Years ago (about 15 to 20)someone in maine made a strip built car body for a vw dune buggy chasis. It got publicity in the local papers but it used some pretty primitive strip techniques. I have no idea what became of it

> I bought a Pygmy Coho two months ago. It's still in the box. I didn't have
> the guts to assemble it right away; after months of checking out this
> website it became clear there is a big learning curve involved with
> getting the desired, 'proper' finish, whichever one a person decides upon.
> Maybe I was needlessly intimidated by the display of experience and skill
> I see here, but there you are.

> I guess my fragile ego would have been embarrassed to paddle around in a
> self-assembled craft showing all the flaws of a beginner. Also, I
> hesitated to put myself at risk if there was a built-in flaw to my
> methods.

> So after messing about with some small panels, I decided on an
> introductory project first: a shell for my pickup truck, also known in
> other parts of this country as a topper. Nothing elaborate, just a
> roof-high enclosure, but made using the stripper method. I figured it'd be
> better to have a wet truck in case of failure than attempt a self-rescue
> in the Great Wet.

> The project contains many if not all of the elements of boat building:
> figuring a design, building a form, milling strips, assembly methods,
> glass cloth and epoxy, sanding, etc. Make that a LOT of sanding, which I
> take to be the #1 indicator of a beginner.

> Some aspects turned out to be good beginner learning points: As the topper
> is just under 7' long, readily available 8' lumber was convenient. Most
> all the curves are gentle, so I just used 1/4" strips ripped out of
> 2X4s, and after bead and cove milling, I had 1 + 3/8" strips. The
> size of the project is also less demanding of precious shop space.

> So it's on the truck now while I wait a few weeks to varnish. I haven't
> yet figured out the rear end panel so it's simply open at the back, but it
> doesn't look too bad at all, and now that we're at the beginning of the
> rainy season up here near Seattle I'm glad I can keep most of the rain
> out.

> One of my secret hopes is that someone else with the same model pickup
> will buy it right off the truck, then I can do it again with the benefits
> of prior experience. Seems to be the kind of thing that one gets better at
> with every project.

> So anyway, if you're one of those folks out there like me who want to
> craft and build a boat someday but are somewhat unsure of your skills,
> consider trying something else first that uses those skills. I'm no George
> Roberts (yet!), but I can aspire along those lines, and there is enough
> room in this field to keep a person interested for a lifetime.

> Thanks to all you folks, regulars or not, who contribute their thoughts
> and experience to this website. I've stolen as many ideas as I can, so I
> thought I'd toss this one out there.

> Anyone else do something similar?

> I laid out the Pygmy parts on the shop floor last night... .