In a Previous thread, I detailed the ongoing construction of my boat.
Well, it’s finished. The Snow Pea is ready for the water.
Launch is planned for next Saturday afternoon - 11th August. Details are in the link in my sig.
I’ll update the site with pictures and perhaps even video after the event.
Heh, I like the doubly appropriate name, because it does actually resemble a pea pod. Quite a handsome vessel, actually! Good luck with the launch.
Good luck with the launch. I notice that the green seems much darker in the final pictures on your Web site. Is this a camera thing, or is that the final colour? I prefer the darker green to the lighter (seems more nautical, somehow), but maybe that’s just me.
Anyway, it’s a beautiful vessel. I love the July 24 and 25 pictures. What great detailed work! It looks like a real, honest-to-god, craftsman-built boat. Many congratulations. I’m sure the launch will be a success.
Huh, I did not know that.
That’s a beautiful piece of work you’ve done, and the name certainly matches the paint job.
Looks very good - what is the final weight?
Have you checked on the availability of champagne in thin-walled bottles?
Yes, those were taken on my camera phone - the missus has taken the kids away for a week’s break (not from me, just a break)
The actual colour is closer to the earlier pictures (although it is darker and richer) - it’s called Buckingham green and is a sort of deep grass green.
Thanks.
I don’t know exactly - I can still easily lift it around and with the proper stance and balance, I can support its weight with one hand. I just tried weighing myself, then myself carrying the boat on the bathroom scales and it registers a difference of 37 pounds. That’s excluding the internal timber deck boards.
I’m intending to pour a small libation of beer over the bow, then share the rest of the bottle with the others at the launch party. I’ll just open the bottle in the normal way, I think.
Damn fine looking craft, very distinctive. You’ve put a good deal of effort into it, here’s hoping you are repaid with lots of enjoyment. Can’t wait to hear about the maiden voyage!
In the end, I’m not altogether sure how much of the varnish problems were caused by the amine blush and how much were just down to poor quality of varnish. It’s an expensive exterior-quality guaranteed-for-five-years product (although not specifically a marine varnish), but it’s remained sticky-ish on a couple of things that I know I didn’t use any epoxy on at all - for example the shaft of my paddle - which is just plain spruce. I think it might just be crappy varnish. Fortunately, the half tin of old yacht varnish I found languishing in my garage has sorted out all of the problems.
That looks great - have a great launch.
Now off to work on my chair so I can finish it to start the Portuguese dinghy…
Looks great. I have to go collect our caravan from Somerset on Saturday, so probably won’t make the launch 
I may make it later in the day - will have to see. So take lots of photos.
Have a great trip, and I hope the weather holds out.
Si
All systems go for launch. T minus 11h 29m and counting.
Weather forecasts for tomorrow have steadily improved through the week and now it looks to be a clear, calm sunny day.
That looks like an awesome project! Bon voyage!
Agreed. I hope it all goes well for you.
Well… it was… interesting. Flotation and water-tightness is not a problem. Stability is a big issue - the Snow Pea is incredibly tippy - it appears partly because of the rounded bottom and partly because of the upsweep of the ends - there’s almost too much buoyancy for a boat this shape, resulting in a very small footprint actually submerged.
After a wobbly start, my balance did improve, but any rocking that started just didn’t damp out. I thought a little more weight might have helped, so I invited my son on board - we wobbled a bit, then the boat tipped us out and filled up completely with water.
Removing the deck boards and sitting directly on the bottom of the hull made things a bit better, but it was still quite unstable and I think a wake from another boat would have capsized us if we’d tried to go down river.
So that’s that. Not sure what to do next. Maybe ballast, maybe an outrigger, maybe a bonfire.
Hard luck. How about a small ballasted keel. It will add weight, but may improve stability.
Si
Yeah, I was thinking a ballast keel, if you’ve got plenty of buoyancy there. A tad more directional stability too - sounds win-win to me.
Well, this is a disappointment. Too buoyant. That’s kind of unexpected, for a boat.
Strangely enough, I was recently at a Maritime museum, and noticed that many small boats from the old days were wide and pretty flat-bottomed – almost the opposite of yours. The Snow Pea sure looked great in the photos you posted, but now that I think of it, given it’s shape, what’s to stop it rolling wildly?
That was one beautiful-looking boat, though. Get your son to help with the next one. It’ll be a fun project and with what you learned this time around, you’ll wind up with a very useable boat.
Or build another Pea, put some decking between the two hulls, and go paddle your catamaran! 
Sorry to hear about the problems. Sounds like you got too creative. Pity. I hope you can salvage all that work with outrigger or keel.