ORANGE — Terry Reed had proven to himself he could build a boat. He had crafted a canoe and two kayaks, even winning the Adult Kayakers division in the 3-mile race at the sixth annual Millers River Challenge in 2014.
The Orange resident was happy with how those watercraft turned out. So Reed, who recently turned 73, decided to tackle a bigger project.
“I said, ‘I’m going to take the plunge and build a sailboat,’” Reed recounted.
He launched a 15-foot dinghy from Tully Lake’s Royalston ramp in August in the presence of a few inquisitive onlookers. The project took Reed a year and a half, plugging away on weekends and the occasional evening. He used tools and specialty African plywood from a business in the Boston area. He also scoured boat-building websites before purchasing dinghy plans from the website of John Welsford, a boat designer in New Zealand.
“It was all in millimeters, which is a little bit of a challenge,” Reed said.
The completed boat is 4 feet, 5 inches wide and he estimates the weight at slightly less than 200 pounds. He said it is designed to be used as a sailboat, rowboat or motorboat, although it is strictly a rowboat for the time being as he has not yet installed a mast or a motor.
Reed mentioned he plans to add the sailing components over the winter. He explained if he adds a motor the watercraft will need to be inspected by an environmental police officer and registered.
Reed carts around the dinghy on a trailer he registered at a Registry of Motor Vehicles in a process that took longer than usual, as he could not simply walk in the door. Restrictions in place to combat the spread of COVID-19 forced him to call and make an appointment.
He said he built the boat mainly so he and his wife, Ann, could sail together. He hopes to explore the North Quabbin area and eventually use the dinghy to visit relatives in upstate New York. Reed said he had become nostalgic for the motorboats he had as a child in Indiana and the sailboat he had a few decades ago.
“I kind of missed sailing,” he said.
Reed said he received positive feedback on his boat from fellow boat enthusiasts, including Welsford, after he posted to an online forum connected with Welsford’s designs.
Reed has chronicled the crafting of each of his four wooden boats on his blog, lightweightboatbuilding.com.
Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 262.