Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
Back in my late twenties, I met a guy from Thomaston, ME named Harold
"Dynamite" Payson at a Mystic Seaport Museum boat building class - it
was right after I sobered up and I was going to build a sail boat for
my own amusement and to keep me out of trouble.

Harold Payson was a character of the highest order. Lobsta' man by
trade, he built his own boats and got into building plywood boats -
most of them designed by Phil Bolger of all people. :)

http://www.instantboats.com/


Yep. I built a couple of Teals and Surfs, at one point I was
going to build an Instant Catboat. I still have the plans,
so one day I might.


Anyway, to make a long story short, I began quite a conversation with
him, ended up telling the story of why I was there and eventually
developed a level of communication that was unusual for a "fan" and
the "fanee" I guess you would call it. It became a Saturday morning
ritual for a long time chatting with him about how I was going with my
boat (The Glocester Gull adapted for sail). During one of those
conversations, he said that the Gull design would be perfect for some
"new fangled foam core" technique.


Yep, all those instant designs would be well suited for
building in foam core.


Side note - eventually, right before Christmas in 1980, I received
autographed copies of his books and all his plans in the mail along
with a very nice note about building boats and the joy derived from
it.


Nice.


I haven't built a boat since the Gull, but I can appreciate the effort
you put into it.


Someday when you have time to consider it, and not quite so
many ready-made boats under foot, you may decide to again.
It's a great pastime, especially if you have a young person
hanging around who needs something other than video games to
be interested in. It's a lot of effort, but there's also a
lot of satisfaction in completing every part & every stage
of construction. And when you're riding around in it, you
have the satisfaction of knowing that you are aboard the
BEST BUILT boat as far as the eye can see!

Regards
Doug King