![]() ![]() All of the bulkheads, all of the sawn frames are integral to the build of the boat, so that when you flip the boat, after the planking is done, most of the interior furniture is already built in place. When this boat is assembled, the skeleton of the boat is built into the strongback system so the egg crate setup that you use as the form for planking actually includes much of the finished boat. I considered myself a moderately competent wood-worker. I wasn’t a boat builder when I started this. ![]() And Vivier marries these traditional designs with state of the art manufacturing processes that takes into consideration a home builder who may not be a boat builder. She’s a modern interpretation of an inshore fishing boat from the coast of France, from the turn of the last century, and its intended purpose 100 years ago was to stand up to the Bay of Biscayne, which is a big, gnarly body of water to be sailing a little boat. It also has phenomenal stowage and built-in flotation. My impression of this boat as I’ve gotten to know her, is that she is a stout, strong, weatherly, tough little boat and she’s a pleasure to sail. And I can take this into very cool little estuary, backwater places to have adventures where you wouldn’t dream of going with a bigger, deeper boat. It’s big enough that I can live in the boat for a couple of days, camping. And I started looking at WoodenBoat Magazine and all of this eye candy, and thinking, “Could I do that?” Just in general terms, I knew that I was looking for a boat that I could use for sailing or camp cruising, a boat like this, small enough to row when there’s no wind. And, it’s been delightful because it was a powerful enough set of stories that my wife, who is not a sailor, decided that she wanted to learn how to sail as well. ![]() And four or five years ago, I decided to read her the “Swallows and Amazons” stories from my childhood, and it was like discovering my childhood again, and so, this is a second childhood for me in a way. In the evening time, while my wife Gabrielle is preparing supper, one of our little family rituals is that I’ll read out loud. I pretty much stopped sailing when I reached 18, moved off to college, life took me in many other directions. – I sailed from the time I was a little boy, and in my house as a child, “Swallows and Amazons,” the Arthur Ransome stories were staple reading for the family. ![]()
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