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Well, after being encouraged to just make some sawdust, I finally did.  It's a very small start, but I'm pretty proud of it.  Some time around the New Year I will be a grandfather for the first time.  I thought the occasion deserved something of lasting value, thus... the Emily Rae!

I haven't put her name on the transom yet, or given her a finish, because I had to present her to the proud parents-to-be this weekend at a family baby shower, but the real baby shower will be in two weeks, so I have plenty of time.

I built her from a single sheet of 1/4" birch plywood, plus a couple of scraps of pine.  Total cost was around $60, but will go up to around $80 by the time she is completely finished. 

The rub rails look a bit battered because plywood end grain doesn't take stain very evenly, but Emily's mom says she loves the look - it makes her look antique.

I had such a great time building her, I can't wait to start on my Weekender.

I can't seem to post more than one picture in a post, but I'll get the hang of it.

Sweet Paul.  I made one for my 1st Grandson.  A fun project for sure.

Great projext Paul, I got in the cradle business about 10 years ago.  Three sets of kids and their associated offspring led me to make 3 cradle boats.  Lots of fun - enjoy the grandchild.

That is very nice.  Maybe someday my kids (both married for years) will make me a grandfather and I can build a cradle boat too.

I've just started one for a friend. It'll be a full up miniature lapstrake dinghy cradle, with cedar slat sole, Meranti sheer strake and Okoume hull, all bright. 4 mm plywood throughout, except for the slats and rockers.

Greetings Paul,

Cedar, Meranti, and Okuome will be a mellow combination of woods. Snap some pictures when you are done. So, what is it about bright finished wood that allows cradles, canoes, and small skiffs to be so beautiful, but the same woods in a much larger boat, all finished bright, looks too busy, or too dark, or too woody, or too ... (insert least favorite adjective here)? ???

Cheers,
Tom

You named it Tom. Larger craft have more "stuff" attached and more complexity to the designs, so this type of finish treatment tends to look busy. On a small dinghy, where there is a single thwart as the only non-hull element, it's easy for the eye to not get caught up in the convoluted compilation and concessions of the design.

I'm notorious for not taking pictures of stuff, but I suspect this one will get a few, because of the person it's for.

Great!  We all want to see the pictures. 

Thank you to everyone in this great community for the support and encouragement.