8’ Two Paw — A “Little” Project With the Grandkids

[PadrePoint]

I’m happy and satisfied with my current “fleet”: my Core Sound 15 Norma T that I built in 2020 when I retired, the Core Sound 17m3 Avocet that I bought from Richard in 2021, and the 15’ Glen-L ski boat Joe that I finished building in 2022.  I have no reason to build another boat… right???

 

Wrong!!  I found that I kind cornered myself into another build and I think my error to be funny… and, it provides a me unique chance to build a boat with my three grandkids.  Let me explain.
 

My friend, Don, was just getting used to his newly purchased Core Sound 20m3 that he had recently bought from Jay and mentioned that he might sell some of his boatyard inventory.  When I first visited his home I saw his little 8’ nesting dinghy that he named Two Bits.

 

When the two of us sailed for a few days on Michigan’s Grand Traverse Bay in 2022, we towed Two Bits behind Avocet.  I thought it was cute as it merrily bobbed along behind us.  No wave action could unsettle it. 

 

We talked about Two Bits and how it would be a wonderful boat for me to borrow from Don to help my grandkids learn more about sailing. They enjoy being with my wife and me in both of my Core Sounds but a small boat like this might be the perfect way for them to begin sailing without adults on board.  They have become quite independent with their small kayaks that we bought from Sam’s Club a few years ago.  My wife is pictured coaching the kids in 2022 for their first solo kayaking:

 

 

I had given the book Swallows and Amazons to the two girls a couple years ago and it was read out loud as a family. They are now eager to start having their own imaginative kid-adventures in a sailboat.  I planned to use my CS15 to move them into new independence, knowing that it is a little much for them right now, but I just didn’t know how I could transport Don’s boat to Wisconsin and back to his North Carolina home.  Then, I spotted his “ad” in January 2026…

 

In my quick read I saw the phrase “sail rig” and interpreted it to mean the “sailboat setup” (and I didn’t think that he wasn’t asking enough.)  Thinking I could help him out a bit by buying his “rig”, I commented immediately, “Sure, I’ll buy that from you.”  He responded, “Ya realize that’s only the sail, mast, etc. right?”  “Ohhhh…  that makes sense.”  But, I said I’d buy it and I’ll stick to that. 
 

That meant… yup… I now need to build a little boat for the new sail and I thought that the B&B Two Paw dinghy, the same as Don’s, is the way to go.  Actually, I liked that thought of this small project and asked my two sons whether they would participate with their kids in building it (we can avoid exposing them to epoxy and there is plenty else they could do.)  They agreed to participate and I ordered a kit from B&B.  My older son agreed to build the rudder and dagger board, which is something I did NOT want to undertake.  He’ll likely involve his son in those projects of his.  I picked up the kit from the B&B shop on April 13.  

 

I then stopped at Don’s house on the way home to get the “sail rig” (sans boat) and took a closer look at his Two Paw build.  I decided that I would add side flotation tanks to the front half as he did and open the bow tank to be able to toss stuff into it when on the water.  Once into Wisconsin I needed to stop to get my CS 17m3 from winter storage and bring it home with the new kit. It gave the two boats a chance to “become acquainted.”  This is Avocet at a rest stop during its spring migration north for the summer: 

Once home, I put the parts of the kit in a pile on a tarp in my basement shop.  

 

 

Yes, we’ll build the boat in my basement, being inspired by NCIS’ Jethro Gibbs’ basement boat-build (they actually built a Glen-L speedboat during the show… I heard Mark Harmon in an interview explain how Gibbs got that boat out of the basement… “IT’S A TELEVISION STAGE!!  We rolled it out!!”)  We will certainly be able to bring the two 4’ sections up the steps and out the front door once the 8’ hull is cut in two.  The nested boat will fit in my son’s Sienna, my 4’ wide utility trailer, and my other son’s tiny flat trailer.  And, it will store easily someplace nested together and standing upright. 
 

A few weeks ago, the two girls were visiting us.  I brought them downstairs, showed them the plans of the transoms and bulkheads.  They identified from the jumbled pile of parts the correct pieces and placed them together where they needed to be glued.  


