Tips From A Shipwright

In Episode 1, Lou will show you the tools and implements he uses to actually plan and make up the drawings needed to build this sailing dory. He will then take you over to his friend’s saw mill, right here in Exeter, Rhode Island, where he will select the proper log of Atlantic White Cedar that he advises using for this boat. You will see how planning and cutting this log into the most and best possible planks is planned and done! Join us once again, as Lou and takes us on another adventure through the planning and building of this new and exciting 14 foot sailing dory!

In Episode 2, Lou takes us on a backstage tour of Thompson Saw Mill and gives us another lesson in choosing a proper log for his needs in building the TotalBoat Sport Dory. Looking for Quercus Alba, or white oak, Lou will show you just how the log is selected, what to look for in choosing the right log, and just how this log should be cut in order to get the best possible planks it has to offer.

In Episode 3 of Building the TotalBoat Sport Dory, Lou is taking us back to his all-important drawing board, where he explains the importance of all the specifics of the drawings needed to build the dory successfully. In this episode most importantly, he shows us very specifically how to measure the dimensions on his original drawings, and how to transfer those dimensions from the drawings to his "Table of Offsets". Once these dimensions are transferred, the Table of Offsets now has all the dimensions of each plank, at each station, and gives Lou all the specifics he needs to build the dory. Lou shows us that it is this Table of Offsets that is really his index and his guide for actually building the dory, more so than the actual drawings of the planks and stations themselves!

Episode 4 shows us just a little more planning needed in the design of the TotalBoat Sport Dory. Molds are required to replicate the shape and contour of the dory at each section of the boat. These molds will not be an actual part of the finished dory, but they will create the shape that the boat will be built around. Watch as Lou walks us through his Bevel Board System, to show us how to build the molds needed to represent each section of the dory, and how intricate these molds can be made, right down to the slight bevels needed to replicate the slight angles in the bottom of the boat. He also shows us his ingenious method for transferring the lines of his drawings right up onto the boards of his molds. As Lou says in this film, "You have to use this Bevel Board System to lift those bevels."

The Sport Dory is starting to take shape! In episode 5, Louis Sauzedde begins the assembly of his production Dory jig using the sections he created in the last episode. The molds each have two legs and are fastened to two strongbacks that keep all the sections properly aligned and spaced. The sections are first checked with a stiff baton to determine how close to bevel they are and if need be where to touch them up with an electric planer. Lighter battens are then positioned at the planking lines and sighted for fairness of shape. The process is like 3D lofting of planking lines and hull shape and allows Lou to make any final adjustments that may be needed.

We're rolling right along with our TotalBoat Sport Dory build and it's time for our first question and answer video of the series. Thanks for all of your questions and comments. The dory build will continue next week.

In this episode, Lou begins construction of the false bottom of his TotalBoat Sport Dory. The false bottom will be constructed out of 3 layers of 3 inch plywood that will be cut to size with a saber saw and then all glued together on top of the jig. Because the boat is longer than each piece of plywood, Lou will need to scarf two pieces together for each layer. This process will be repeated by tracing the first layer for each of the next two layers with help from apprentice Joe. The actual bottom of the Dory will be built over this false bottom.

In Episode 8 of Building the TotalBoat Sport Dory, Lou continues with the building of the all-important jig that the Sport Dory itself will be built upon. Last week, Lou showed us how to size and cut the pieces of the three layer "false bottom" and this week we're going to glue them all together. We're going to use TotalBoat 5:1 Epoxy to glue the sheets of plywood together, using the slow hardener so the glue does not set up and harden too quickly, while we are putting the scarfs and the layers together. Once the glue has dried over night Lou attacks the false bottom with a Ryobi electric plane. This is the perfect tool for the job allowing Lou to remove large amounts of material quickly while still obtaining a progressively beveled shape. A couple strokes of touch up with a hand plane and the mold is complete and we're ready to start putting our TotalBoat Sport Dory together.

With our jig complete, it's time to start building the TotalBoat Sport Dory. Lou starts by planing down the edge of our first layer of cedar bottom. Using an electric plane and then a block plane, Lou continues the progressive bevel from the mold up through the first layer of bottom. He then quickly touches up the sharp edge with a rabbet plane. Next, Lou shows us how he divides up the spacing for the boats frames. Each frame of the dory will be just over 9 inches apart. Once we have established where each frame will go, Lou sets up another jig that will guide the router bit to cut slots in the mold and bottom layer to accept the poly frames.

