
On July 19, after clearing the paperwork through Canada Customs in Calgary, Alberta, I took delivery of Kit #3, a wooden crate containing the CNC cut plywood components plus sails, hardware, lines and fastenings required to build a sailboat. The Mana 24 is the first kit boat to be sold by James Wharram Designs. The prototype boat, #1, designed by James Wharram and Hanneke Boon, was launched in the summer of 2016 at Cornwall, England. Kit #2 was shipped a week ahead of mine to another boat builder in Norway.

On my return to Saskatoon, I unpacked the crate, moved it into our garage, and reloaded everything back in the crate until the time construction would begin. I was pleased to see the plywood components had been packaged to facilitate the construction process with parts sorted into various steps as well as port and starboard sides.
Summertime is for sailing boats, not for building them, and I still had my WindRider 17. Little did I know that my sailing was not going to amount to much – other events and the weather played a role in that.
No worries. With the kit at hand, it was now time to get prepared for the winter ahead, assembling tools and locating a heated workshop.