Journal of the Molly B

Welcome to the condensed, on line  version, of the journal of my boat building project.
        For a detailed  printed version of my journal, order below.         

You can take a tour of my on line journal and monitor my construction progress by using the "Boat Yard" link
 or use the "Site Map" link to go directly to a specific page or subject. 

The Building of a Dream - Vol. I

You can purchase a detailed printed copy of  "The Building of a Dream -- Journal of the Molly B " Volume I, by simply clicking on the cover picture to the left. Volume I contains 152 pages with 396 photographs, each with a detailed personal explanation of how I did it and covers construction from conception to the turning of the hull.

The Building of a Dream - Vol. II

Volume II of my journal is now available. You can purchase a printed copy of Volume II by clicking on the cover picture to the left. It took a long time, just like the actual building of my boat, but it is finally in print. Volume II is 153 pages with over 450 pictures and drawings depicting how I did it. Volume II gets into the more complicated aspects of boat building from a bare hull all the way through engine and drive shaft installation. Like volume I, volume II is a step by step detailed narrative of how and why I did it along with at least one photo or drawing for each step along the way.

    I have been looking at boats for many years, motor sailors, houseboats, and trawlers.  I decided I wanted to build one, so I started by doing a lot of research on the subject.  I think I have purchased every book on the subject I could find. After several years of research, I decided I wanted to build a Trawler.  I started looking for plans and found a couple available from Glen-L. I ordered two different sets of plans, one for a 42 footer called the Argosy, and one for a 35 footer called the Yukon.  I liked the plan view of the Argosy but it was a little bigger than I wanted to attempt building.  The Yukon was a little smaller than I wanted and I didn't like the layout of the plan view.  I finally found a boat with the layout I liked, so I decided to use the Yukon plans and stretch them to about 40 feet and change the floor plan to the boat I found and put it onto the hull of the Yukon.  

To the left is a picture of what I hope my project will end up looking like when I'm done, with a few changes .  This is the Pacific Trawler 40 from the front cover of Passage Maker Magazine, Oct. 2002. 

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