Bolger provides a simple panel expansion for the sides and frames only, so you have to panel the bottom and deck to fit - probably a better idea anyway with such a large but simple boat. I entered the patterns and cut them out in Tyvek on my plotter/cutter, then nested them on the plywood sheets by hand.

I used SuperPly , an exterior, yellowish South American plywood, more expensive than ACX fir, but less than okoume, etc. The plans call for 1/4 inch on the sides and 1/2 inch on the bottom. The framing is all #2 pine and construction grade spruce, epoxy filleted and sealed. The frames were assembled with 3M 5200, epoxy everywhere else. Fastening all around is by 1/4" galvanized pneumatic staples from 3/4" to 1-3/8" long. The bottom is epoxy/glassed over with 4 ounce glass to toughen, seal, and fair it. The sides are sanded and painted 'work-boat fashion' with 2-part epoxy, the interior with skid-resist latex, and the deck varnished. There is no cockpit grating (yet), but it would be a welcome and dry addition.

I ordered two 3" by 17' tapered aluminum flag poles for the masts, which are light and look better than expected. The booms and gaffs are all of clear Douglas fir, with Bolger's minimalist hardware approach with things like wooden boom jaws instead of metal goosenecks. We cut 3 sails of 4 ounce Dacron on our plotter/cutter and Sailform software, and a nylon staysail. The halyards are low-stretch StaySet X and sheets 5/16 yacht-braid.

I fit running lights, all-around lights on both masts, a 750 gph bilge pump, and a self-powered thru-hull Moor speedo. A little solar panel to top off the pair of 26 AH surplus gel batteries would be great.

Sailing

She sails like a big dinghy - light and fast, but stable and docile. She planes easily off the wind with bursts of 10+ knots, especially with the staysail set. The helm provides plenty of authority; easily balanced by trimming the jib. She does seem to point a little higher on a port tack; maybe it's the off-center centerboard. In any kind of breeze, you will want a crew of 4 or 5 - plenty of room and jobs to do, and you'll need the ballast to keep her upright. We are thinking of adding some trapeze's to the main mast for the kids.

The staysail is a pleasure to set and strike, relatively small and on a short hoist. The gaff rigs offer a challenge, or at least a change of pace, to trim well. We found the sheet purchases too light in a breeze and added another turn each (to 3:1 on mainsail and 2:1 on foresail) and some nice cleats (Ronstan RF5) to the back sides of the masts. The halyards want a fair bit of tension, which is difficult to get just right on simple deck cleat, so these have been turned at the deck to jam cleats.

Capsize?

You betcha! Our boat is light, and our original floatation of 4" foam under all decks was just suitable for floating awash (no surprise). This, of course, means you have to go to the shore and bail her out. So, I would definitely, positively, recommend closing the bow, midsection, and aft lockers if you want to think about getting back underway quickly and on your own.