I spent a few hours over the weeks rounding the edges that would be exposed, glueing things together, filling the bolt holes with epoxy, cutting strips for the gunwales, sanding things a bit, making most of a building cradle, and getting things ready for a time ALL THREE kids would finally be together at our house, which hasn’t happened since Christmas… they are all here TONIGHT!

I kinda slapped together a cradle on which to build the hull. I removed the 2x2 pieces across the top on which we’ll assemble and wire up the hull in the upside down position. After the flip I’ll remove them and install some supports to stabilize the upright hull.  (Also, I unscrewed the two 2x2 pieces so the kids could “finish building” the cradle before they do the assembly.)

 

We’ll start assembling tomorrow afternoon. The plan:

1) Finish the cradle. 

2) Cut strips on my bandsaw to put between the nesting bulkheads and assemble the two bulkheads into a unit. 
3) Cut some short wires to tie pieces together. 
4) Connect and wire the sides, transoms, and bulkheads (upside down). 
5) shave the center edges of the bottom pieces for better fit and wire the two bottom pieces together. 
6) Unfold the bottom onto the assembly and tie it into place. 
7) Flip the assembly right side up and shore it up on the cradle, checking for straightness. 
8) Temporarily screw in the foredeck frame. 
9) Fit the gunwales using clamps and screws. 
10) Then, my boys and I will epoxy-glue the gunwales into place, letting things cure. 
 

Can we get all this done tomorrow?

 

Something to mention… the three grandkids are given the task of naming the boat and designing what it will look like. So far, each of the three have come up with three vastly different sets of color schemes. I was asked which I wanted.  “Nope, YOU guys need to decide those things.  I offered the idea the the boat does have two sides, two transoms, and the inside. Who knows WHAT this things will look like when this project hits the water. 
 

On Tuesday, my wife and I take off for a four-week vacation to Palm Springs and South Lake Tahoe.  I’ll probably NEED that vacation after tomorrow.  I’ll take up taping the joints after I’m back. 

 

 

 

 

 

[PadrePoint]

DAY 1  — A couple afternoon hours were all that was needed for the basic assembly and an hour after supper to temporarily fit the gunwales.  So, we almost completed everything I had hoped for today (except for mixing up epoxy for gluing the gunwales… since there will be a couple people sleeping in the basement bedrooms.)  We’ll glue them tomorrow morning before everyone leaves.  Besides, the three strips that are clamped and screwed onto each side have an overnight to relax into the multi-curving hull. 
 

We started with the empty floor in my shop, a bit unusual. 

I thought three adults could each take a kid to do three tasks needed prior to assembling. But the kids decided they ALL wanted to participate in each task… so that is our approach.  My son led them through the process of “pre-assembly task” one, using the band saw to rip pieces of hard cardboard to be spacers between the nesting bulkheads; then we screwed the two bulkheads together with the spacers.  The spacers can be easily removed when sawing the boat in half.  Task two was finishing the cradle by putting two horizontal pieces across the top for the assembling. (I didn’t think to take a photo of them using the band saw and drill/driver for the screws.)  Task three was sanding and rounding the upper edges of the bottom plywood along the keel joint for a better fit.  I showed the kids how to use my battery sander but it kicked up sawdust that blew into their eyes… oops.  They preferred hand sanding the two 8’ long edges, and they became industrious. 

Now it was time to start assembling. I bought 20 gauge wire, a bit thin but easy for the kids to use and I thought it would be strong enough to stitch the boat together.  I showed them how to cut the wire to around 8” and bend it into “narrow horse shoe” shape. 

 

Once we built up some wire ties we began the most fun part of the build, stitching together the sides, bulkheads, transoms and bottom. 

 

More wires are needed. 

 

Next step was stitching together the keel joint of the bottom pieces… then unfolding it onto the hull skeleton. 

 

Unlike my 72 year old 6’5” body, the kids are just the right size to crawl underneath the hull and poke the ends of the wire to the other side for someone to twist together. (I DID get my body on the floor and onto my side to snap a couple photos of the busy kids.)

 

 

We tightened the ties and made sure everything seemed to fit well. 

