Building a Chesapeake Light Craft Northeaster Dory -- A Boat that Would Float!

I have been working very hard on my Dory for the past few days, and I now have a boat that would definitely float! The exterior has three coats of fiberglass and is relatively smooth. The interior has only two coats and needs a thorough (smooth) sanding before I apply the third coat, but even as it is, it is a nice boat. The thwarts are covered with fiberglass in varying amounts. The foam flotation blocks have all been cut, glued, smoothed, sanded, and fiberglassed with a first coat; they will fit snugly under the thwarts and help out a little if I ever capsize the boat while under sail. The daggerboard trunk is nearly ready for installation as is the mast step. Those will be frightening elements to install since both require drilling holes in the bottom . . .and the daggerboard well also requires cutting the opening for the daggerboard. The rudder is coated with fiberglass, but still needs a lot of sanding and some more fiberglass. Only the daggerboard and the oars are still at relatively early stages -- though both are at least recognizably under construction.

The end is not yet in sight, of course. Only now am I near the stage of adding the finish coats of varnish and paint. That process will require sanding and painting, sanding and painting, sanding and painting . . . . You get the idea. But maybe the boat can still take a little dip in the lake before Christmas.