Tech Tip Tuesday

Ok. That's a Nike (tm) "Swoosh" up there.

Tech Tip Tuesday is about my boat building philosophy. I believe in the Nike approach - "Just do it!" (Sorry, Nike...)

Most people look at the complexity of building a wooden boat and think that they can't do it. It's a slightly daunting project - don't get me wrong, it is, but it's a bit like the old joke about how to eat an elephant - one bite at a time. You can do it. Really. It just takes patience and determination. You will probably need to learn some new skills, too. Some skills you can learn from reading about them and doing them yourself. Some skills you will need help from an "expert". This may be a friend with the skills or even a teacher in a structured boat-building course.

Let me give a good example:

A friend of mine started a kayak with my help. He's very good with his hands and a clever guy to begin with, but had never built a boat. The building went in fits and starts and for long periods of time. Sometimes he was thinking or asking about his next step. Sometimes he couldn't work on his boat because it was too cold in his shop. Sometimes he simply had other things to do. It took him about 2 years of elapsed time to build the kayak.

The end result? It's a beautiful boat and he's very happy with it. Others find it to be a beautiful kayak when they see it. In the beginning of his project, he didn't know everything he was going to do or how he would do it, but he went ahead and took that leap of faith.

All you've got to do is to make a start. Just do it.