Self-built and fun

Sooner or later, the (preferably male) offspring will realise that they need a motorbike. Experienced parents are prepared for this and usually present alternative offers. Financing a car driving licence in due course, provided that the offspring can make do with their teenage bike for a while longer, is a popular arrangement.

That was the case for Josh Braun from Bergisch Gladbach: at the age of ten or eleven, he wanted a kart, a real one, with a tubular frame and motorbike engine. "Then we might as well build a boat," said his father. And Josh thought: "Right, why not ..." When Josh was twelve, in autumn 2003, they got started. First they worked in a rented workshop, later under their own roof.

There were no construction sketches, Josh assures us: "It really was 99 per cent in our heads. And from further steps - just see how we do it now, what do we start with?" The mind in which the project matures belongs to father Holger Braun, a coachbuilder and skipper by trade. That's a good fit.

It is to be a planing boat with room for three to four people, about 4 metres long and 1.40 metres wide. Father and son want to build the hull from the inside out. They start with the "chassis", the inner formwork of the boat. This is made of wood and requires stabilisation. A lattice frame, welded together from steel tubes and attached from the outside, provides the necessary torsional rigidity, but also adds a lot of weight to the scales. Josh estimates that it weighs around 40 kg, about a fifth of the weight of the boat including the outboard motor. Hollow tubes between the inner wall and frame accommodate steering and gear cables as well as power cables.

Josh and his father now set about constructing the railing. However, the attempt to bend a stainless steel tube in a vice ends, as Josh admits, with a "small hole" in the workshop wall. The tube snapped back like a spring. So that's not how it works. A suitable pipe bending machine cannot be found, but a welding torch can. Now the darn pipe finally gives way.

The next undertaking also requires a sure instinct. Because the control console, a restored piece, needs a new windscreen. But how can such a Plexiglas thing be bent to fit? In the oven. Heat it slowly and then bend it gently. Josh and his father buy 1 square metre of Plexiglas, which turns out to be a smart move. Because 1 square metre of Plexiglas makes four discs and therefore four attempts. And as if they had guessed it: only number four succeeds.

But surely the fine coaming comes from the boat accessories trade? No, not at all. The elegant-looking piece has its origins in a very mundane kitchen worktop. Josh and his father cut the 200 cm x 60 cm beechwood board into four planks, each 200 cm long and 15 cm wide. Planes and sanders bring the planks into shape, wooden bolts camouflage the screw holes.

Stain and nine coats of clear varnish ensure a classy finish. "We simply modelled it on one of these Boesch boats," says Josh. And that it was a lot of work. "Sanding, polishing and applying clear varnish again and again ..."

The next step is to continue building the fuselage. Josh and his father fill the space between the "chassis" and the tubular frame with polystyrene panels and assembly foam. Then they apply reinforcement mats, which are painted with concrete paint. After a two-year break in the project, the hull is given its finishing touches - stringers, three layers of glass fibre-reinforced synthetic resin laminate, gelcoat. Then, in the Easter holidays of 2008, father and son have done it. The boat is finished. And Josh was just 16 years old.

The glider has become a little piece of jewellery. Of course, my father was in charge of a lot of the construction work. When it came to welding the tubular frame, for example. But he also always guided Josh and let him practise on simple objects. And he always did it in such a way that nothing could dampen his son's enthusiasm.

"I've learnt so much," says Josh today, "it's really incredible." He has done a lot of the work on his boat himself. In the beginning, he took on simple tasks. But constantly having to sand, paint, drill and screw - doesn't that get on your nerves at some point?

Josh says he already had a "slump" when he was 12 or 13 years old. He would have preferred to build a tree house with his friends instead of working on a boat with his father. But this phase didn't last long. Josh's desire to have his own boat was too great. "This is your boat, your own. I'll help you build it, but it's yours ...", his father always emphasised. The fact that Josh's friends thought the whole thing was pretty cool was also an incentive.

There were discussions, of course. Josh wanted it to be a bit sleeker and sportier, his father more classic and elegant. Now the boat has a bit of everything. It was more difficult with the boat name. Josh had "No Limit" or "Speedy" in mind, his father "Josh'i". The glider remained nameless.

A 35 hp Chrysler outboard engine hangs from its rear. The drive dates back to the 1980s,
but is brand new. The Brauns bought it when they were liquidating a shop, a bargain that still scores points with Josh for its "really nice sound". Josh reports that the outboard motor accelerated his boat to 51 km/h.

When it comes to the handling characteristics, he goes into raptures: "The boat is manoeuvrable and a lot of fun, which is exactly what it was built for." It could perhaps be a little wider, says Josh in retrospect, but he wouldn't change anything about the design: "I'm absolutely thrilled that it turned out so well." And for around 3000 euros in material costs.

There is a picture of the boat on Josh Braun's desk. His heart must be set on building it himself. "That's right," Josh replies quietly. This year he is taking his A-levels. And then he wants to study shipbuilding.