26 Jan 99 Enter the patterns on a PC, plot/cut them out on a plotter/cutter to Tyvek, and transfer them to "SuperPly". .	26 Jan 99 Saw bulkheads, frame all around, and notch: 1"x4" pine and 3M 5200.
28 Jan 99 Saw 1/4" side panels, 3 each side. Two of each side can be ripped straight on a table saw (no shape).	28 Jan 99 Rip a 13 degree bevel and epoxy-splice 2 chine logs to about 24'.
29 Jan 99 Epoxy butt-splice the sides with backup on plastic sheet and pre-install the chine logs along the bottom edges. Clinch over staples afterwards.	30 Jan 99 Attach the sides to the bulkheads on the floor, epoxy fillet all corners. The hull stiffens up considerably as the fillets cure.
30 Jan 99 Working forward, install bulkheads...	30 Jan 99 The assembled hull begins to give a picture of the impressive size of this "skiff". Note the splices are slightly stiff.
1 Feb 99 Install the external sheer clamp and carlings for cockpits. The hull, at 24' less sprit, minus bottom and deck, weighs now just 165 lbs.	1 Feb 99 Bulkhead #1, 1"x4" deck carlings, and 2x4" stem.
1 Feb 99 Bulkhead #2, paired with #3 behind provide a mast step, an off-center centerboard well, and even some storage.	2 Feb 99 Turn the hull and begin planking the bottom with 1/2" plywood and epoxy.
3 Feb 99 Finish planking the bottom, rough plane the edges to the sides, and fill and fair the blemishes. That's Johnny Barbaro.	4 Feb 99 Belt sand the chines and fill and sand the joints fair. We butted our bottom joints under bulkheads #2 and #3.
4 Feb 99 Saw out the outboard well and roll back on its feet.	4 Feb 99 Build out the outboard well. Note: Develop a good plan for sealing this hole after the motor is retracted! At speed, this hole becomes a geyser.
7 Feb 99 Laminate 1" and install and fair the false stem.	7 Feb 99 Build out the centerboard slot 1-1/4"; top and bottom slots to be opened with a router.
9 Feb 99 Turn over and open up the centerboard slot.	9 Feb 99 Cover the entire bottom including underside of sheer clamp with 3.8 ounce glass and 2:1 epoxy in one sitting.
10 Feb 99 Install the keel and plate over with 1/8 aluminum strip and No. 10 x 3/4" screws. Sand the bottom and sides.	10 Feb 99 Fair the keel and taper before the outboard well. Fill screws and epoxy all; second coat on bottom and chines.
12 Feb 99 Back over: main mast step, centerboard well, and AV-8 Sea Harrier 26 amp-hour gel cells we happened to have on hand. Main step took two 5/16" x 4" lags screws into keel later.	14 Feb 99 Install 4 inches of foam under deck and 12-conductor wire stem to stern from the plotter shop.
15 Feb 99 4" Blue Dow extruded Styrofoam under all decking, sawn by bandsaw to fit the 13 degree sides. Will provide about 600 lbs of bouyancy itself. Beginning to worry about backing up the deck cleats...	15 Feb 99 Install with epoxy all decks. Fit is easy using a carbide flush router to trim afterwards since both internal carling and external sheer clamp are both dead vertical to back up your bit.
16 Feb 99 Install the bowsprit, 1.5"x 5.5"x 73" douglas fir - pretty heavy! Two 4" lag screws in back and two 5/16" carriage bolts up front, through the sheer clamp, lots of epoxy.	20 Feb 99 Build three booms of reinforced 1x4" clear fir and two gaffs from 2" by. Use a little trig to locate and saw the mast partners through the deck to provide for the 7 degree mast rake. Paint the sole, varnish the spars, and epoxy seal, sand-varnish, sand-varnish, etc. the deck. 3 coats of Varathane exterior/marine so far.
21 Feb 99 Laminate to 1" and shape, seal, and paint the daggerboard. 5'-3" long by almost 2 feet wide - big!	26 Feb 99 The aluminum flagpoles, 3" by .125" by 17', arrive by truck. About 35 lbs each. Saw and fit-out the masts. After some thought, we went with Bolger's minimal-hardware (lots of dead-eyes) approach. The hull is balanced on a four-wheel dolley.
5 Mar 99 Design gaff sails on Sailform software and cut panels and patches on a CP101-L2 of Challenge 4.08 HTS. The staysail is nylon.	5 Mar 99 Sew up on the venerable old Pfaff 229. Finshed the 3 sails and roll up and bag on the booms. The main includes a set of 20% reef points.
30 Mar 99 The rudder is built in two parts to retract. Four custom 14 gauge 304 stainless gudgeons and a 1/2" s.s. tubing pin form the hinge. The tiller has to reach up and over a retracted outboard.	7 Apr 99 Prime - Behr Exterior Primer-sealer - and sand. Paint two coats of Sherwin-Williams Tile-Clad II Black.
9 Apr 99 On the lengthened 1000 lb. trailer. Roll out to step masts, measure and cut halyards of 1/4" StaSet-X, and sheets of 5/16" Yacht Braid. Bend on sails!	10 Apr 99 Slide her in the drink at Grand Lake, Disney, Oklahoma.
11 Apr 99 On the water for the first time! Faster than our old Catalina 30 alongside and looks cool.	11 Apr 99 Plenty of room and jobs for our crew of 6. The foresail gaff rolls off a bit to leeward and produces a girt with insufficient peak halyard tension.
11 Apr 99 The GPS said we were doing better than 6 knots in about 10-15 knots of breeze, while still learning how to set and trim the sails.	15 Apr 99 We started with a pair of bullseyes on the top sides of the mast tubes, which allowed the peak halyard to ease on one tack and crease the sail. So, we machined two Delrin plugs, placing the gaff peak and throat halyards back on a tandem centerline. This also gave us a place to mount all-around lights on both masts.
9 Mar 99 Aaaoooga, Aaaoooga! Dive, dive! Capsize demonstration proves underdeck floatation is just sufficient to float her awash in the waves. Need to float just a little higher to get her to pumped out without going to shore.	12 Mar 99 Seal up bow section with a Bomar G8812 hatch to double floatation with another 550 lbs. We are thinking through a leather or rubber seal for the mast, too. Note halyard arrangement.
13 Mar 99 Frame and deck over the aft lockers, and install one Bomar G8812 in each for access, adding another 500 lbs of floatation.	18 Mar 99 Insert a new plywood panel to take one Bomar G8812 and one G840 to seal the center section. The starboard limber holes are plugged, and the port limber holes are arranged to flow through a channel, keeping the section sealed. Altogether, floatation increases from about 640 to about 2300 lbs total.