Simple upgrade that took seven years
picnic below
ugly job but sufficient
tiny cabin in need of new paint
The DNR says your boat needs the VIN (hull number etc) somewhere permanent on your vessel. For a lot of production boats, this is stamped into the transom somewhere. But for a backyard built boat, you need to DIY.
I have used the boat on bay waters for the past seven years, with just a piece of paper stashed securely below which technically isn't permitted. So in the rain, I engraved the I.D. into one of my boat's frames -- it isn't a work of art but it does I.D. the vessel.
Also got my Harken swivel base turned 180 degrees to sheet aft instead of forward of the base! I can't beleive it took me seven years to make this safety adjustment.
I was on the boat for almost four hours. I am super glad I built a boat that has a cabin with sitting headroom. There's something very relaxing about sitting, dry and snug, in the cabin of a small wooden boat. The space could accommodate one more person, probably. But three folks below would be what Adlard Coles refers to as being accommodated in "bitter enmity."
So being on a small wooden boat, on floating dock, in the rain, I'll take one of the boat work days and call it a day on the water!