My New Boat!

After seven years of very part-time work, and lots of help from my brother (who must have gotten tired of me borrowing his boat for trips to Canada, and Texas, and wherever), I finally managed to finish and launch my new sailboat this summer.

If all goes well, I'll soon be writing about my first long trips aboard, when I head north to Lake Huron and Georgian Bay later this fall. It's been a long process, from plans:

To planking:

To finishing:

To sailing:

The boat itself is an Alaska beach cruiser, designed by Canadian Don Kurylko for long-distance cruising by sail and oar. I've had enough time to do a little sailing and conduct some CAPSIZE TESTS this summer, so I'm confident this boat will take care of me on some ambitious trips I have in mind for the next few years.