Built to replace a 12ft family dinghy that had been well used and loved for 40 years, this Iain Oughtred-designed Guillemot will be rowed on the choppy waters of the Firth of Forth. Stretched to just over 12ft from Iain's plans for an 11ft 6in dinghy, she has enough length now to allow a rower forward and passenger aft, with another midships, or she can be rowed, swiftly, by one rower sitting centrally.

The planking followed Iain's lines to the letter, once they emerged from below the waterline. Drawn for plywood, there was no way the garboards in larch could match the plywood's width. I must admit to giving her a little more freeboard forward, as I was concerned she might dip her bow when fully loaded and punching into a head sea. I am not convinced I should not have stuck ruthlessly to Iain's plans, but where's the fun in building a one-off boat in solid timber if you can't tinker a wee bit?

With her white-painted bilges, well protected against the rain water that is destined to fill her on her mooring, and varnished topsides, she is a simple, unpretentious little rowing boat of the kind once thrown up in their hundreds, no thousands. The finish is smart, but not fussy. You can see your face in the transom, but a little wrinklier than for real. I hope she'll last, looking this good. If she lasts as long as her predecessor, then I will be happy (and incidentally in my 90s...)

Adrian Morgan, Burnside, 80 Strathkanaird, Ullapool, Wester Ross. IV26 2TP Tel: +44(0)1854 666383 Mobile: 07774 843 844 adrianmorgan@viking-boats.com Featured in Classic Boat and Water Craft magazines. www.watercraft.co.uk www.classicboat.co.uk www.sail-the-net.com www.intheboatshed.net