Building a Childhood Dream
The story of The Boat Project
The Boat Project was something that I say officially started in August of 2018 as I was sitting at my desk of my summer internship. I had just come back from a trip to Cape Cod and was preparing to return to college to finish my senior year. I knew the reality was by that time next year I would likely be sitting at another desk working but instead of getting ready to go back to school there would be no end date, there would be no next semester to go back to, no summer vacation. That’s when it clicked and I decided I was going to build a boat. The idea didn’t just pop into my head out of nowhere, there was close to 15 years of preparation beforehand.
Growing up on the water
When I was a little kid I was fortunate that my family would take my sister and I to the beach each summer. The first thing we would always do when we got there was go to the local beach supply store and buy a little inflatable boat - we always had hopes they would last more than one year but mice or the elements inevitably popped to them.
Each summer I would row those boat around any body of water I could get it into, and had an absolute blast.
Some of my favorite stories from when I was running around in the inflatable boats was when I started getting into saltwater fishing. As a 10 year old kid I remember rowing my dad and I across a boat channel in a strong outgoing tide to fish a little piece of water that another fisherman told us held fish. We did in fact catch a fish later that day.
The days of inflatable boats would soon evolve into neighbors taking us out on their boats and eventually, I would say ask my parents to buy a boat. My request was met by a “no” which makes sense given this was somewhere around the financial crisis. My response, “fine I’ll build one.”
A circuitous route
If I had it my way all those years ago I would’ve stopped going to school, my dad would’ve quit his job and we would be boat builders by the next morning. Reality is tough for an 8 year old.
Our story can pick up the pace a bit because for the decade and a half I kept close to the water and had recurring visions of building something but it never worked out. It was more of the same, a lot of growing up.
This brings us to 2015 when I picked up a DSLR for the first time. Photography quickly became a hobby that consumed my time - and ultimately the origins of this website and portfolio. The one subject I consistently liked to photograph was boats, and of course this brought be even closer to the water. I started a photography page on Instagram, which was all the rage back then, and named it @TheBoatProject. It was a play on a popular New England based account at the time, @TheFrontDoorProject. The schtick was to photograph boats and post them for others to enjoy. Then I got a DM asking “Do you have a project boat?” The answer at the time was well, no, but it reignited my childhood ambitions.
Planning
This is where the rubber hits the road. We’re back to that day sitting at my desk about to go back to school for my senior fall semester. I was thinking about what I was passionate about in life and all of the stories of my time on the water came rushing back to me. I went home that night and started sketching a design of what I wanted to build. Sketchbook after sketchbook full of idea’s quickly evolved into CAD drawings. I spent close to 6 months reviewing plans, drawing and redrawing the hull, and connected with some incredibly helpful people in the industry. I really had no idea what I was doing to start but that’s my personality, I’m just going to figure it out.
Once I had nailed down the dimensions and had a good idea of the construction method I wanted to use I was closing out my Fall semester and returning home for the Holidays. I had a full month to hunker down in my parents garage to start fleshing out a model of what I wanted to build. Needless to say the model didn’t amount to much but it did teach me a few helpful skills and also make me rethink some of my original plans.
Late January rolled around and it was back to school with one goal - perfect my design graduate.
As a senior in college going into your Spring semester with zero employment prospects it can be a pretty daunting experience. I’ll admit I was interviewing at a few places over the holiday that I was really stoked about and getting those rejection emails did hurt in the moment. I was ultimately so set on making this boat a reality the disappointment didn’t last long once I opened up CAD again and was tinkering with my designs.
The Build
May 2019 rolled around and I could officially leave Pennsylvania a college graduate. I was so excited to start working on the boat I suggested to my family that I just skip graduation. That idea didn’t go over so well.
The following 12 months is when the build would be in full swing. I’ll abbreviate a lot of the steps because while they’re important it’s all information that can be better articulated by experts. That summer I would wake up, put together a game plan of what projects I was going to work on for each day, and then set up shop in my parents back yard for the next 8 hours. I imagine in the early days the neighbors were very confused and one neighbor event stopped me and asked if I was setting up for a graduation party.
I started with building the frame of the boat. A set of ribs that would define the shape and integrity of the boat. 16 frames make up the length of the boat, all bonded together with resin.
Once the frames were all set it was time for the boat to start to take shape. Placing them on the jig that was going to support the boat, they all get connected to the keel, and then the sheer and chine logs were attached giving the boat some semblance of a final form. I’ll remember that day very fondly because my parents both came home that night and said something to the effect of “we thought you were building a small boat, how are we going to get that out of the yard?” I’ll address that later - the pictures don’t do Rascal justice, it’s a bigger boat than even I had planned for.
That last paragraph summarized roughly 4 months of work, and I was far from complete. The next steps were to give the boat it’s planking. In simple terms, this just means adding the plywood to the outside. If you ever hear the term Whiskey Plank they’re referring to the final piece of planking that goes on a boat. It’s usually signed by the builders before it’s bonded in place with fiberglass. It’s a fun tradition usually accompanied by whiskey to celebrate.
Now the build starts to get more difficult. Every day it starts to feel like you’re looking at a real boat, but hidden on the underside of the upside down hull is a completely unfinished interior. At this stage fiberglass had gone on, the hull was sanded smooth and layers of paint were applied. It really started to look like a boat and the biggest day of the build was coming up. It was time to flip the boat over.
With the help of my family and some of my closest friends we devised a plan on how to flip her over. A rube goldberg machine of tires and tow straps helped us lever the boat into a position where we could safely flip it over - and ultimately slide it onto it’s trailer.
Interior construction took a few more months. Measuring and cutting the decking was the most time intensive part. Cardboard template after cardboard template and we slowly started to seal the bilge and secure the console and bench.
Close to December, 95% of the hull construction was done I was still a long way from being ready to launch. The weather was cooling off and it was time to take a bit of a break. Reality was starting to call, and realizing that this hobby wasn’t going to support me financially I took the next 4 months applying to jobs to start my now one year delayed career. March of 2020 rolls around and I’m starting my first job and the build is still at a standstill. At this point I’m no longer on my timelines, I’m on the timelines of others.
COVID was a major setback for a number of reasons, but mostly because of logistics. Getting a gate put in so I would maneuver the trailer in and out of the yard was delayed, and the assembly and shipment of my outboard was delayed almost a full year. The end of 2020 comes and goes and the boat is still on blocks, no engine, and no rigging. 2021 saw some signs of life, we got a bigger gate added to the yard, the boat on the trailer, and squared away the registration with the DMV. I even got all the rigging done so once the outboard arrived it was plug and play.
My outboard was delivered to my dealers lot on Christmas eve of 2021 and it was just a few short weeks until I picked it up. February 2022 we had a very temperate few days where working outside was bearable. Again my friends and family all pitched in the motor was mounted after close to 16 hours of work - we’re not master mechanics, I know it shouldn’t take that long and probably wouldn’t if I had to do it again.
A week later it snows, but the boat is ready to hit the water. Again we wait.
Launch Day & Beyond
April 16 2022, Rascal finally reaches the water. There were some theatrics of tracking down loose connections and shaking off the cobwebs but it ran beautifully and floated - the most important part. Since then Rascal has been venturing up and down the atlantic coast from New Jersey to Cape Cod but our home waters will always be in North Jersey.
The pure white finish of the deck paint has it’s fair share of scuffs and stains, there’s blushing of the resin that seals the gunwales, but each blemish is another memory that make the boat even better. Just like with any boat ownership there’s always maintenance to keep up with and something to fix or improve. I can say for certain this has been the most rewarding project of my life.