Filling the Bilges of the Sportfisherman

Kevin Agee is building his 26ft sportfisherman in a rented industrial unit in Seaford, Virginia. He plans to complete her and launch in time to go fishing in summer 2019. Each week of evening and weekend work takes him another step closer to that goal.

Having built three big boats myself, of 36ft, 34ft then 38ft, I know very well the commitment needed for a project like this one that Kevin has taken on. It takes drive and determination to do it. The skills develop along the way, to produce a high quality boat of which he can be proud. The standard of work that is seen on the hull shows his dedication to creating that quality boat.

Work that is going on now is all below deck level and on the deck panels themselves.

The bilge is broken up into compartments by the bulkheads and girders.The large ones on centreline are for tanks, batteries and pumps, accessed via hatches and access panels and draining to bilge pumps at the transom. Most of the others will be foam-filled and totally sealed.

Looking aft into the cockpit from the cuddy cabin.

Looking into the cuddy cabin from the cockpit.

Meanwhile, alongside the boat the deck panels are being glassed, with heavy glass on the top and a light layer and peelply on the bottom.

Deck panels, with curing epoxy.

Deck of the engine bracket. The wings have been thickened up with two layers of Coosa Board, which will be glassed over and bonded to the transom and bracket with glass tabbing.

This design is not yet on our website. To see our other designs, go to our main website or our mobile website.

Cape May 25 Build in Russia

I am so often pleasantly surprised by the standard of work done by amateurs building our designs. They are dedicated to turning out boats of which they are justly very proud. I recently received photos of the gaff cutter Cape May 25 being built to a very high standard by Andrey Koslov in Voronezh, Russia.

Voronezh is a city of about a million people, in southwestern Russia, straddling the Voronezh River. The city was rebuilt after the Second World War, having been almost totally destroyed in a battle with German forces.The Voronezh River is a tributary of the Don River, flowing south into the Sea of Azov, which gives access south of Crimea to the Black Sea via Kerch Straight.

Very fair hull, nicely finished

Andrey Koslov with his hull, nearly ready to turn over.

Over she goes, with a pair of frames built around her.

Turning frames that double as her cradle. The fine hollow bow at waterline is one of the reasons why these boats are so quick in light breezes.

Ready for the interior and deck to start.

Thank you Andrey, for doing such nice work building your Cape May 25. Keep up the good work.

See more of this and our other designs on our main website or our mobile website.

50ft Catamaran Build in North Carolina

There is a custom sister to our radius chine plywood catamarans taking shape alongside Albemarle Sound in Edenton, North Carolina. The builder is CRW-Con and the build method is composite reinforced wood construction, adapted by the builder from our radius chine plywood method. The base design is our Dix 470, expanded longitudinally to 50ft. The 470 is the second in our catamaran range that started with the DH550.

This series of photos shows construction of the first hull, which will be turned over in the next week or two.

Bulkheads and backbone set up, with stringers fitted into bulkhead slots.

First layer of radius skin fitted, foam fitted between stringers and keel structure in progress.

Plywood outer skin being fitted to sides. The opening is for the escape hatch.

Side skin completed, keel completed and glassed.

Glasswork completed.

Fairing with Awlfair.

Fairing with Awlfair.

This first boat has cruising keels and is being built on spec, with the builder seeking a customer for it. Interior configuration and finishes can be agreed between owner and builder if a buyer commits to the boat before the builder gets to a stage where he has to make those decisions. Anyone interested can email me, then I will put them in contact with the builder.

This design is not on our website. To see our range of available designs go to our main website or our mobile website.