From Kit to Plans

Hello!  

This May I finished a NE Dory from a kit by myself at home.  Until then, I had never thought myself capable of conquering such a feat.  My wife really likes rowing my dory and has been hinting she'd like her own Annapolis Wherry.  My question is:  How much more difficult is it to complete a boat from plans?  Also, how tricky is the wherry in general?  Any thoughts would be appreciated.  Thanks!

 

E


4 replies:

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RE: From Kit to Plans

I built the Annapolis Tandem Wherry last winter (albeit from a kit). Look back a couple of months ago...I posted a couple of pix of my boat "Andiamo". OK...it ain't perfect, but I'm d*mn proud of her, and more than anything, she floats and works as advertised. I had zero problems on the build. If you can follow directions, it's easy as pie.

Let me put this in perspective: My wife gave me the kit for Christmas. Prior to opening the box from CLC I had NEVER made anything out of wood. ZERO woodworking skills. I had no woodworking tools. My toolbox consisted of a few odd screwdrivers, an adjustable wrench, a hammer, some pliers, and a keyhole saw. I'm not kidding. I'm not what you'd call a fix-it guy. I never saw a repair job around the house that I wouldn't rather pay someone else to do. 

But...I've fallen in love with this quirky little hobby. I'm hooked. I'm getting ready to start my first scratch build this Fall/Winter. It's all a learning experience, and building the wherry has given me the confidence and belief that if I take my time, and ask enough questions, there's nothing I can't build. Just one little step at a time...

BTW, I had never rowed before building my Wherry either, and through this process, I've also discovered my new favorite way to get exercise. 3 - 4x per week for 5+ miles each time. My wife loves it. We've found something we like doing together! I found a friend who enjoys rowing as much as me, and now, mid-November in Wisconsin, we're not even deterred by 20 degree weather, snow, and ice. We were out just an hour ago. 

Go for it Erik!

RE: From Kit to Plans

Unfortunately CLC does not offer plans for the Annapolis Wherry but they do for the Tandem version. Either way the hardest part is doing your own Lapstitch. You cut out the planks per drawings and then you have to rout the rabett to create the lap. That is done with a small laminate router and a rabetting bit. The lofting of the planks is not hard as their drawings are very well noted, and then there is the other parts which are full size. Using a pounce wheel to transfer is pretty easy verses trying to use carbon paper. I have experience in this method myself and wish they would offer plans for the single. As john Florence said Go For IT! Best of luck.

RE: From Kit to Plans

It is weird that CLC doesn't sell Wherry plans on its website. That might be an oversight. I think I would call them. If you go to their Wherry page

http://www.clcboats.com/shop/boats/rowboats/wherry_rc/annapolis-wherry-row-boat-kit.html

and click on the link to "view contents" of the complete kit, you might see that there seems to be a 24x36 set of plans hiding behind the building manual.

RE: From Kit to Plans

yup, they show the plans but I think those are just line crawigs and so forth but not the acctual plans of the projected panels with dimensions. I called John a while back and he said that they will be available in future for the single.

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