Why build a boat?

That's the big question, isn't it?  Why would anyone spend the time and effort to build a boat that could be purchased and put to use immediately.  Well, I am a do it yourselfer and have always wanted to build a boat.  I don't know why, it must be a genetic defect.  My original thoughts were to build a small sailboat.   When Katie and I lived in Massachusetts we always loved sailing, having owned a Hunter 25.  When we moved to St. Louis and had kids, the options and interest for boating were put on the back burner.   As the kids got older, I thought of building a small day-sailer that could be used on Creve Coeur Lake, a small lake in the St. Louis area.  I was looking at the Shellback Dinghy that was published by WoodenBoat magazine. 

That changed in 2010 when we bought a condo in Lake of the Ozarks, a large lake complex in mid-Missouri.  The condo included a dock waiting for a boat to occupy the space.  The Lake has miles of water to explore and sailing is pretty much non-existent on this lake.  It is a dammed up river and has lots of long, narrow channels, but not much open area for sailing.  So, a motor boat was now the vessel of choice.  After much web searching, I decided the Glen-L Malahini was a good choice for what I wanted.   I bought the plans from Glen-L in February and starting the process of understanding the plans,  web searching for materials, and looking locally for oak, mahogany and marine plywood.