We’re switching it up this week and moving off our mold to make the stem for our TotalBoat Sport Dory. It’s going to be made out of a nice piece of seasoned white oak that we’re going to compression steam bend. Lou is going to do it using standard 6mil poly and pull the piece of lumber and metal brace into the bag for steaming. With a couple burners and some water Lou shows us how to feed steam into the bag with rubber tubing to heat up the stem and melt the Lignin in the wood, that’s the glue that holds the wood together. Once the piece softens up we can crank on the come along and pull the stem into the proper parabolic shape.

We're back at it with our TotalBoat Sport Dory build and this week Lou introduces us to Willow, his silver lab and new best friend and co-worker at the Open Door Boatshop. It's time to start building the bottom of our Sport Dory and the first plank to go on is the garboard. Lou gives us a walk-through of how the different layers of cedar bottom planking and carbon fiber and kevlar will overlap and work together to give the bottom extreme strength with little weight and nothing in your way on the bottom of the boat. Using an adaptation of an earlier patterning technique Lou shows us how he lift the size and shape of the plank off the mold. He then works that plank down to the proper size before scarfing it onto another piece to complete the first garboard plank on the boat.

In this week's video Lou shows us how he has installed the stem into his TotalBoat Sport Dory mold. He also gives us a peek at his first attempt at steaming a stem and what went wrong there. Once the stem is in position Lou uses a block plane to progressive bevel the stem to accept the planking. He has to be very careful not to take off too much material while constantly checking the angle with a baton in order to make sure the planks will be able to lay down flat against the stem. With the stem in place Lou moves onto the second layer of bottom. Like the first layer the, the second layer will be made of several long planks of thin lumber glued together at the seams. Each piece needs to be passed through the jointer, ripped on the table saw, re-sawn on the band-saw and then finally put through the planer. The pieces are then assembled in reverse order on a working bench where Lou can mix up some TotalBoat 2:1 High Performance Epoxy and spread it on the edge of each piece before bringing them over to the boat and placing them in their final position on the mold.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the Opendoor Boatshop. In our latest episode Lou moves on from the stem and bottom to fashion a transom for his Sport Dory. Built from a single piece of lumber and mostly quarter sawn the transom will be strong enough to accept fastening of the planking on both sides. With the transom roughed to shape Lou needs to transfer the measurements already on the mold onto the transom so he can draw a center line. With this center line he can then use his Dory drawings to measure out and mark several stations on both sides that represent where he is to cut and bevel to. After quickly cutting the transom to its new lines at 90 degrees Lou takes it back over and mounts it to his bottom and mold. Once in position he can electric plane the two sides down to bevel to accept the planking.

Things are really starting to come together on our TotalBoat Sport Dory build. In this weeks episode Lou will be gluing the frames into the first layer of bottom. The frames are made of UHMW plastic which despite its tremendous strength is still quite flexible. In order to set things up properly Lou needs to first tape off the frame slots in the mold with packaging tape. This will make sure the epoxy won't glue the mold and bottom together. The next step is put a frame in each slot and cut it off flush at the top of the mold. This gives each frame the proper angle at the top, or bottom of the boat as it were, where the frames set into the bottom. With our slots and frames ready its time to mix up some TotalBoat 5:1 Epoxy and set our bottom and frames in place. We took the time to poke some small holes in both the slots in the bottom and the frames where they touch, this will help to create a mechanical connection between the two pieces as well. Lastly we have added some additional stringers on the outside to help train the plastic frames in place as they dry. With our frames glued up and in position, the next step for us is to glue our garboard planks onto the boats. Stay tuned for more Tips next week!

Hold onto your butts! Everyone's favorite Shipwright Louis Sauzedde is back in action on his TotalBoat Sport Dory. You remember Lou's nail trick to pattern the garboards and now it's time to fasten the first garboard into place on the port side. We'll be using TotalBoat 5:1 Epoxy Resin mixed with the slow hardener and the first step is to apply to glue along the plank where it will touch the bottom as well as along the bottom itself where it will touch the garboard plank. This is where all that packaging tape we carefully put on the mold comes into play because the last thing we want to do here when we fasten the two together is glue our bottom or garboard planks to the mold. Once we have enough glue on both surfaces we are going to put the plank in position and use screws and nails to hold it down tight against the bottom. We'll let the glue dry overnight and then remove all the fastenings so now only the Epoxy is holding the plank in place. The last steps are to cut off the excess on each end of the plank with a handsaw and then plane down the edge of the garboard that extends beyond the bottom of the boat. We now have our first garboard plank fully glued into position with no fastening whatsoever.