I had to take a photo of my old fence pliers that I used to build chain link and other fencing during my college summers back in ‘72-‘75.  The pliers had all kinds of uses and could be made to do most anything, it seemed. No pliers I’ve seen had provide as much versatility: grab, throw with line attached, squeeze, cut, hammer, wrench, dig, hack, chip, and play mumblypeg.  One could even easily stick them into chain link to make a handy step that one could use to climb up or over the fence.  It was like an extension of my hand. 

 

Time now to do the flip and admire this new little boat.  It seems a LOT deeper than I anticipated. 

 

 

 

So, that’s roughly how the aft flotation tanks will be. 

 

After having a beer with my boys, the kids offered a concert they’d been preparing… complete with a program and tickets.  We’ve provided the girls piano lessons and the boy karate classes (he played various percussion instruments from our basement.)

 

 

 

Then, after a couple hours of wild cousin playtime outside, we had a hotdog/Polish sausage supper, after which my boys and I altered the cradle for the upright position and temporarily installed the gunwales. We’ll glue them in in the morning. 

 

My son brought up his canoe-building clamps to add to the ones I had on hand.  He reminded me that I bought his some years ago.
 

I like the look of this little boat. I think we can have some fun with it.  After tomorrow I won’t be home for four weeks when I’ll pick up the project again.  I heard that the kids might agree on a color scheme, patterning it after the blue/yellow/white of Avocet and possibly naming it EMO, the first letters of each of the three grandkids’ names.  We might have a plan. 
 

FOOTNOTE: My boys’ families wanted to leave in the next morning. Rather than doing the epoxy/glue work first thing in the day, I decided to leave the gunwales clamped into position for the four week trip that begins tomorrow.  A benefit of this lazy plan is that the gunwale strips will likely retain a lot the current shape and will be that much easier to glue them into place when I return. 

[Don Silsbe]

What a great project!  Y’all are going to love that little boat.

[Andy B]

Ted, this warms my heart so much!  I love it!

 

Also, I'm half-finished with my masthead float.  My daughter saw the fish shape, and I showed her your floats with the fishy paint design.  Guess what she wants now!!!!

[PadrePoint]

8 hours ago, Andy B said:

Guess what she wants now!!!!

HA!! I used a small piece of plywood I had from a previous build and substituted it for the more aerodynamically shaped fin which came with the kit. It took a while after painting the floats to figure out how to make the faces and “gills”… trial and error with paper cutting. 
 

BTW, fiberglassing the float was interesting, putting 2D material over a 3D shape.  I found that wet glass cloth is surprisingly flexible to shape toward the 3D thing. Though I glassed it, likely painting it with epoxy and paint would have sufficed. 

[Andy B]

The fiberglass went on much easier than I thought.  For anyone making it, my suggestion is to be aggressive with cutting darts in the cloth, both in the number of darts and how high up you cut them (into the area where you are wetting the fiberglass).  It made it much easier.

I just did the thick coat of epoxy last night and I don't like how it turned out.  I think I had the epoxy too thick (Alan's video says make it like honey; maybe we have different honey jars!).  It will be okay, I just have some more sanding to do.  At worst it is just cosmetic on something that is usually seen from 20 feet away.

[PadrePoint]

I returned from our 4-week vacation in June: a resort week in Palm Springs (kinda hot… but a DRY heat ) and a couple weeks in our resort 3,000 feet above Carson Valley and Lake Tahoe.  Hiking is our primary activity.  Just below our resort was the starting / ending line of the Tahoe 200 ultramarathon… 200 miles in but a few days… astounding.  (We saw some racers passing us on the trails.)

 

 

We drove “Route 66” out there (parts of the original highway), the Pacific Highway 1 to San Francisco, and finally a three-day 2,000 mile route back home… almost an “oil change” distance of driving during our trip. 
 

OK, today I was finally able to return to the Two Paw project to glue the three-piece gunwales to the top of the sides.  The boat is only wired still, but the installed gunwales give it some stiffness.  I always feel grimy after a bunch of epoxy work… a shower helps me feel better. 

