Then, we had some really bad weather around here, twice!! After going to bed one night, the wife and I heard what sounded like a quick blast of hail hitting the house - a hail storm was predicted by the weather service. It only lasted a few seconds. When I got up the following morning, this is what I found in the front yard. The hail we thought we heard hitting the house, was actually this tree splitting and falling just outside our window.

Fortunately, we did not have any real damage. There were trees down all over the neighborhood, and one house actually blew apart just a block away!! Then a few days later, another storm rolled through and did the same thing over again. That one lasted several days and we had to spend some time cutting up trees, and making repairs - mostly at some of our family’s properties.

Now, we are back to some normalcy, and back to regular work. So, since our last post, we have scarfed and installed all the stringers and we cut out the lower hull sides. We spent quite some time cussing and yelling at the plywood while trying to make everything fit properly - at least how WE think it should fit. I was not happy with the gaps at the stern and spend a lot of time second guessing myself. Finally I cut the other side oversized and trimmed it to the proper size so that we do not have to close the gaps with spare lumber and/or epoxy. More time was spent fitting and trimming the panels so that they fit nicely. Though we were well aware of the “Wharram Wobble,” before attempting these builds, the photos I have seen of it on the web do not do it any justice. It is very disconcerting to see in person. I am sure it will be fine once the bunks and stringers are fitted.