Where are you building a Great Alaskan?

[Brian.Dixon]

BUMP!  How about an update on who's building which version of the Great Alaskan and where you are located?  Pictures would be awesome!

Brian

[Cannon]

28' GA started in Salem Oregon USA
I started lofting out the assorted pieces yesterday. I'm already about a week behind my schedule because some of my plywood was back ordered. I would really like to launch next spring, but that will depend on my workload.
A buddy of mine said he had some fiberglass cloth I could have, went over to have a couple of beers and in the process pick up the cloth. Turns out he had a full roll of 6 OZ, and a full roll of 12 OZ plus a roll of Kevlar and several rolls of assorted weight tape. Seems he used to build large tanks for the oil fracking business. Been stored up in his shop for years. SCORE!

[Brian.Dixon]

Try a test glassing with the fiberglass before you commit it to the boat.  Also, the 6 is probably plain woven, but the 12 may be roving (coarse yarn, more defects).  If the 12 is plain woven (smoother, tighter, lighter yarn, nearly defect free) ...then it can be used in place of anywhere I call for 10 ounce in the plans.

Brian

[Cannon]

It is all smooth weave, no roving. None of the stuff they built was shot, all was epoxy.

[Brian.Dixon]

It is all smooth weave, no roving. None of the stuff they built was shot, all was epoxy.

Awesome!  Glad to hear of your lucky find.  I once found a stack of old-growth CVG Douglas fir that had grain so tight that you couldn't lay a needle between the lines ...rock hard wood and beautiful!  It was way in the back of an old wood shop in Washington, all dusty and forgotten.  Found it when looking for some other wood ...the guy sold it to me for about half what CVG fir cost at the local lumber yards, and the quality was at least 3X better.  That wood went into the frames in the mahogany drift boat that I once built (along with Cherry, White Oak, and Eastern White Ash for highlights and various parts.... love how Cherry changes color with exposure to sun).  That boat is now plying the waters of the Bow River in Canada...

Brian

[Djeffrey]

Still planning stages, hope to start 28 ga in next couple months. Building it in Pagosa springs colorado. In the Rocky Mountains, just about as far away from water as you can get.

[Brian.Dixon]

Still planning stages, hope to start 28 ga in next couple months. Building it in Pagosa springs colorado. In the Rocky Mountains, just about as far away from water as you can get.

...But several good and large reservoirs with great fish in them.  How far are you from 11-Mile?

bd

[Djeffrey]

Brian, about 3 hours. I have done some incredible fly fishing between the two lakes. Don't make it over much as I live about 100 feet off the San juan River and am able to walk out my door anytime and catch 21 inch trout😊

[Djeffrey]

I plan on using my ga all over the country. Great Lakes, to Florida and even want a pic some day in front of lady liberty. Mostly I plan to use it in the pacific NW and up to Alaska.

[Brian.Dixon]

Brian, about 3 hours. I have done some incredible fly fishing between the two lakes. Don't make it over much as I live about 100 feet off the San juan River and am able to walk out my door anytime and catch 21 inch trout😊

Oh yeah!  The San Juan Shuffle!  I'm sure you know what that is, right?  You fish a San Juan Worm fly downstream, and do a little jig with your feet to send a cloud of river muck downstream ...the trout know that when something disturbs the bottom, that worms are sometimes set loose ...which means the chances that your fly will get hit go up.  I think the technique is against the rules, but can't say for sure 

I used to live in the Springs and fished between the lakes a lot (and various other places), and even did the "lawn chair, Coleman lantern, garlic/corn marshmallow" thing at night on 11-mile to catch nice trout... I had a pickup trashed by tennis-ball sized hail at 11-Mile too ...saw two large t-storms converge over the lake and a wall of hail started moving right at us, the water all turned to froth under the hail.  No place to hide ...just run, throw your stuff under the truck and get in ...I still remember how loud that was and how my truck got totaled (it was not a new truck).  I got an insurance settlement, did some fixes on my own, and drove that dented-up truck another couple of years.  An RV that was up there got totally trashed from that storm... windows and vents busted out, roof torn, the whole thing full of water and shattered ice, old guy and his wife hiding up by the driver's seat.   

Brian

[Kenneth Modin]

Hi!

I'm Kenneth of Sweden and I'm currently building a Great Alaskan 28 feet. I've been working on this project for 9 months.

[Brian.Dixon]

Welcome aboard, Kenneth!  And ...you're boat's looking great!

Brian

[Dave Collett-Paule]

Welcome, Kenneth!  We would love to see photos of your project.

[Rbob]

Hi I am Robert, building a 28' Newport in Olympia Wa.  I bought the kit from Chuck last fall.  I am not a procrastinator, I just keep finding other things to do.  Ha Ha.

It is my new years resolution this year.

[Rbob]

Building 28' GA in Olympia Wa.

Well I have officially started my build.  I have bottom panels put together, chines and shelf's together.  Building jig is built.  I will post some pics this weekend.  Already life is getting in the way, last week had to go on family vacation to Kona, just got back and the darn apple trees need pruning, so pruning the trees this weekend then back at it.

Right away (first week) I discover way too much dust to deal with so ordered a 18" fan and installed that to keep the room clear when sanding. And my aluminum boat is taking up too much room and I had to tarp it (rains here)and move it outside to put shelf's and chines together.  Just getting bids now to add a 24' x 42' shop addition since the 28'GA will not be fitting inside my old shop when completed and on a trailer.