: Greetings all, progress on the Walrus is going well. This week I will be
: installing the gunwales which is why Im posting.

: I need to know if any body has opinions on the locations for the gunwales
: given as standard in Putz's book. Im 5'9" tall and wear a 9.5"
: shoe. I expect they are fine for somebody like me but what about the
: people who invariably will borrow the boat who wear a size 11? Im thinking
: perhaps I should raise the height slightly but am not sure. Its more
: complicated also as I plan to make the cockpit of the keyhole type. I also
: would like to use the boat for camping occasionally. I know that the
: gunwale height is not the end of the story since the deck beams can be
: made higher or lower as well.

: So if anybody has any good insight as to how the standard gunwale height
: works out in practice please let me know.

: Thanks in advance. Im really enjoying this project even working outside in
: the 107 degree weather it is great. Ive had no major mishaps yet and am
: learning so much. The first few joints I did were probably more epoxy than
: wood but Im getting the hang of it now.

: Kirk

Hi Kirk

The dropped floors were from Roger Nuffer, on his Wally. His Web-Site is down as far as I know, but if you look down the list and see his name on a post, then click his message, you can get his email after his name and email him. He will give you the skinny on the floors I'm certain.

AS for the Gunwales, if You look at Mike Hanks, Roger Nuffer and Bill Price's sites, they have all built them and you will see that all the Wallies sit very high in the water. I'm building the 18 1/2'er and I was also thinking of altering the gunwales for that reason. I wanted to lower them about 2" so that the boat would sit a bit lower in the water. But, since I have already offered the boat to someone else, I decided to leave them in the stock position. It's a double and these folks are both in the 200 lb. range so the stock height will be fine. I had no intention of camping, but rather just wanted to play with it and learn in it. I've got a couple of pics of mine, although not too good of quality, but you can see how high they look when done. I'm just now getting the cockpit underway, and as you, I don't want to use Putz' style of cockpit, so I'm using a modified one as well. Mine is an open double for reasons of easy entry and exit.

I agree that it is a lot of fun and a good learning experience as well. That and the cost factor is easy on the budget as well. Mine will be under $200.00, as most of the rest of the group have done. I've over built mine as it's design is for mostly in the 150 to 180 lb range and I'm around 240, so there's a little problem.

Mike Hanks did a few minor modifications to his plywood Wally, so You might also ask him about what he did and why. I remember that he was very happy with the results.

If I build another, I will definitely lower the gunwales as I like seeing the boats that sit down in the water.

The deck is pretty much left up to you as Putz gives the over view and tells you to do your own thing on it. I gave mine a little lift so my 13's will fit in it, but, probably not comfortably. It's around 10" inside at the front of the cockpit.

Good Luck and most of all have fun. I'm like you, it's around 105* here and higher in the garage, but, no mater........

Enjoy and if you decide to modify something, let us know and take pics. as well.

Rehd