I was sure I was going to build a boat. I would build a rugged Colin Archer-type sailboat, or better yet, that Bristol Channel Cutter that Lyle Hess designed. I would sail a fantastic journey around the world as Joshua Slocum once did, then sail back to my home in Alaska to cheering crowds that would welcome my safe return.

I have over a half-dozen traditional boat building books and another two dozen boat voyaging books in my library. I have six sets of boat building plans and a couple of decade-old subscriptions to boating magazines. I have visited hundreds of boat-related web sites, and if there were a marina anywhere near where I would happen to be visiting, you could be sure that I would be spending some time there. Now, this can be considered either a lot or a little for daydreaming about boats, but it certainly has fueled my enthusiasm over the years. But now...half a lifetime has passed...and I still have not built my dream boat...nor have I done any circumnavigating lately.

But when we got home, my enthusiasm began to diminish as I realized that my ability to fulfill my promise was not very likely. There are reasons, valid ones, that come up every time I start to think about building a boat:

• I have no money
• I have no place to build a boat
• I have no boat building skills
• I have neither the time to build nor enjoy such a boat
• I have no blue water experience anyway
• I still have no money

My girlfriend has heard me speak of these reasons before. I'm not sure if she was just annoyed with me, or if she was truly being understanding, inspirational, and supportive, but she turned to me and in a soft voice said, "John, why don't you just build a boat?" It was not really a question; it sounded more like a command thinly veiled as a suggestion. "You really think I can build a boat?"

After additional discourse, we are both convinced that I can build a boat. Now, it won't be a world cruiser, but it doesn't have to be--I already live in one of the greatest cruising areas in the world. Prince William Sound is practically at my doorstep. The boat I will build will be the biggest boat that one person can comfortably row. Primary power will come from an outboard motor, of course. It will have a covered area in the bow (boat term for "up front") where one or two people can get out of the weather. I'll get more into the details a bit later.