This letter came in November and I have the author's permission to post it along with the pictures he sent. It is clear by the pictures, that this boat has gotten some real use. Nothing could please us more. 😉

"The boat went into the water Thanksgiving 2014. Since then I’ve spent a lot of time with it. I have become quite jaded over the years with lots of bluewater miles and lots of hours racing a thistle-not to mention dozens of other boats. However I think I can state unequivocally that this boat is by far the most fun I’ve had on any boat in a very long time.

I have to confess to some off-label uses—on Sunday I was on a lake in Northern Massachusetts and had an adventure in an unexpected snow squall. Gusts 15-20 and horizontal snow. The gusts went away and I managed to keep the boat bottom side down. It took me a long time to regain normal feeling in my toes after I got back to base.

In So Cal (my normal stomping grounds) I can take it lots of places that neither a Thistle or a Canoe (two of my other boats) are comfortable. The Thistle is too much boat for a narrow cove with gusting winds and canoes don’t deal with surf (at my level of skill—though they are fun in whitewater rivers). I bought a small Rocna and use it to anchor and dive off of the boat. Dolphins seem frequently curious about the unusual traffic and check the boat out. You don’t realize how big they really are until you are eye to eye from water level.

In one incautious moment (or of one of several)  on a flat calm day I rowed into a little cove. There was a rock pillar in the center of it, but I didn’t think anything of it. A boat wake from a passing ferry picked the PT11 up and deposited it directly on top of the pillar. I was really worried it was the end of my favorite toy. However when I got back to the dock, there was a slight paint chip aft of the mast area and NO OTHER DAMAGE!  This boat is strong.

In another adventure had a 2+ mile long plane down a lake in New Hampshire in a really big blow. I knew it was a bad idea but I was flying all the way and it was too much fun. I did not succeed in taking the boat upwind. After a couple of capsizes I gave up and left it on the lee beach until the weather changed. I think I would have been OK, but the boat was so slippery inside that I couldn’t get up on the rail between tacks. I simply fell down.

I’ve since put a tasteful patch of non-skid on the floor of the boat, and found that I can feather upwind sitting on the rail, even in a good bit of wind.

Matt Foreman
Newport Beach, CA"

ptwatercraft.comptwatercraft.comptwatercraft.comptwatercraft.com

 

Our Christmas present this year was a very large stack of plywood.

This is a big deal for us. Some of you may know from an earlier post that one big reason end-of-2015 production halted was due to not liking the plywood that was available. We take plywood very seriously for our kits. It needs to be beautiful since most of our builders like a clear finish. Flatness is critical for many parts and  consistent ply thickness is important especially on parts like foils, both for strength and because shaping the foils shows off the separate layers. If we accidentally cut foils from faulty plywood, they need a lot of extra work on Russell's part and then are sold discounted as 'Paint-grade'. So we have learned to be even more particular in our selection even if that means being a bit of a pain in someone's rear....

Thus, we are very happy to announce that Edensaw Woods has recently secured some beautiful plywood.
We tend to buy lots of plywood when we like the quality so pre-Christmas Eve, Russell went through an entire unit (86 sheets) of 6mm and only found a few that we didn’t buy. We also bought enough 12mm to not have to worry about that thickness for at least a year. Very important parts are cut from 12mm, such as the main bulkheads and foils, so, high grade plywood is critical.

What does this mean for you? Well, if you were hoping to build a PT 11, PT Spear, or PT Skiff in the New Year, we will have kits!

If you would like to know more about the care we take in producing our kits, we have been putting together an in-depth article about it. This will follow soon.

ptwatercraft.com
Double checking the packing lists

14ft nesting dinghy loaded up
14ft nesting dinghy loaded up

Every now and then a friend has a boat for sale that they would like us to post on our website. We do this selectively for free. Paul Zeusche, who makes the connective hardware for our kits, has recently finished refurbishing a molded fiberglass nesting dinghy (14 feet) that he and his wife used extensively on their cruising boat. It looks like he did an amazing and thorough job on this boat.

This boat is much longer than our nesting dinghy. The advantage of length is higher rowing speeds. This boat can be rowed by 2 people at once, using either 4 oars or just two.

Because the boat is relatively narrow and a very slippery hull shape, I would describe it as having "long legs."

You can check out the photos and specifications here.

paul zeusche
Photo taken October 2015