At the Fort Lauderdale (FL)International Boat Show, Marlin Bree takes a rest beside some of the boats featured at the world's biggest boat show.

Helmer Aakvik "The Old Man and the Inland Sea" survived an epic ice storm on Superior in his 17-foot open skiff.

The Edmund Fitzgerald sank in a storm of mystery on Nov. 10, 1975 with all hands and now rests in more than 500 feet of cold Lake Superior water.

Persistence is towed behind the 1992 Suzuki Sidekick. Here Loris and I are on are way to Grand Portage, MN, along Superior's north shore.I'll be sailing Superior's northernmost arc.

Bree's Blog on Boatbuilding & Other Stuff


Time involved in building a boat your ownself

February 27, 2010

When I began building Persistence, I thought it would be easy to build a hull, even though I had not done it before.One mail-order boat plan outfit said I could build this hull in three weeks. Close. Only seven years later, I had the boat done and in the water.

Comments

  1. March 5, 2010 6:24 AM EST
    'Nailer or sailor'... as the saying goes! I've never built a boat from scratch - but have semi built old boats from the ground (hull up). S'pose it gets down to whether you want to spend more time sailing or building. Some thing very special though about sailing in something that is from your own hands. There was an old bloke at the beach years ago who built a pocket cruiser himself. He'd haul it above high water using a pully system he'd built. He was a chippy by trade, so the workmanship was A1. As a child I'd often go down to the dune and marvel at it. Something very true about an old ship carrying the hopes and dreams of all men ... Best, Ged
    - Ged
  2. March 18, 2010 10:26 AM EDT
    Lovely, Ged. I like those thoughts. Thank you.
    - Marlin Bree

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The Dangerous Book for Boaters
A humorous waterfront guide to the ways and wiles of boaters
Broken Seas
True tales of extraordinary seafaring adventures.
Wake of the Green Storm: A survivor's tale
Marlin Bree and his wooden boat survive "The storm of the Century's" 100 mph winds on Lake Superior. Now available on Amazon.com's Kindle. Only $7.96 including wireless delivery.
Call of the North Wind
Along the Shipwreck Coast by catamaran, the author retraces lost ships and finds sagas of heroic sea captains
In the Teeth of the Northeaster
A gripping adventure of a small boat skipper on one of the world's most dangerous bodies of water
Boat Log & Record
Third Edition. A best-selling pleasure boater's log book and record keeper
Alone Against the Atlantic
A ten-foot boat crosses the North Atlantic to a new world record. A classic nautical adventure!

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