One morning in October of 2014, I got the brilliant idea while searching the internet waiting for clinic to start, to build a boat. The boat plans are from Glen-L, a naval architect whose collection of plans now totals in the 100's. The experience has been amazing, enduring periods of peaceful monotony interspersed with rewarding moments of prideful accomplishment. The boat design is called the Malahini and is a 16 foot runabout outboard. I began the project in November 2014, reviewing the plans and picking out the wood and supplies. The timber is all mahogany and douglas fir plywood and fastened with bronze and epoxy.

November 2014 - Collecting the lumber with Sophia

Frames and transom completed December 2014

Boat stem with breasthook and chine blocking



Setting up the building form





Running the chine



Clamping the sheer



Running the battens



Graham helping to fair the sheer



Prefitting the plywood sides

Laminating transom with mahogany strips in a herringbone pattern



After sanding and flush trim router bit action



Applying mahogany strips to sides



Filling all screw holes



After layer of 7 oz fiberglass cloth and adding the keel and splash rail



Painting the bottom with System 3 polyurethane Shaw blue



Graham inspecting the bottom finish



July 2015 - Preparing for the "Boat Flippin' Party"



On the new trailer



After removing the building form from the inside of the boat



Playing captain



Running mahogany pattern on the floor






Graham hanging out in the motor well



After several coats of epoxy



Running conduit for later rigging



Dashboard after laser etching and filling labels and boat name "Lauren Michelle"






Finishing the inside walls with mahogany strips



Laying out the front seats


Rear view of the dash and new seats



Graham behind the wheel



Laying the subdeck



Building the perimeter deck



Planking the deck



Finished planking and sanding the deck



Finishing up the motorwell painting



After epoxy and WR-LPU clear polyurethane sprayed on



Upholstery just in. Sophia testing out.



Finished the deck hardware, ready for the motor



Just rigged with Yamaha f70



First launch



Running on a plane



Boat test with 2 full sized adult males, full gear, extra props, tools and 6 gal fuel, Yamaha f70:
With 13.25 diameter 16 inch pitch SS prop had 3.5s to plane, top end 37mph 5600rpm.
With 13.5 diameter 15 inch pitch Al prop had 3.0s to plane, top end 37mph 6300rpm.
I was very impressed with the performance. There was no porpoising even with the motor trimmed up. It corners well with a little bit of a slide to be expected with a flat bottom boat with a small keel. The boat was dry but got a little spray when turning into the wind with some 6 inch chop on the lake with 20mph wind. I'm quite impressed with the design of the boat and predictability of performance. I probably constructed a little heavier than the typical 450lb build weight although I have not weighed it yet. I used 1/8 inch mahogany veneer on the sides, 1/4 inch mahogany pattern on the floor, and 1/4 inch mahogany for the inner wall. The seats are solid and I went through a couple more gallons of epoxy extra as a result of the extra woodwork and overkill on the encapsulation of the bilge.