The boat wound up being launched in 2007 and christened " Carolina " . Four years after it's inception     Could I have done it faster ? probably , but then it would have become a job and not a hobby . I believe that it was Mark Twain who said " if you do what you love for a living then you will never actually work a day in your life " ---

When I began this project I had purchased a "running wreck " of a boat . I had intended to cannibalize the old boat for the hardware . After a couple of years of using the old girl , while building the new hull , I started to feel guilty about my initial plan , and decided instead to make new hardware for Carolina and spare the old boat .  The dash board , aquascope , and most of the hardware was all made new  . The cushions are real leather . By the time I got this far real leather didn't seem like a big extravagance .  The old boat a 1923 uncle sam has been spared and is still in regular use with a large battery and a large bilge pump . One day she'll get the attention she deserves . Below a shot of "Beau El"  on Georgian bay in a sheltered cove -----you don't drag a new pristine dippy up on the rocks . It's nice to have a user boat as well .