 

Not an exciting job today but it will let me start epoxy-tacking the joints in preparation for the next epoxy work… filleting and taping all the inside joints.  I don’t want the grandkids dealing with epoxy but I might be able to get them here to cut strips of fiberglass tape to fit.  If one of my boys comes up, we could fillet and tape the joints fairly quickly. 
 

I do enjoy the idea of building a boat in the basement, like LeRoy Gibbs.  Actually, I built an 8’ Glen L 3-point hydroplane in my basement during my 8th grade year and managed to get it up the stairs that led straight to the back door.  Clearances were rather close and it was a bit of a squeeze. 

[54bullwinkle]

Great project and a great memory made

 

Wow.    I have those same pliers with a short handle.   They were my dad’s, and must 75 - 80 years old at least.     My favorite tool.   I had been searching for years to see who made them with no luck.  

[PadrePoint]

I took a couple hours today to tack all the joints.  Tomorrow I will cut and remove all the wire stitches.  Then I can begin putting in fillets and tape to the joints.  
 

Two grandkids will be up here over the 4th of July weekend.  I’d like them to be able to cut the boat in half when they are here (how fun will THAT be?) and fit some stringers for the flotation tanks.  I have some tasks to do before they get here, and almost a week to do so. 
 

I intend to put side flotation tanks in the bow along the order of what Don Silsbe did with his.  I have to create them as that isn’t part of the plans. 

The hull should feel solid tomorrow and more so when the taping of all the joints is done. 

[PadrePoint]

On 6/26/2026 at 12:16 AM, 54bullwinkle said:

Wow.    I have those same pliers with a short handle.   They were my dad’s, and must 75 - 80 years old at least.     My favorite tool.   I had been searching for years to see who made them with no luck.  

Bullwinkle, I was issued a pair when I began working for a fence company during college summers.  We were encouraged to take them to the grinder to round out the sharp edges to improve their effectiveness with wire ties and building fences.  When summer help left we were able to take our pliers with us.  I lost mine when crawling around an attic doing some work with wires… a most sad loss.  I looked for years in the attic and stores… couldn’t find them or a replacement. 
 

Years later I stopped at the fence company to visit my much older boss.  I asked whether I could buy a pair from the company, and he simply gave me his.  I consider it a fondly received gift and they always remind me of him, guys I worked with, and the long days of manual labor building and repairing fences, residential and commercial. 
 

This pair looks very similar to mine:

https://toolguy.com/shop/10-round-nose-utica-fence-pliers-toolguy-3/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22869832994&gbraid=0AAAABAi8rYdp_WpsjewM7EujyqZJvmwAw&gclid=CjwKCAjw6f3RBhApEiwAMaCqWec19Q5WpqMhT3VTJMsxHOjRXG07UCEj23m1arQhF2HXPS30OAZnxBoCxOcQAvD_BwE

[54bullwinkle]

Thanks Padre

You actually helped me quite a bit.   I started looking for fencing pliers and Crescent makes one similar 

 

My dad was a shoemaker and these were his favorite 

 

 

[PadrePoint]

Not much done today, I gave the boat only 90 minutes or so (due to tasks of the day and kinda low motivation.  )

 

But, I used my trusty fence pliers to remove all the stitching wires (yep, I got on my back under the hull to remove the wires along the keel.)  With the joints being tacked the boat feels quite solid.  I took a chisel to remove those little errant epoxy drops, clumps that formed around wires, and some sharp points. My shop vac picked all the schnibbles on the bottom (a Milwaukee word from my wife, a great “catch all”).  This makes things ready for fillets and tape on the joints, my next task. 

 

And, I caught up with a small task I “coulda/shoulda” done before the kids wired the boat together… I drilled holes in the nesting bulkheads for the 1/4” connecting bolts.  Don Silsbe had clued me in a couple years ago to a handy tool to make perpendicular holes and I believe that the holes are true. 

 

I have to drive 150 miles in the morning, do some tasks that get us ready for house guests, and then meet a guy in the afternoon who I’ll orient to sailing my CS 17’ Mark 3 boat in our local sailboat races. I’ll be using my CS 15’ in the races as well. This will be the first time both of my cat ketch boats will be on the course at the same time.  Hoping there is some wind this week and that rain will hold off. 

