Sailing KopeliaOur boat. Our home. Our story.

Our tender · Built November 2025–January 2026

A little boat.
All her own.

Meet Serenity, our wooden sailing dinghy, built by Greg in his garage.

Wooden dinghy Serenity sailing with two white sails near a tree-lined shore
Serenity out sailing.

Made to belong
alongside Kopelia.

With so many cruising boats carrying similar gray inflatable dinghies, Greg wanted something with its own character. Kopelia is our personal home; her tender deserved the same care.

Between November 2025 and January 2026, he built Serenity from a Chesapeake Light Craft Passagemaker Take-Apart kit.

Her design is practical, too. She separates into two sections so we can stow her on deck during long passages.

From the wood finish to her name sweeping across the transom, Serenity is another part of our life afloat made personal by hand.

Serenity’s wooden transom with her name in script in Greg’s garage
From the garage to the water.

The build · 01

Flat panels become a boat

The build began in the garage, with plywood panels laid out before the hull started to take shape.

The beginning: plywood panels laid out in the garage.
The beginning: plywood panels laid out in the garage.
The panels come together into a recognizable hull.
The panels come together into a recognizable hull.

The build · 02

Building from the inside out

With the hull taking shape, the work moved through the joints, interior pieces, and the many small fitting jobs that make up a wooden boat.

A closer look at the work along the interior joints.
A closer look at the work along the interior joints.
Fitting the interior pieces.
Fitting the interior pieces.

The build · 03

Turning her over

Working on the underside meant turning the hull over, preparing the surface, and building up the finish.

Serenity upside down for work on the hull.
Serenity upside down for work on the hull.
A new coating on the bottom.
A new coating on the bottom.

The build · 04

Wood, clamps, and patience

The seats and edges brought more fitting and finishing. Little by little, the plywood kit was becoming our own wooden dinghy.

Clamps hold the pieces along the hull edge.
Clamps hold the pieces along the hull edge.
The wooden interior taking on its finished appearance.
The wooden interior taking on its finished appearance.

The build · 05

Then came the saw

“Terrifying 🙂 All that work to then cut her in half!”

— Greg

The Passagemaker Take-Apart is built as one hull before being separated into two sections. That is what lets us stow Serenity on deck during long passages.

The instructions said the saw would follow the cardboard spacer. Well… it sort of did. Greg had to do more fairing than he originally planned, but in the end it worked out and the halves fitted back together.

The nerve-racking moment: cutting the assembled hull apart.
The nerve-racking moment: cutting the assembled hull apart.
The cut through the hull edge.
The cut through the hull edge.
Two sections, ready to come back together as one boat.
Two sections, ready to come back together as one boat.
The take-apart design makes Serenity easier to stow aboard Kopelia.
The take-apart design makes Serenity easier to stow aboard Kopelia.

The build · 06

Making her Serenity

Her name across the transom and the finished wooden details gave the little boat the personal character Greg had wanted from the start.

Serenity’s name across her wooden transom.
Serenity’s name across her wooden transom.
More wooden pieces being prepared for her sailing setup.
More wooden pieces being prepared for her sailing setup.

The build · 07

From the garage to the water

The photo collection follows the build through rowing outings and, finally, Serenity under sail. A wooden tender with her own character, ready for a life alongside Kopelia.

Outside the garage with her sailing rig in place.
Outside the garage with her sailing rig in place.
Serenity under sail near the wooded shoreline.
Serenity under sail near the wooded shoreline.