fit the later magneto into our Mark 55. When we took the boat to the lake last Sunday, our idle problems were gone, but we now have an unreliable top end. When things were running well I think we saw close to 40 MPH at 5,000 RPM with an 11-inch-pitch prop, with three of us in the boat. I've located a magneto rebuilder in Maine and he's offered to send me a spare coil to see if this is the problem. I guess I could have bought a new motor, but that would have been expensive and way too easy.
The boat is meeting all expectations and we hope to be able meet you guys and show off our handiwork. I'll keep ya posted... (see Customer Photos)

ZIP / Amaurí Cascapera / São Paulo, Brazil / / 2-18-08: I am beginning to cut the frames and beginning to mount. 3-31-08: Everything is going well, soon I will plank the sides, I will need to make butt joints in the sides and bottom. As I want to leave the sides with natural finish (wood), can I put the fastens from inside to outside the boat, to avoid marking the surface of the wood, and get a good finish surface?

ZIP / John Burgess / Cincinnati, OH / / 2-25-08: Lumber all collected back in Nov. All African mahagony. Started construction Jan. 5th 2008; as of Feb. 24th 2008 ready for planking. Motor: 1973 Johnson. Sides & Bottom will be glassed and painted. Top will be stained. Interior will be coated with Epoxy paint.

ZIP / Garry Walker / Perth, Western Australia / / 7-7-08: Just starting to build a Zip 14' sports boat in Perth, Western Australia.

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