[Don Silsbe]

Those pliers are called lineman’s pliers.  I have my dad’s pair.  He was an electrician, not a lineman.

 

@Ted Johanson  Don’t forget the two 1/4” locator holes in the bulkhead pair.  Those four holes will ensure perfect placement for your Quick Connect hardware.

[PadrePoint]

No progress in the build until today, the last week of August. With a later than anticipated start on the project, a month away in June, and a busy summer with activities and family (and not a lot of motivation to do epoxy work) I haven’t touched the boat for two months.  I had already decided it will be finished to start summer of 2027 rather than try completing the boat this year… so urgency isn’t part of the build. 
 

But, today I started on the fillet and taping on the inside joints.  When the kids were visiting this summer there wasn’t much of a chance to have them cut appropriate sized fiberglass tape for all the joints.  Rather than wait for another visit I just decided to let that be my first task today. 

 

Then, I made thickened epoxy and placed fillets to each of the joints. 

 

I know, it looks about the same with fillets over the tacking I did in June, but it’s ready for taping. I watched a couple tv shows as a break to let the epoxy stiffen.  It only took about 90 minutes or so for me to place the fillets.  Having built a couple boats I found I was reasonably adept at making fillets evenly shaped without having much extraneous epoxy lumps or bumps. I guess my experience is making it a smoother process. 
 

I waited a few hours to let the fillets firm up and applied fiberglass tape later in the day.  I don’t know where I’d seen the technique but I decided to whet the tape pieces on a piece of plastic and bring the epoxied tape to the desired location rather than what I’ve always done, whetting the tape in place.  I also taped together a couple of my cheap 2” disposable brushes, making it a faster applicator of epoxy. The taping job was 90 minutes or so… then I took a post-expoxy-work shower. 

I have a couple small spots still to tape and more layers of glass tape to add to the nesting bulkhead. I will next cut and install stringers and figure out when I’ll paint coats of epoxy onto everything.  I suppose that the boat can be cut in half most anytime that the grandkids are able to get up here to do it.  I’d like to have them help to install a few things like floatation tank tops or hot glue a few pieces that I can then epoxy.  (I think I can figure out how to minimize their exposure to epoxy and still do some tasks.). Painting will be their primary activity once the build is done. 

[PadrePoint]

Three days of 3-4 hours each — slow stuff

Progress is less “fast” as I get into the fitting of parts and taking care of lots of details. The weekend started with 90 minutes of scraping the hardened tape to be a bit smoother, especially the raised edges of the tape, and cleaning up all the little glass strings, “fuzzies” and little drips that are part of messy fiberglass work… just part of the process.
 

I then finally cut off the ends of the gunwales that I left about 4” long on both ends.  Gunwales are made of three thin layers and I decided to bevel the inside layer to make the gunwale vertical rather than recessing to the angle of the hull’s side.  I decided that I want to use a belt sander to smooth out the top of the gunwales and my belt sander is over 45 years old.  It spits out a lot of dust.  Since I am building this in my basement shop and don’t want to send dust into the house, I’m using this task as my reason to order a DeWalt belt sander to use in the basement (it has a dust collection system and I can also connect it to my shop vac… should be much better, since I’m trying to minimize mess in the basement and house.)  It should be arriving mid-week.  Always good to have jobs that require my getting a new tool. 

 

The nesting bulkheads require many layers of fiberglass in the stress points; I took care of these 30 or so tape pieces over the weekend. 

 

I worked on the bow deck and mast step over the weekend. I sanded and fit the deck piece and “king plank” piece underneath it. This is by design a flotation tank but I decided to create flotation tanks on both sides of the bow section and opened up the bow tank… maybe for storing water bottles, lunch, or other stuff the kids would want when they start doing their adventurous sailing in this boat. 

Instead of making a mast tube I bought a two foot piece of PVC pipe.  After enlarging the hole in the deck to accommodate the pipe I was able to start figuring out where a mast step should go. (I will have the PVC extend up only a couple inches above the bow deck so that I can run a hitch pin through it and the mast, assuring that the mast will not fall out in a capsize.)

