In 1999, I lined the inside of the hull with 2″ wide maple strips, essentially a boat within a boat, and painted the topsides, deck (Devoe 2 part polyurethane) and bottom paint (Devoe ABC). We launched in September 1999, but it was only a bare hull. The boat stayed in the water until August 2003 when it was first hauled. (Well that’s not completely true because I did haul for a couple of weeks in 2002 to check the bottom and fit instruments). I used a Guest de-icer during the winter. The interior was warm enough to dry glue and varnish, and that’s what I was looking for. I worked hard to rough-out the interior, in under a year. This included putting in the tanks and basic electrical.
On launch day, I had a military Padre there to bless the boat, appropriate music on my ghetto blaster and Diane christened the boat “Joana” after my daughter. You should score a champagne bottle before you do this, otherwise its very difficult to crack the glass.
