I decided after some years of loving to be by the water, and watching boats play around out on the sparkling water-that I would build a boat, and have that freedom to move about and explore. It may well be an innate desire among many. I studied all the . . .

I decided after some years of loving to be by the water, and watching boats play around out on the sparkling water-that I would build a boat, and have that freedom to move about and explore. It may well be an innate desire among many. I studied all the different types of boats and all the different ways to build one, and after much research, decided on building a small boat(usiing the thin 1/8" plank, laid up in epoxy technique)-having gotten the advice from the Herreschoffs-of 100 foot wooden America's cup building fame...that a small boat is the only thing one person can handle, while working at another job, and have the space in which to build it...moreover, a small boat is easily launched and recovered, and stored, and maintained-and is thus used far more often than a large boat which often requires mustering a crew in order to use and enjoy it.(not to mention a small platoon of highly paid technicians to maintain it !...the fewer moving parts, the less electronics the better!)
It is far the better choice, for boating is often just a one or two man pleasure ( or two woman ). If you divide the number of trips out on the water per year by the cost, you can quickly realize that it is vastly more inexpensive to hire a boat than own one...the cost per trip being in the thousands of dollars. So the best advice anyone can give is to build/own a small boat.
Even so, this boat of mine was 17 years in the buidling....and still being improved upon,...so the project never really ends. It is indeed a lifetime commitment...(don't take time away from your spouse and children, it is strongly advised)
One woman who had speent ten years building a boat was asked in Woodenboat Magazine, if she regretted all that time it took to build it..and her reply is fabulous...she said, "I could have spent ten years NOT building it"......meaning it is a very demanding skill and discipline...but one that brings immense satisfaction and sense of worth and purpose. One feels as though you had built the Taj Mahal single handedly! It is an immensely satisfying endeavor.