Well here she is. 15 months ago I started this boat by testing out the Guillmot line's stability by rocking Nick's boats in a snow bank, out front of his magic barn. I chose the GE.
I chose slow because I wanted to pick Nicks brain for as long as I could get away with and found I really enjoyed him and his way of thinking about boats. At the time, I was planning on putting a rudder
on her. His comment was build it first try her out and see if you still think she needs one. Nick you were right! Guess after a couple of hundred of them you get the small stuff down pat. Thanks! I can't
believe the handling this boat puts out for the size of her. I added some LOA and she screams speed, but still turns easily for a 20 footer and she rolls with ease. Nick, I love the design and I really appreciate
all the help as I tweaked and twisted the design a bit. You have been more then helpful thanks.

Figuring out what she should look like was a 3 month process all its own. In the end, I made a list of flavors and forms I wanted to incorporate into her. Much of it old Norse forms, some of it forms I find
repeating in nature and much of it forms that link to her name Vesilind. Its an archaic viking word that translates very roughly into English as Path of the Loon/Milkyway/path to Valhala. Its all wrapped up in
the Old Norse mythologies, to long in the telling for this venue. So you may find visuals that link to those ideas as well. I put all of that through sort of a filter of abstraction to sort of integrate and understate
the flavors into a single vessel.

She has seven species of wood in her. I tried to experiment a lot on this boat. The herring bone on the bottom of the boat is one such experiment. I wanted to see if I could bring the visual of the hull up into
the deck in a contrasting way. I added inches to the bow and stern just to accentuate the upward sweep at both ends. That was less about performance and more about adding the old bow sprite look to the
boat that I like so much. so this GE is 20 feet even. The shield behind the cockpit is 1/2 inch red wood with 3/8th recessed basswood strips between them. Getting the recesses to cover, but not fill was quite
a task. I carried the pattern of the deck through the cockpit. combing. The mid line of the deck is a single strip turned up with the bead showing. It reminded me of the Inuit Kayaks I saw when I lived
inWestern Greenland some had a small carved panel on the mid line. Experimentation was not limited just to forms, but in process.We are built 3 boats and tried to vary each building step to give us a good
idea of what works best for us. We also tried to get creative with what you can build into a boat. She sports a through the cockpit hatch cinch system.. Her carry knots are double reverse barrels, often
known as the fishing knot. Very easy on the knuckles. while carrying. She is built heavy as I like to play in the shoals. She Is #6 F/G everywhere but the deck top which is #4 F/G.

Ok big huge thank you's. Nick from the git go and all the way through. All of you on the BBS. If you look closely you'll see all your ideas in this boat. I grabbed a lot of f the previous posts. And the
present discussions over the last 15 months kept me thinking, ever adding grist to the mill. Besides all of that The community of the BBS just added fun of building. Huge thank you to Michael Vermouth at
New Found And all of his gang. I have milled strips and bought strips. Each has its own purpose. But the New Found gang always new what boat I was building, what I needed next. Half the fun was seeing
what they were doing in there shop. They don't just sell stuff they are a good resource to talk you through the next step weather your experienced or a new guy. Besides hanging out with Boat builders is fun.
I'll recommend these guys. They have done right by me through 4 boats now. Thanks to the Rendezvous Group. I learned a ton in the technical sessions and just plane enjoyed the community of boat builders.
I've faired a number of baots before and I still got a lot out of Rob Mack's fairing and finishing and stapless talks. Thanks Rob. Spidey your Varnishing with a rag, beat the sprayer hands down. John Monfoe
for sparking nearly daily the why not attitude and the skills of a pattern maker. All the Norse men on the board. George Cushing for making the BBS such a comfortable place to talk shop. Ross Liedy for his lids and a million other good ideas. Kent and Joe for showing me what is possible on the other end of the bell curve. rehd for being the only Postal worker I know who can kill you by making ya laugh so hard you can't breath. (See his steamer bong) And all
of you who don't have winter so long who remind us that after we build it we jsut might have a few weeks to paddle it too. Gotta thank my shop buddy RIck who kept passing hte hot coffee and the good ideas, and my wife who proves that no one should ever underestimate the charity of a woman. And my kids who make everything fun. In the end, your all in this boat. So don't all turn at once or we'll sink this thing. Thanks again! The good fortune has been mine, the success is yours!

!RUSS

!PS HEre is a Chaser Its a picture from our spring Splash down