02 March 04: The boatbuilding log for the ArcAngel, or Church Mouse, begins in joy and ends in sorrow, of a sort. In other words, there will be a Part Three, the building of ArcAngel Too.

    The ArcAngel is a design adaption of my own, a rounded-up, strip-planked version of the Flats Rat design of Shorty Pen in Texas. 

    Part One of the building log shows how I adapted the design, made the frame, and stripped the hull.

Part Two of the buildig log, with more pix, here.

   Part Two of the building log follows the finishing of the hull and an initial launching to see if there were any problems.

    There were problems, and big ones. The joints were weeping and the pinholes were spouting. I enjoyed a half-hour in the boat before realizing that the aft space was almost full of water, and I had been bailing constantly to reduce the water that I could see in the cockpit.

    I decided to make ArcAngel a yard ornament for now and to bring her into the basement when I begin again, to use as a full-sized template and guide.

    I also decided to post Part Two of the building log for its value in duplicating my work, if others so choose.