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Boss builds boat

By NATE HUBBARD/Staff

Noah built a boat to preserve life on Earth.
Christopher Columbus took to the high seas in search of a “new world.”
And Christopher Boss constructed his vessel because, well, turning odds and ends into masterpieces is what he does.
Boss, a longtime Wytheville resident transplanted from his native Connecticut, is a computer program designer by trade. But although he is skilled with the latest technologies and fluent in new-fangled computer lingo, it’s the old-fashioned value of home production that he truly cherishes.
“People don’t work with their hands as much anymore,” Boss said.
The Pirogue boat is Boss’ most impressive of many self-built items at his home on Reed Lane. A Pirogue refers to a flat-bottomed vessel capable of skimming across shallow waters such as the bayous in Louisiana, one of the areas where the style became popular.
Boss said he built the boat a few years ago using instructions he downloaded off the Internet. From the basic design he added a variety of customized features, most notably constructing a removable mast and a bright green sail so the boat can be used as either a canoe or sailboat.
“You get to make things the way you want it to be,” he said about the benefit of building instead of buying.
The nameless craft (“It’s called ‘boat,’” Boss said) is a 15-footer, with 11-inch sides and a width of nearly 32 inches. The bottom is painted yellow and the top and interior have a dark wood stain. The boat weighs 70 pounds, light enough for two adults to carry it easily, Boss said.
In a demonstration in his backyard Monday afternoon, Boss showed how easy the conversion between sailboat and canoe can be, taking less than 5 minutes to pop off the mast and center board.
The main material used to build the boat was quarter-inch plywood. Boss said the key to sturdy construction, though, was a gallon and a half of fiberglass material that he used to coat both the outside and inside of the vessel.
“All I cared about was making it structurally sound,” he said.
While the wood for the boat was inexpensive, Boss said some of the other materials were costly. He had to use special high-grade fiberglass and all the nuts and bolts had to be stainless steel to prevent rusting.
“Little things like that add up,” he said.
Still, in total Boss estimated he spent only about $400 and he said without the sail and using some cheaper materials, a quality boat could be built for $250.
The boat has held up well. Boss has done some minor upkeep work, such as a new paint job just last week, but overall he said he has not had to repair much.
When he takes the boat out, Boss and his wife, Linda, usually go out on the New River. He said they haven’t put it in the water this summer, but he hopes to go when the weather is a bit cooler in September.
“You want some nice water where you can just relax and enjoy yourself,” he said, adding that the boat is not built to handle rough waters.
Although he said he enjoys getting out on the water, the building process itself was the main reason Boss decided to construct the vessel.
To pay the bills, he works on updates and offers technical support for his product EZGUI, which he describes as a “programming tool for other programmers.”
After long days in front of the computer screen, he said he likes to be able to get outside.
“I was more interested in the experience of building it,” he said about his initial motivation for constructing the boat.
Overall he estimated that he spent 30 hours assembling it, taking a leisurely pace and spreading the work out over a number of days.
In addition to the sailing rig, Boss also added floatation bulkheads complete with plastic portholes that can be opened for storage space in the front and back.
He said the customized design greatly improves the vessel’s safety.
“I can actually sink the boat completely full of water and I can stand in it,” he said. “I wouldn’t sink.”
Although he said building the craft was a positive experience, he has no plans to build another boat.
He plans to keep busy, though, with multiple home improvement projects. On a tour of his residence, he pointed out a multitude of self-constructed aspects in his 60-year-old house, which he and Linda have lived in since 1982.
Boss built the stairs, a number of cabinets and is now working on re-tiling the kitchen floor.
He said he lives by the “a penny saved is a penny earned” motto, taking bargains and spare parts and mixing in some inventiveness to make his creations. He added that Linda sews and also values self-made items, such as stitching a few of her own clothes.
Even though he has considerable woodworking talent, Boss said the boat project is one anyone can do. He encouraged other people to give it a try.
“It’s a lot of fun,” he said. “It’s a great project for a family, for a father and son for a weekend.”
Nate Hubbard can be reached at 228-6611 or .