I applied four coats of Wood Pro varnish on the inside and the gunwales, screwed in the oar sockets and couldn’t wait to get the boat on water. Friday afternoon was D-Day. First I had to solve how to get the boat to the water. I still haven’t purchased a trailer. I took an old futon mattress and threw it on the top of my Subaru and car topped the wherry as recommended in the Pygmy’s manual. The recommended technique could kill a frail person though as the wherry is probably over 100lbs heavy. I flipped it on the top of the transom and slowly lowered it onto the back of the car. (that was the hard part). Then I lifted it up by the transom and pushed it further onto the roof. The mattress is necessary because the wherry is wider than the roof and would scratch the paint. All in all it is a doable procedure although a bit nerve-racking. I will have to get a trailer soon.

Here are some photos.

http://www.widereach.net/rodina/images/wherry/wherrylaunch1.jpg
http://www.widereach.net/rodina/images/wherry/wherrylaunch2.jpg
http://www.widereach.net/rodina/images/wherry/wherrylaunch3.jpg
http://www.widereach.net/rodina/images/wherry/wherrylaunch4.jpg

The rest will be posted on the wherry web site soon and I will repost the url when it’s ready.

I just want to thank so much to this bulletin board. Without the help of so many wonderful people here I would have never gone over the anxieties of stitching, using epoxy, filleting, glassing and everything else that goes with building a boat. THANK YOU!