Family Boat Building!
In partnership with WoodenBoat magazine, join designer Dave Gentry for three days of fun and boat building at the Mystic Wooden Boat Show. Bring your spouse, kids, grandkids, parents, friends or just yourself - all are welcome to join in. We'll be building ultra-light ALOHA stand-up-paddleboards. You supply the effort, we supply all the parts needed, plus expert instruction to guide your hand throughout the weekend. You'll not only get to go home with your own board, but also with the satisfaction and pride in being able to say
"I built it myself!"
The Aloha SUP is a fun and user friendly paddleboard, meant for paddlers around 170lbs/77kg or less. The Aloha is 11'6" long, 29" wide (3.5m x 74cm), weighs in at about 20-25lbs/11kg and is very easy to build, carry and paddle. Construction is modern skin-on-frame - i.e. a wooden skeleton covered with industrial weight fabric.
Skin-on frame?? That couldn't possibly be strong enough for me or my kids. Won't it just puncture and sink?
The short answer? No.
Modern SOF boats are very tough and well proven throughout the world, and their skins are basically impervious to punctures, rips and tears under normal use. You - or your kids or dog - are not a threat to the hull, and skinboats typically bounce harmlessly off of anything they might run into on the water.
And, of course, SOF boats have been used for thousands of years in the brutal conditions of the Arctic, and some have even crossed oceans and rounded Cape Horn.
SOF boats can be very tough indeed.
Be sure to check out these short videos if you're not convinced:
Whack it! Tested!
Cost for the weekend, which includes the complete kit and instruction is $825
What to expect
We start on Friday morning by getting to know one another and discussing safety issues and practices. We'll also go over the most efficient ways to use our tools and time, and to answer any questions you might have. Boat building will soon begin and our piles of wood will look a lot like a paddleboard by the end of the day! By Saturday evening, the hulls will be complete and skinned, while Sunday morning finds us finishing up with detail work. Due to time constraints, painting the board will most likely have to take place at your home.
We will supply complete kits for your board (minus paint).You will bring your own basic tools, a couple of sawhorses, snacks and drinks. The days will be long, but fun, and we will have plenty of time to enjoy the show!
Fun times building Chuckanut kayaks at Mystic.
Sign up early - there are only a very limited number of kits available!
website: www.GentryCustomBoats.com email: GentryCustomBoats@yahoo.com