Well this was a year I’d like to remember. Late last fall I was diagnosed with chronic Lyme disease and what we think is a case of mercury poisoning mixed in. Between that and the drugs they gave me I was a mess. Imagine crushing fatigue, a bad hangover and experiencing a senior moment, 24/7. At times I couldn’t even complete a sentence much less a thought. To my surprise I discovered I felt better when I was distracted by building something, so I figured I’d build another boat and ordered Black Pearl plans from Björn Thomasson.

It was like building the boat drunk but I felt better when I was working on it. As soon as I stopped for the day I instantly felt like crap again. The brain fog never left though. I found myself staring at the boat forcing myself to concentrate more than once. The concentration was the cure.

It had been 5 years since my last boat and every boat I like to try something new so I figured I would stain this one. I was trying for a homemade look which I think is beautiful on Greenland style kayaks. I even purposely put staple holes in for the effect. Then the test strip I stained came out purple. The cloth and epoxy darkened it into a gorgeous brown so it was quite a leap of faith when I stained my hull dark purple. That's when I found out anxiety isn’t part of the cure.

Well it is finally done. We launched it this past weekend and I took a few pics.

http://homegrownboats.imgur.com/all

It paddles and rolls better than I could have hoped. So if you ever find yourself with a mind altering disease... try building a building a boat.