I just got a great email from Jon who just launched his Tolman. He lives on the island of Pohnpei in Micronesia. I think he's built a great boat and the steering lever looks very interesting. Well done Jon! ;-)

Hello,

I have admired your web site for some time. I have looked at it many times while building mine.

I started building my standard Tolman in January and put it in the water 4 months later. Attached is a picture of me standing in the boat at the bow with my arms raised up… “it’s in the water”! It has already made several fishing and snorkeling trips out on the reef in the lagoon here. In the second picture you can see my wife at the “stick” (it has a stick like an airplane for steering – it is cheep and it works great). Notice the local boy up on the bow…he is the lookout for coral heads and such until we get to know our local waters.

I am living on the island of Pohnpei in the Micronesian islands. We are surrounded by a beautiful lagoon with lots of coral reef. A 20 foot fiberglass boat here costs $4000. I built my Tolman for about $1500 or so not including the engine. I put a Honda 40hp on it and it does great! The local islanders here are very jealous! You canÂ’t imagine how many people here are amazed that I built my own boat!

You know of any other Tolman skiffs in the Pacific Islands?

Jon