Yo Chuck
Let's see, if you start today you might just make it on time for spring....just kidding. I started on the Saturday of the Memorial Day weekend. At this point I have about 50 hours of actual working time in it, and a good chunk of that was wasted while trying to build the centerboard trunk. I was also working alone, and that will slow you down. They claim you can build a D4 dinghy in two weekends, but I wouldn't bank on it. I did everyting on a couple of old, 6-foot long folding banquet tables in one side of a two-car garage. I worked mostly at night after dinner so I do a little then go to sleep while the epoxy cured. That limited me to a maximum window of about four hours, though two to three hours a night was more typical. I rarely had two nights back to back and I reserved all work involving loud power tools for the weekends to keep the neighbors off my case. In retrospect I could have done it faster, but since this is my first boat building project and I was working alone, I wanted to take my time and not mess up....not that it helped. Even though I measured twice and cut once, I still made mistakes. Fortunately, none of them was catastrophic, and in the process I learned to appreciate the elegant simplicity of the stitch-and-glue method and the advantages of working with plywood and epoxy. You get the classic beauty of wood combined with the high strength, durability and low maintenance of epoxy. No wonder wooden boatbuilding is making a comeback. I think this would be a good winter project for even an inexperienced builder. You just need the desire (or the curiosity), some patience and a few simple tools (circular saw, jigsaw, orbital sander, shop vac, pliers, screwdriver, hammer, electric drill, tape measure, builders square, carpenter level and a few other odds and ends). One final warning...if your work area has a nice floor, make sure you put down a sturdy plastic drop sheet because epoxy drips like crazy! Go for it! Peter H23 "Raven"
