I will be taking the "Build A Skerry" class at the International Yacht Restoration School (IYRS) in Newport, RI from February 18th through the 23rd under the supervision of John Harris.

I suspect that unlike most of you, this is my first venture into boat building in more than 48 years when I last built a wooden Sailfish kit with my father in Wellesely, MA. I was 12 at the time. I learned to sail in my summers on the Cape in Bourne, MA at the western entrance to the Cape Cod canal across from the Mass Maritime Academy.

Now I live in Red Bank, NJ where I sail my Cal-20 when I am not working. I was looking to build a rowing skiff. CLC's "Chester Yawl", "Passagemaker" & "Skerry" caught my eye.

However, I did not want to start out 'cold turkey'. I wanted to learn 'ins' and 'outs' of the 'Lap-Stitch' construction method under supervision of an expert. Since CLC did not offer boat-building classes for the "Chester Yawl", that left me with either the "Passagemaker" or the "Skerry". I liked the lines of the "Skerry" best, both for rowing and sailing purposes.

CLC has informed me that I still will have a lot of work to do on my Skerry in order to complete it for sailing purposes when I finish the course. So I hope that I may come to you more 'experienced' Skerry builders for advice once I have completed the first phase of my Skerry project.

Please wish me luck. I will need it.

C. Hunnewell

Chuck,

Welcome aboard. The Skerry was my first and only boat build. You picked a good one. Keep us up to date on your progress and we'll stand by if you run into questions.

David

Hey Chuck,

For many of us the Skerry was our first build. It's a fun craft to build and loads of fun to sail. Enjoy the journey and give a shout if you get in a jam.

Chuck -
Welcome to the fold. The Skerry was my first, and has opened my eyes to home boat building. Waiting to find out where I'm moving this summer before I start my next project!

This forum is invaluable for help and guidance. Wouldn't have finished mine without the troubleshooting that folks had done and shared with me.

Andy

To Steve, David & Andy:

Thank you all for your encouragement and support. To Steve I must extend a special 'thank you'. It was your website, "Build A Skerry", that I found most helpful in identifying some potential pitfalls and risks for a neophyte boat builder of a Skerry.

In fact it also re-assured me that I had made the right decision to take the instructional class for building a 'Skerry' that is being offered by CLC at IYRS in Newport, RI. It may add to the boat's cost, but I don't yet own suitable shop space for constructing boats on my Red Bank, NJ property. I hope to invest in constructing a 12' x 24' shop shop next year for that purpose.

But first I needed a Skerry so that I would have a means of access to my Cal-20, NEREID, which I moor on the Navesink River in Red Bank at Monmouth Boat Club. I wanted more than just a dingy so that I might get some rowing exercise (I rowed crew [8's] in college) and I wanted something quick to lauch as well as light and easy to sail when I was interested in going for a casual sail alone. Plus maybe someday one of my 3 young grandchildren (ages 2, 3 & 5) might want to learn to sail.

As you can see, I seem to have the ambition & desire. Now I'll have to see how I will do in carrying these dreams to completion which was another reason for taking the course. I wanted to concentrate on building the Skerry with limited distractions. Part-time boat building was not how I felt that I should begin. Especially since my weekends are still so busy bewtween refereeing youth soccer (outdoor & indoor) and sailing. Although I am gradually attempting to phase out from the former and concentrate more on doing the latter while hopefully attempting to do more boat-building as a replacement for the refereeing.

We'll see. Thank you for your encouragement.

Regards,

Chuck.

Hi Chuck ~ You must be exhausted or exuberant after a week of epoxy fumes!
Please let us know how the class went and how you and the new Skerry are doing.
Kyle