Wild Rivers Expeditions of Bluff Utah, the foremost (and only real) San Juan River outfitter since 1957, has asked me to build a replica of the old Norman Nevills San Juan punt. They were a simple boat built in Mexican Hat for use on the San Juan from the Hat through Glen Canyon to Lee’s Ferry from the late 1930s through the 1950s. Here’s a shot of an original punt
Andy Hutchinson and I took a bunch of measurements off of a few originals at Nevills’s grandson Cam Staveley’s place—one living boat and a couple that are reuniting with the earth.
I ordered up a pile of plywood and scarfed up the 5×16 foot floor and the 4×16 foot panel from which to cut the sides.
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