It's time to put the bottom of our TotalBoat Sport Dory together, but before we can do that we have to set everything up properly. The idea is that we're going layup everything at once, the two layers of bottom and the carbon fiber in between. You'll remember we had glued our second bottom layer together some time ago and we've brought that back into position and placed it on top of the first layer of bottom with garboard planks attached and traced a line around it with a pencil. Then we take that second layer over the to the band-saw and cut it out around those lines. We then take that piece back over to our dory and put it into just the right position and then tack and weight it down so we can plane the edges down to the same bevel as the garboard plank. Now it's off to Jamestown Distributors to get our carbon fiber and begin laying up our bottom!

The final step before glueing up the bottom of our TotalBoat Sport Dory is to create our two broadstrake planks on each side. This is the next plank up from the garboard, or next plank down as the boat is being built upside down. In order to make this plank we need to pattern the edge of the garboard plank above it and then take that pattern over to our stock material and transfer that edge. While the plank is on the bench Lou is also going to roughly plane down the next edge of the broadstrake just to take some material off and make the plank more pliable when bending it around the mold. Before we can bring the pieces back to the boat Lou is going to electric plane down a scarf on both ends where they meet in the middle. Once both of our broadstrake pieces are ready we are going to glue them together with TotalBoat 2:1 High Performance Epoxy, on the boat. This makes sure we get the angle or relativity between the two exactly right, something that would be extremely difficult to do on the bench. We now have both layers of bottom, both layers of garboard planks and both broadstrakes made and fit into position and we can begin glueing our bottom together.

This is a big moment in our TotalBoat Sport Dory build, it's time to lay up our carbon fiber bottom. We have already made sure everything fits together, our second layer of bottom and our outer two layers of garboard plank. The first thing for us to do is cut our 5.8 oz plain weave carbon fiber. We're just going to do that on a small table with a pair of very sharp scissors, being very careful to roll the carbon fiber out as we cut it and not pull it on the table as that can disturb the weave. Once we have our piece it's time to mix up our TotalBoat 2:1 Epoxy and apply it to our Dory. We spread the glue with a plastic spreader until the surface is completely covered, we can leave some extra glue on the surface as it will soak up into our carbon fiber. Next we're gonna carry our carbon into place and roll it out the length of the boat and use our same spreaders to get it to lay down flush and soak up the epoxy. Adding more epoxy until the cloth is sufficiently saturated we then pull the tape and re-tape on the seam for the broadstrake. Then Joe is going to mix up some thickened epoxy and we're going to spread that onto the second bottom layer and both garboard planks and bring them over and place them into position on the boat. We still have our nail holes from before that tell us exactly where each piece goes. The final step is to apply larger clamps with wooden blocks and little wedges all along the garboards, this will pull the planks down at the top and at the bottom edge and also pull down the second layer of bottom beneath them giving us a strong tight bond between all our materials.

It's time to sit down and talk to the audience about the build and answer some of their questions. It's been a tricky build up to this point and we've got a lot of good action still to come, keep sending in the great questions!

We're back on our TotalBoat Sport Dory build and this week it's time to lay our final layer of Carbon Kevlar hybrid cloth over the bottom of the boat. The first side is already layed up and dry and we're going to run the other side up on top of that so they overlap in the middle. The first step is to wet out the bottom with our glue, we're using TotalBoat 2:1 High Performance Epoxy Resin again with the medium hardener. Once we have given that a good stir we're going to head over to the boat and spread the glue all over the entire exposed surface so it has a chance to soak up some of the epoxy. When we feel confident we have good coverage we're going to roll out our pre-cut piece of 7oz carbon kevlar hybrid weave on top of our bottom, making sure to line up that stitched edge of the cloth with the end of the Garboard plank seem. Then we're going to take a plastic trowel and work the cloth into the correct position so it lays down as flat as possible. Lastly we're going to mix up one final batch up epoxy resin and spread that on top of the cloth to make sure it's fully saturated and exactly where we want it before letting it dry overnight. Now that was a big step and strong solution to an age old problem, that should hold the boat together and protect the bottom when it gets pulled up the beach.

