Keels attached and glassed. Fairing compound comes today and then the real fun begins.

Out of town this weekend, but fiberglass got done just before we left. That was a messy job.

I bought fiberglass today from Fiberglass Discount Store in Tampa. They had 38" 6oz cloth for $4/yard (WAY cheaper than anyone else locally or online).

Tonight, I gave the hull its first coat of epoxy. Tomorrow, we fiberglass!

Today, I tacked the boat together with EZ Fillet. It was way more messy than I was anticipating. Whenever I used to look at boat builds, I would always think that I would do a much neater job - NOPE!!!

Building the boat upside down left me with a problem I didn't anticipate. As there are so many right angles on this boat, I wasn't really able to form proper fillets on the outside of the hull. Therefore, I needed to reinforce it from the inside prior to being able to remove the fasteners. Working upside-down on the floor, trying to make epoxy fillets without them falling on my face was no easy task. Its quite a mess, and I see lots of sanding in my future.

I finished building and installing the transom. Huckleberry is starting to look like a real boat.

It was a long day working on the Huckleberry, but we got a lot done. The hull is finally starting to take shape, and it actually resembles a boat.

I had some difficulty attaching the sides of the hull. It was a really tight bend and put a lot of force on the stem. On the first try, the stem wasn't secured enough and shifted. For the next attempt, I made a jig that secured the stem in place, and attached small battens down the sides of the stem to act as a guide. I also rigged up a stand using 2X4s and a few clamps to hold the hull side level with the boat floor.

I am constructing the boat using a modified stitch and glue method. Since it is a flat bottom boat with vertical sides, I am holding everything in place with screws. I will then fill in the gaps with epoxy, and remove the screws before forming my fillets and fiberglassing.

Yesterday, I laminated the transom. Today, I trimmed it to size. I still need to cut the arc along the top. Hopefully, I will have attached tomorrow.

Sides are cut. Hopefully, I will have something resembling a boat by the end of the week!

I glued the stem to the keel. These will need to be cut to size tomorrow.

Lastly, I built a jig and laminated 3 pieces of 1/4 ply to make the transom. Once this dries, I have to trim the back of the boat to match this curve. 

I plotted out the shape for the bottom and cut out the floor.

I then laminated a few pieces to form the chine logs in the bow. Here, I varied slightly from the plans in that I used a solid section for the most forward bow section and another section just aft of the butt block. 

My wood from Anderson Lumber got milled today! Hopefully, I can build the stem/keel tomorrow, which I will need before I can attach the hull sides.

I got up at 5am to drive to East Coast to pick up my plywood. It rained for most of the drive, but a weather window opened just as I got into Vero Beach so I didn't have to load the plywood in the rain. The good thing about having a 36 gallon gas tank is I made it there and back on less than 1/2 tank.

The boatbuilding is now officially underway. Finn thinks it is a very serious matter.

Today, I laminated pieces for the floor and sides of the boat. Puzzle joints made joining pieces for the sides really easy. The garage is a bit of a disaster. Finn is probably going to be upset that his toys are covered in building materials.

This weekend I completed building the jig. Its constructed of 3/8 plywood on 2x4 framing. The boat will be build upside down on this jig, bending the sides around these forms to give it shape.

Today, I woke up early and went down to Anderson Lumber in St Pete. I will be using Douglas fir (clear vertical grain) for the stem and keel, and Southern yellow pine for the rub rails. They are milling the wood to size, and hopefully I should have it tomorrow.

The Huckleberry is going to be built upside down on a jig. Tonight, I assembled a simple strongback, and planned out the dimensions of the jig which will be constructed this weekend.

My project for this upcoming year is to build a 9ft micro-tugboat "Huckleberry" for Finn. It is going to be constructed out of marine grade plywood, coated in fiberglass, and powered by a small outboard engine. If all goes well, accessories will include a ridiculously oversized (and equally obnoxious) horn and bow-mounted water cannon!

Plans are sitting on my desk. The plywood and epoxy are waiting for pick-up at Boat Builder Central in Vero Beach, FL. Hopefully, construction will start next week.