Only home twenty-four hours and already I'm missing the views of the Penobscot Bay, the smell of salt water, the voluminous tide, the dark sky filled with stars, swimming with the dogs on the leeward side of the island, and the time playing with the seals in the kayak trips to the point and back.
We've been planting ourselves on the same spot for 2-3 weeks each summer for about 10 years now, and every year I make mid-year resolutions about how I'd like my new year to be. Usually I'd like it to be more simple, more ecologically responsible, and more full of good self-care. This year is not much different, but there is one big take-away...I've decided to build another boat.
In 2002, I built a Nutshell Pram from a kit by WoodenBoat. I love it. The only place I've ever really used it - for both rowing and sailing - is along this same stretch of the Penobscot in Maine. I've had some nice adventures with it, but now that I no longer have my pick-up truck, it's a little more complicated to transport and to use. It only weighs 100 lbs. or so, but it's awkward to car-top and launch, and I haven't figured out a trailer option yet.
I also own a 17' Sea Lion sea kayak by Perception, but it's made of poly and weighs about 75 lbs, so it, too, has been a challenge to use when I want to or need to go out solo. Instead, for the last few years I've been getting out on the water in an inflatable kayak. It's great to have, easy and fun to use, but...well...it's an inflatable and it's really meant for poking around slowly on calm water. Fun on a quiet day in the bay, but really meant for the likes of the little pond in the center of my hometown.
What I want, what I long for, what I'm now feeling ready to build, is another sea kayak, but a smaller, lighter one. I also want it to be significantly different from my current sea kayak, which is a high volume, soft chined, very stable, tank-like boat - great for kayak camping expeditions. I don't want to get rid of it, I don't want to replace it, I just want to add another boat to the fleet that would be quick and easy to throw on top of the car AND fun to use in windy conditions with decently sized waves.
What I didn't do the last time I built a boat, but what I wished I had done, was to keep a written log to record the building process. That's my plan here. Someday soon I'll write more about the boat I plan to build and about where I plan to build it. Clearing out the space for this project will be a story and a half all by itself.
Stay tuned...
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