I wanted to thank everyone here who responded to my needlessly worrisome posts earlier this year during my Chesapeake 17LT build.

I started in mid-April with a goal of hitting the water by July 4. Almost immediately, I had to pause for a couple weeks due to unseasonably cool weather that left me nervous about the epoxy in a cold garage.

I picked back up in earnest in early May. I worked on it a little bit almost every day from then until I finished putting in my thigh braces and perimeter line on July 2! 

So far, I've had it out twice on a local lake for a total of ten miles. What a dream to paddle. I'm hoping to get it onto Chesapeake Bay later this week for a real shakedown.

Did I make some mistakes along the way? So many. Do I wish I'd done more than a few things differently? Absolutely. Am I going to build another boat? Definitely, but not in 2023. My wife won't give up her garage again this year. 

PS - She got her first scratches when I was loading it on my car the first time. The boat and I both survived.