In the begining, there was snow!

What do you do in Chicago in the winter?

Every fall, once the mother ship, a 1976 Chris Craft Coho, is on the hard and the sky turns gray, I go into a deep depression. To keep busy I started to rebuild my 8' zodiac dingy. Two years ago my old motor gave out and I bought a new four stroke 4 hp Tohatsu environmentally friendly outboard motor.

The new motor weights 55lbs and has less power than my old 3 hp two stroke, but if it will reduce global warming, I am going to help the world. ( Where do I get my carbon credit? Al oh Al can I find a website to get my credit on your internet? )

I did not realize that the added weight lowered the waterline in stern so that the unprotected wood in the transom was under water...dumb...it rotted out the transom. When I used the dinghy to help a sailboat un-ground itself at the harbor mouth, the transom gave out. So, this winter I decided to rebuild the dinghy.

In researching this project, I came across the Chesapeake Light Craft website. Link to CLC There I found a dinghy designed by John Harris, that I could build called Passagemaker. This dingy was designed for the passagemaker style of long distance motor cruisers. Here is John rowing about.

This really fit the bill as my long term goal in life is to build my own passagemaker boat and retire to cruise the world, or at least get out to Chicago in the winter! I have also followed another designer, George Buehler, who advocates building your own passagemaker made out of wood. He has written several books on the subject. Link to Backyard Boat Building Book One of his boat designs is called a Diesel Duck and has almost a cult following.

Here is a "Duck" done is steel. A real beauty! Link to Diesel Duck Website

I aspire to afford and build a Diesel duck one day, so I decided to start with building the passage maker dingy first to see if I was cut out for boat building. This blog is a little different as I am doing it in arrears. I have completed the project successfully. This will allow me to share insight into some of the "opportunities for improvement" I encountered along the way. Hindsight is 20/20 and in this way I can help others out.

Here is a pic of my first sail in Lake Michigan. I was in a hurry to get the dinghy built for spring. Spring this year is a full dry suit, 37 degree water, and 50 degrees air temperature. So much for global warming!

For the most part the build went well, very steady. Thus the title of the blog. Here is the inspiration graphic and one I will add to the transom eventually.

It is from a Sailor Jerry tattoo design of the same name. That's all for now. Construction photos next.