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DINGHIES OF DEEP COVE: 52 Sundays to seaworthy

Ted Newell and his grandson Jack, a Seycove senior, spent a year of Sundays building a power boat, which won first place in the under 30 feet category at the Granville Island Wooden Boat Show in late August.
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Ted Newell and his grandson Jack, a Seycove senior, spent a year of Sundays building a power boat, which won first place in the under 30 feet category at the Granville Island Wooden Boat Show in late August. We asked Ted and Jack to recap the bonding experience and the impressive boat built in the process.  

Deep Cove Crier: What sparked the idea to do this project together?   
Ted Newell: Jack was looking for a project and I wanted to do a project with him. As I recall we discussed building a go-kart, motorizing a bike or building a boat. Jack chose to build a boat. I had built a few small boats previously so I had some experience to bring to the project.

Deep Cove Crier: How many hours went into it?
Jack Newell: We spent 600 hours each on the project. We started the boat mid-July 2015 and finished it at the end of July 2016.

Deep Cove Crier: What tools/materials did use to build the boat?
Ted Newell: The boat is built to plans from Glen-L in California. The length is 10-foot-one and the beam is four-foot-three. The frames and transom are 3/4 inch mahogany marine plywood. The longitudinal members are solid mahogany and the sides, bottom and deck are Okoume marine plywood. The power tools we used included a table saw, cut-off saw, jointer, thickness planer, jigsaw, power plane, drill, impact driver and orbital sander. We also used various woodworking hand tools.

Deep Cove Crier: Is it seaworthy?
Ted Newell: The design is approximately 50 years old and thousands have been built. Glen-L has a website and many builders have posted videos of their completed boats on the site. Jack has had the boat up Indian Arm, through the Second Narrows, through First Narrows and into False Creek.

Deep Cove Crier: What is the most interesting thing you two learned about each other during this bonding experience?
Ted Newell: I learned that Jack is good with his hands, has innovative ideas and can commit to a long-term project.
Jack Newell: I learned a great deal about Ted, he has a great knowledge of woodworking skills, and that once he starts a project, he is very dedicated in finishing it.

Deep Cove Crier: Will you work on another boating project?

Ted Newell: I enjoyed the project and am ready to do it again.
Jack Newell: I would happily build another boat. I really enjoyed the project and personally think that it is a very rewarding project. I would love to build another boat if time and money allow. ■