The bushings on the mast needed to be sanded down a bit to fit inside the PVC tube.  Success.  And, I could hook up my shop vac to my table sander to sand all the parts and the bushings… no mess. 

Today, I cut all the stringers I need (well, not quite ALL the stringers.. I still need a few more for the yet-to-be-designed bow side tanks… later.)  I cut bevels into the stringers so that each top edge will be flat to receive the seat tops. It took some time to figure out the angles needed for the bevels, but I think I got them. 

I rounded all the exposed edges on the parts yet to install. 

 

For the stringers I used an 8’ deck board from Lowe’s. Unlike a lot of their wood, deck boards are usually quite straight and made with clear southern yellow pine (pressure treated.)  I’ve been happy with using the 5/4 deck boards (1” thick) as a source for lumber.  Being treated means the wood is still kinda wet and moist when purchased and I set them in the sun a few hours to start drying them.  They will be OK when I am ready to make the installations.  The three pieces at the bottom of the photo are still useful leftover pieces. 

The mast step was made from two deck board scraps from a previous project.  I managed to make a good fit to the bottom. I bought a PVC end-cap for the PVC tube that will help when installing it permanently… the end can be rotated and then glued in to support the tube when it is finally installed.  A hole was cut in the end-cap and a channel was cut in the top layer of the step for drainage. And, I previously cut an open space in the bottom “point” of the bulkhead for this forward “tank” space to drain into the forward cockpit.  It will be a while before I finish everything in the bow area. 

My last step on my third day was to begin putting coats of epoxy onto surfaces I won’t be able to reach once parts are installed.
 

Over the three days, I worked about 10 hours.  Now I need to let the epoxy cure before more coats are added. I also need to fill the fiberglass tape and do a bunch of typical sanding… noticeable progress will be slow for a while. 

[PadrePoint]

Another day of fiddling and fitting

I cut stringers for the tanks/seats in both sections yesterday. They are very stiff and will likely misshape the sides with “straightening” force if I install them as they are. I put clamps and a spacer on a couple pieces overnight but it didn’t make much progress with that approach. 

 

 

So, I decided to rip each of them in half to about 3/8” thickness.  Like the plan calls for in making the gunwales, I will glue them in place in two layers.  The biggest challenge was to label the pieces as pairs with the correct orientations with the bevels.  I think I’ll be satisfied with this layer approach but it might take a while to shape each of them for good fit to receive the plywood. I now have a lot of stringer pieces for the flotation planks in the aft section.  I actually enjoy making the pieces and ends fit with the multiple bevels and angles; my bandsaw and tabletop belt sander make this doable.   Right now, the boat is quite light, but I’m sure the upcoming installations and epoxy layers will add weight.  I’m hoping it will be light enough for my grandkids to man-handle  

 

My DeWalt cordless sander arrived today (great to have a purpose or task to justify the purchase. )  It was time to try it out on a section of a gunwale.  Nice!  
Yes, I know that a real craftsman would use a plane, but I’m not a real craftsman, just a guy who enjoys building stuff.

It seems like the sander uses a lot of battery but I have six or seven available.  I didn’t hook my shop vac to the sander and wanted to see the effectiveness of the dust collection system built into the sander.  It was OK but there was plenty of sanding dust that didn’t get into the dust bag.  I am going to like having this new power tool. 

 

I also ripped in half the bow’s beveled stringers that I cut yesterday and I figured out details on HOW I shall make tanks/seats on each side of the bow section.  Again, lots of stringer pieces to install… about two dozen or so.)
But, after a few hours of fiddling with all this since lunch I decided I just didn’t want to do any epoxy work today.  (I see this project as a hobby rather than a press to finish the build.)  I approached my CS15 build in 2020 in an intensive way, launching it (without sails) three months after picking up the kit from B&B.  So, instead of spending another couple hours in epoxy work, I decided it’s time for a late afternoon beer and snacks prior to taking my wife out for loaded chips and a burger. 
All of the halved stringers will be there for another day. 

After supper, with waning daylight, I took a 10 mile bike ride, mostly on a crushed granite trail through the woods, much of it along the Wisconsin River.  It was twilight in the woods but light enough on the road back to my house.