Congratulations to Peter Ventura
of Santa Clara, CA
15' Power Dinghy
Hi John -
I wanted to drop a note and let you know that I launched the 15 ft power dingy
this past weekend into the San Francisco Bay, and it went real well.
Over all the project took me about two years of after hours and some weekend
work. The process was relatively smooth, and the ongoing support was great. The
most difficult part for me was glassing. I would stress to future builders that
its important to fill in all gaps between the strips before glassing, otherwise
there can be pockets. These pockets can fill with white dust from sanding, and
this is tough to get out. They are also tough to fill in once the boat has been
glassed.
I made a few modifications to the bench layout. I have a front seat, a
middle bench, and two rear seats that attach to the transom on each side of the
hull. I left my front seat, and two back seats empty for storage. The top of
those benches simply lift up. I also included a hole at the base of the center
bench for drainage. I created a completely sealed channel through the center
bench by gluing in half a PVC pipe inside the center bench, to encase the
drainage channel, before I filled it with foam. I am planning on installing a
one way valve in the transom as well. I also still need to install spray strakes
as the water did make its way up the side of the hull when it was fully loaded
with four people.
I am attaching photos. I actually have several more, but I am just including a
few here. Feel free to include which ever one you wish on your site. Also if you
are looking for pictures of the process, I took a lot of shots along the way.
I am sending a check to you to get my hull identification plate as well. I
should have that in the mail tomorrow.
Thanks again for all the help, and for a great experience.
Pete
