Congratulations to Andrew Jennings 
of Goose Creek, SC!

15' Power Dinghy

Dear John Clark,

22 September, 2000

Enclosed are some pictures of the completed power dinghy as well as some on the building process. I started running strips on February l9, 2000 and completed the boat at the end of July 2000. The interior proved to be a little more time consuming than expected, causing me to exceed my four month time frame. I think the extra time was well spent, ending with a boat that is both unique and functional. The exterior of the boat is made of not so clear cypress with spruce stingers below. Below the floor of the boat is completely filled with foam. Before laying the floor, I ran flexible plastic conduct through the stringers to eliminate fuel lines and electrical wires from being visible. The seats are made of plywood with laminated Luan on both sides. The seat tops are Cypress and covered with six ounce cloth. The rest of the boat is trimmed with Mahogany.

I do have a couple of building notes that I used that may be of benefit to other builders. I prefer to clamp my strips on, instead of stapling. It requires a little more time and effort, but when the stripping is finished, there's virtually no cleanup. if the clamping method is used it helps for the molds to be modified. I use slightly thicker plywood and cut a slot close enough to the outside edge to use a 2" spring clamp to clamp the strips to the mold. The strips are then held to existing strips using elastic cord. I feel that using this method you get tighter seams (making sure you keep your face clear of flying cords that could 
slip). I also used brown packaging tape on my molds, eliminating any possibility of glue sticking to them. I did encounter one challenge with the construction and lay out process was with the 15' version. I was unclear on the proper shape of the stem.. I think it would be helpful to have the shape of the stem for the 15' version included in the plans. I had to cut the stem several times for the strips to meet the bulkhead properly.

On the performance side, there was a more serious challenge with the boat not planing. I am using a 15 HP four stroke, which I thought would be sufficient. I changed props with no positive effect. Finally, I installed a hydrofoil on my outboard that made all the difference. Now, I get to see more than just the bow!

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time building this design. This construction is very simple and very beautiful to admire.

Sincerely,

Andrew Jennings

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