Imagine my pleasure to be featured on Jeff Spira’s blog!
Thanks Jeff for all your help. Thanks for the design and the continual support you gave answering dozens of questions along the way. All this for about 75 bucks!
I remember the days when the Sharpie was a dream and looked like this,
Just a bunch of form and matter.
Then it began to get more form.
I maintain that the gorilla glue is going to hold just fine. But admittedly epoxy would be a little more reassuring. Just too expensive for me.
Front view. Sheer clamps attached!
That was a long time ago.
Then with the addition of finished plywood, it looked like this for a considerable length of time:
I like the rudder- laminate oak
Then the sails (made out of a quality drop cloth from Sherwin Williams), the trailer from Craigslist, some rope, eye hooks, pulleys, cleats, and Voila!
Two boat builders!
Now we need to learn how to sail!
We decided to name her the Stephanie Anne for two reasons. the first is that we thought the name was so lovely and appropriate. The second was to express our gratitude for the lovely woman, her namesake, who patiently endured this two-year project.
Classical Catholic Education 
Congratulations to all! God bless the original Stephanie Anne for her patient endurance! There is, however, a rumor that as a result of some shortcuts, the sailing wasn’t without taking on water which resulted in …glub, glub, glub…idle gossip? Well, your son will have a fond, lifelong memory of those two years given to Dad and sharpie.
Congratulations! She looks yar.
How well does this boat handle? Is it tippy? I am thinking of building one for my grandkids.
I am happy to report that it is not the least bit tippy. I have been out on Lake Erie many times with it and have never feared capsizing. Now – as far as the handling goes I find that I am able to sail very well downwind but have trouble getting back without the aid of a battery operated trolling motor. So I would definitely get one of those.
This is not really a criticism-because the Sharpie is by design a flat bottomed boat, so naturally it does not tack very well. But as a flat bottomed boat its stability is excellent. We had a great time building it and have no regrets.