Now that our bottom is complete it's time for planking! The next pieces are the port and starboard broadstrakes. These planks will be bedded and screwed together through to the plastic frames. Because of the thickness of the planks you would have to do something to make them sit down flush especially up the bow where the shape of the Dory has a strong twist. So instead of steaming the planks we're going to actually cut the plank right down the middle and then glue it back together with epoxy when its BACK ON the boat. This allows the plank to flex far more easily and lay down just right through that twist near the bow. The next step will be to let the epoxy dry and then take the plank off before adding some bedding compound and then screwing the plank through the garboard and into the plastic frames.

This week Lou shows us how he patterns the next plank to go on, the binder strake. The first step is to transfer the curved shape onto his pattern using a spiling technique and then onto the lumber itself. Searching for the right piece of lumber that has curved grain to follow the boats curve, Lou then rough cuts the piece out so it will fit through his planer. The plank is then passed through the planer several times until it's the right thickness. The next step is to work on the gain and prepare the boat for the plank. Using a small rabbit plane he works the overlap with the broadstrake and then cut a gain into it as it approaches the bow so that the next plank sits a little proud in the middle of the boat but then runs flush at the stem.

It's time to fasten the first binder strake onto our TotalBoat Sport Dory. We glued the scarf together on the boat and that's very important so that the angle between the two boards is exactly right. If that was off even one degree the plank wouldn't fit when we bend it into position. With the glue dried we can take the plank over to the bench and touch up the scarf with an electric plane and then a block plane. Then we'll bring the plank back over to the boat for one last dry fit to get our clamping procedure worked out. Once that's done it's time to apply some poly-sulfide. We're going to apply a few beads to the transom and the stem where the plank will contact it and also to the broadstrake where the binder strake will overlap it. Once we get the piece clamped into position it's time to fasten it down. We're going to work our way from the middle fastening toward each end of the plank. Before we drill we want to apply an additional clamp to the frames so that they are pulled up tight against the inside of the plank. Then we can drill and sink our screws through the overlapping planks and into our plastic frames. We're going to put one more screw into each frame 3 inches up from the batten that way when remove that batten the frames will still be held in their proper position.

In this weeks Episode Lou shows us how he goes about getting out the second binder strake. This plank will made out of a single piece of lumber and will have a larger lap over the next plank, almost half and inch. Once Lou identifies the best flitch with the appropriate grain he can cut it down to a rough size. This is very important as the once the piece is cut it will take a set because of the build up tension in the larger piece. Once Lou gets the piece down to its rough shape he can then trace and cut the pattern so there will be as little movement in the wood as possible. We're also going to take another at the gains and how Lou feathers them down with a rabbit plane so all the planks come flush at the bow of the boat.

This is it! It's finally time to take our TotalBoat Sport Dory off the jig and flip it over! We have put all the planks on it the boat now, the final two had to go on in two pieces with a scarf in the middle because they had such a radical twist. We're going to rivet the seams in between each frame but in order to do that we need access to both the inside and the outside of the boat. It would have been too much trouble to crawl under the boat each time we needed to fasten a rivet so that's why we chose to screw fasten to the frames. The mold will have to come apart in several pieces but we're not too worried about that we could always re-create it and we would probably put more stations in it if we were going to build another one so we could have more area to attach to when planking. With the boat flipped over and the mold off you can finally see the very cool interior of our Sport Dory. The frames run directly into the bottom where we routed a slot for them. This keep the bottom free of any obstructions for your feet and makes it much easier to bail. There are still some things to do, we need to attach rails, seat risers, oar locks and a few other things but we're getting very close. Can't wait to take it out for a row in some heavy seas!

Thank you to everyone who made the trip to the WoodenBoat Show in Mystic CT this past weekend. It was so much fun to meet our fans and fellow boat builders for a fun exchange of stories and ideas. We even had some very nice volunteers lend a hand with driving some rivets onto our TotalBoat Sport Dory. Stay tuned for Part II where we will take a walk (and row) around Mystic Seaport and see some of the other great boats and projects on display.

We're back for day 2 at the WoodenBoat Show at the Mystic Seaport in Mystic, CT. Follow Lou as he takes a spin around this amazing place and gives us a behind the scenes look at some of the other great boats and projects on display. We're going to get back to our TotalBoat Sport Dory next week but strap in for another adventure because Lou has been invited by the University of Concepcion in Chile to visit the local boating community and boat builders and learn about their methods and offer his expertise in any way he can. We'll be bringing the camera so you all can come along and get an up close and personal look at Chile and their boating industry.

