Thames - A Personal Notebook

] courtesy of Wikipedia.Thank you. (Please note the "sitter and muser").

There are many ways to get afloat. People have been doing just that for a very, very long time and quite probably, way back in time, confronted by the need to eat and with a barrier of water facing them there weren't many options.....Life was fairly straightforward... then.
Today, why would we want to do it? I don't have an answer for that. It may be childhood experiences, the "island nation" brainwashing but, something is triggered in some of us when the word "boat" is mentioned.
Maybe it just offers the ability to "sail off into the sunset" and escape the pressures of modern life.
I look at it in this fashion, for I am a fairly simple lad. Mention the word "boat" in a conversation with a mixed group. Some eyes will light up and some people will become negative. For me those who show interest are sailors and those who do not, are farmers and/or their parasites (of which there are layers ad infinitum). You will probably find that if you dig a little further that the 'sailors' will turn out to be more adventurous than the rest of the group. This is how it has appeared to me over the years. I have no foundation for these comments, it is just how it has always felt. Maybe some psychology student would like to take it up for their thesis.
Regardless of these inconclusive jottings it remains essential that before you embark on any project of this nature you should try to establish your real motives. For, rest assured that if it is your first attempt it will cost you more in time, effort and money than you ever bargained for and that, is a fact.

On a personal level you will need infinite patience, a thorough appreciation of the materials that you will be using, a feel for the tools that you will be working with and above all, a crystal-clear picture in your head of the finished product. It is assumed that finance is not for consideration (it is not a good idea to borrow - the pressure kills creativity).
So, a quick recap.
Can you, hand on heart, say that you have the patience? If you are of the box-ticking, must-have-it-now, "Absolutely amazing!" attitude then, go buy one. The initial expense may be greater but it will be less expensive than a disaster.
If you don't know, or are hazy about the materials that you will be working with, for wrong material, read - expensive mistake.
If you are a little rusty, regardless of the material that you are working in, it can help to take a refresher course in the winter or run up some test pieces to satisfy yourself.
Finally keep that picture clear in your head. It can help when you are trying to work out your construction sequence. (This only really applies if you are modifying "on the run", otherwise obviously, you would be working direct to drawings).

So, if that is all there is and your ducks are all in a row then, let's get on with it!