The Tardis Project

December 13, 2021 It turns out Mark had already been thinking about both transom or “pod” mount for an Olga “stretched” to 31 feet, but just hadn’t produced plans yet. It looks fantastic. Here’s the link: http://smaaldersyachtdesigns.blogspot.com/2021/12/ If I still had the shop and was five years younger, I’d build a 31 with the pod

December 10, 2021 I’ve been thinking about this for a long time, and being up in Maine all summer surrounded by classic motorboats and new “Downeast” styles solidified my thinking. One of the fun things about Tardis is having so many dockwalkers and folks calling up on the radio with, “Great-looking boat, when was she

September 2, 2021 This blog is supposed to be largely about building and improving the Tardis, so here you go: I did two actual pieces of work all summer long: a new smooth-walled bilge pump hose to use as a sink drain instead of the old mess of water hose and hose connections, and a

April 24, 2021 Once the rebuilt drawers were in and I had finished the engine cover lid and new deck boxes, literally the rest of the winter was spent painting or varnishing every single surface on the boat. Aside from the spots that were still victims of the Great Mold Invasion of 2018 and the

February 1, 2021 Arnhem, the Olga 28 being built in North Carolina is really coming along. Like Freidbert’s, a magnificent build. I look at my little epoxy-filled gaps and planning errors (not too many!) and think, “Well, somebody had to go first.”

January 11, 2021 That’s a scary word to a plywood/fiberglass boat builder. No, the hull is fine (I poke, prod, tap and check it about once a month). But far into the project I ran out of the super-grade Brynzeel marine plywood I used to build the majority of the boat. I just didn’t want

… A Trimaran! After the tippiecanoe episode, I determined that some sort of solution other than a miraculous reversion to my 20-40 year old self was in order. I received several suggestions, among which was building another canoe just like the first and linking them together Polynesian style. But that led me to Google to

October 13, 2020 The new canoe is beautiful, light (32 pounds), easily handled, and fast. BUT MY GOD IT IS TIPPY! See video here: https://youtu.be/WdKqQzTVpQ8 I finally got going after two dips in the Neck River, after figuring out paddling a skinny canoe is like riding a bike: a) You have to know how to

October 3, 2020 Tardis went one long cruise and one short one, on anchor for the most part, giving the new electrical arrangements a good test. The first cruise went east into Narragansett Bay with stops at West Harbor, Fishers Island; Point Judith Pond; Potters Cove, Prudence Island; Sakonnet Marina (3 days so Molly could

August 27, 2020 We’re holed up in Sakannot Marina, Narragansett Bay, waiting out bad thunderstorms that actually caused tornadoes back home in Connecticut!  The picture is from Mystic Seaport, where I’ve been looking at the extremely shallow anchorage in the Mystic River just north of the museum for something like 35 years and finally have