This first thing we need to do is make sure the stem and the hood ends are exactly perpendicular to the center of the boat. So we compare the angle from the planking on each side and then plane down whichever side is higher until the angle becomes exactly the same on both sides. Another very important step for us at this time is to create a series of guides that will help us locate the center of the stem after we have our laminate pile in position. So we cut out several small guides out of plywood and leave enough room for them to fit over the laminates. Before we get glueing our stem cap together we're going to give each laminate a quick sanding. We're then going to use a chip brush with the bristles cut off about midway through and apply TotalBoat 2:1 High Performance Epoxy to each laminate. We're also going to add some thickened epoxy to each laminate once they have had a little time to soak up the resin. Then we need to do the same thing to the stem and the hood ends because that's end grain and that will really soak up some resin. Once everything is covered in resin we're going to bring our stack of laminates over to the boat and fasten it into place at the bottom and then wrap it around to the top of the stem. We actually put a few more laminates on the pile than we needed just to help pull the different layers down in between the fastenings so we don't get a pillowing effect as the resin drys. We will also drill the hole through the laminates with a larger bit so that the screw doesn't grab and pull the layers apart. Once the glue dries we can then remove the screws and whittle the stem down with an electric and hand plane until it's flush with the planking.

We're moving right along on our TotalBoat Sport Dory build. This week we're going to install our seat risers. This was a tough decision about how to exactly install our risers so that we would have the most amount of flexibility in regards to moving our seats forward or aft. In the end we decided to make the risers out of one long piece of lumber so that we can move the seats position at any time. We also cut a 15 degree bevel into the seat risers on one side so we wouldn't have to steam bend or twist the pieces into position. Once we have one side of the seat risers done we can simply lift the position of the starboard side from the sheer and then transfer that to the port side and fasten the second seat riser into position. The final step is to prepare our breast hook for a final fitting. We've made this out of some great wood and the inwhales will actually run into the stem and transom and cover the stem and the smaller screws as well.

We're getting pretty close to finishing up and launching our TotalBoat Sport Dory!!! In this week's Episode we answer some great questions from our audience as well as taking a close look at how Lou installs the guards and inwhales. The guards go on first and are made out of one long piece of lumber. We will cut a 45 degree bevel on bottom side of each guard using a fence attached to our table saw. The pieces will then be bedded down with polysulfide and wood screws. The inwhales are slightly more complicated. Made out of much lighter pieces of lumber they will run inside the boat from the breasthook all the way to the transom. We need to transfer a series of angles and measurements in order to get the fit close and then use a final saw-fit cut to make the piece fit tightly into position. The inwhales are then secured to the boat with rivets that go directly through the guards and each frame.

We’re rolling right along on our TotalBoat Sport Dory build and it’s finally time to install the oar locks. The most important thing here was to find the right height and the right distance from the aft end of the middle seat. We did a lot of research and sat in the boat with a set of oats and tried it in several different positions until we found what we thought was the most comfortable spot. The oar locks are going to rest on pads that we’re going to make out of some nice quartered white oak. Because the sheer is curved and twisted we need to plane the pad down so that it will sit flat on the surface. Before we drill the holes for our oak locks we’re going to put some pieces of wood into the space in the sheer to stop the drill bit from wandering around as we drill. Once we have our holes we’re going to shape the pads to make them look a little more aesthetically pleasing. So we’re going to make a couple passes on the bandsaw until we get a nice shape we like. Then we’re going to spread some TotalBoat Thixo on the bottom of our pads, clamp them into place and drill and fasten them down.

This week we're setting up to prime the bottom of our TotalBoat Sport Dory. We applied TotalFair to the bottom and first garboard plank and then scraped and sanded it to make sure we have a nice fair surface for our primer. The surface must first be prepped and wiped down with TotalBoat reducer. For this project we're going to use TotalBoat 2-Part Epoxy Primer, a 1:1 mix that needs 30 minutes for induction before application. When the primer is ready we pour it into a small rolling tray and then roll it directly onto the bottom. It's going to be used above and below the waterline and will aggressively adhere to the bottom so we have a good surface to apply our TotalBoat Wet Edge paint. Once the Epoxy Primer has dried we need to sand the surface before applying any additional coats. We're also going to attach a skeg to the aft part of the bottom in order to help the Dory track better in a straight line. Stay tuned for that and more in our next Episode.

We're rowing right along with our Sport Dory build. In this episode it's time to build and fit the skeg to the transom. Using a straight edge we established the center of the bottom and then measured and drew a line 7/16 of an inch off of that line. That gives us a reference point for where the edge of the skeg goes. The next step for us is to scribe the curve of the bottom onto the straight skeg. We do this by placing two small pieces of wood under each edge to raise the piece off the bottom and then using another small piece of wood we draw a line along the length of the skeg. This transfers the exact curve of the bottom onto our piece. Once we have that line we can take it over to the band-saw and cut it. We'll touch that up with a planer and then also draw a line that continues the angle of the transom up onto the skeg and cut that in the band-saw as well. Then we are going to round off the forward and bottom angles of the skeg using some items around the shop that we think give us the proper radius we're looking for. We'll cut those in the bandsaw as well and then give the piece a quick sanding. Now it's time for us to grab a small trim router and use that round off the edges of both sides of our skeg. The most important thing to do here is make sure we keep the router down flat on our piece so we get a nice clean cut. Once that's finished we can touch the piece up with a planer and then a block with some sandpaper. Before we apply our skeg to the boat we're going to drill two holes on the same center line we drew earlier, those can be connected up inside the boat when we flip it over and then we can sink some screws into the skeg from the inside. The last step is for us to apply a few beads of polysulfide to the skeg where it will contact the boat and then place we can place it into position. We're getting mighty close to getting our Sport Dory into the water, stay tuned for more action next week!

It's finally time to paint our Sport Dory!! We're going to be using TotalBoat Wet Edge, a one-part polyurethane topside paint along with TotalBoat Special Brushing Thinner 100. The secret is finding the right consistency for your project so that the paint flows smoothly onto the surface. It also gives the paint a longer working time which gives you more time to tip the paint out and enhance the finish quality and extend the service life of the coating. Because the Wet Edge paint lays down flat after application you can roll, brush or spray it. In this case, we're just going to brush it because we don't have a large surface area and the laps between each plank may cause the roller to pool up paint and not reach into the corners. We're painting one plank at a time, bow to stern. Once we have enough paint on the plank we tip the paint from the wet edge onto the new paint. This minimizes any brush strokes and allows the Wet Edge to lay down flat on it's own. You can see the transformation from the matte primer to the smooth and glossy Wet Edge, it really brings the lines of the boat to life. We will most likely apply a second coat once the first coat dries and we are able to sand it. This will make sure we have complete coverage and our Sport Dory will shine white when she hits the water. Stay tuned for more next week when we flip our Dory back over and get started with some varnish!

It's time to Varnish our TotalBoat Sport Dory and we're gonna do things a little differently this time. We're gonna varnish our Dory upside down! If we had put caps on the sheer we would be able to varnish the guards, right over the caps and then down inside the inwhales. But with the sheer open and the frames exposed, we run a big risk of having varnish run down between the two into the interior of the boat. So we're going to hang our Sport Dory upside down from the overhead and let gravity work for us. We need to sand the guards, top of the sheer plank and the inwhales with 220 sandpaper to get them ready for varnishing. We want to focus on the edges and round those out a little bit so they will better hold varnish and not chop off later on. For our first coat we're going to use TotalBoat Wood Sealer. It's a varnish primer that will help fill the grain, seal the wood fibers and level surface to get us ready for our Varnish. We will let the Wood Sealer dry overnight and then sand again with 220 paper before applying our TotalBoat Gleam 2.0 Marine Spar Varnish. While brushing on this second coat we need to keep an eye on how much varnish we are putting on our brush and applying to the boat so that we don't get any runs. We want to make sure to tip the varnish as we go to help us achieve a smooth level finish.

Tips from a Shipwright has a couple big announcements this week. First we have finally found and secured a larger space and new home for the Open Door Boatshop. This additional space will allow us to make more boats and more videos and we couldn't be more excited about it. Second we are happy to announce that our next project will to be the full construction and video documentation of a very unique 23' V-Bottom Skiff. You've seen the model, now get ready for the real thing! Sit back and enjoy this episode as Lou gives you a sneak peek into our next project and series.

This is it! The final episode of Season 2 of Tips from a Shipwright. Join Lou as he launches his TotalBoat Sport Dory and takes a row around the harbor and shows you just how special this boat is. An original Sauzedde design, it combines a lifetime of methodology, with modern materials and products for a classic yet modern boat that is truly one of a kind.