Rod Million... one of our Local Wood Butchers!
That's what some of us affectionately call each other, though Rod here seems to have graduated from butcher to surgeon in a remarkably short time.Rod Million began his love affair with boatbuilding in '97. After retiring from his career as a radiation oncologist at Shands Hospital in Gainesville, Florida he and his wife Marge took some canoeing vacations in Montana, Utah and Maine. In Maine a side trip to the Wooden Boat's boatbuilding school in Brooklin began his love affair with wooden boats. His first boat was the Wee Lassie he built under the tutelage of Henry "Mac" McCarthy at the Feather Canoe Boat Shop in Sarasota. Since then he built a 2000 foot workshop behind his house on Lake Santa Fe in Melrose Florida and filled it with every tool any craftsman could want.
Here's one of his canoes. As you can see, he's a quick study. All Rod's boats are strip built of western red cedar covered with glass, epoxy and varnish.
Here's his cosine wherry.
He takes her for a morning pull around Melrose Bay.
Rod's working on one of the two Hawaiian surf boards he's made for his sons.
He's in the clean room of his shop. Notice the rows of lights on the walls.
As Rod rubs out the gunwale of a rowing shell you can see his shop behind him. The man doesn't scrimp on tools.
Another shot of his shell. It's awaiting the sliding seat hardware.
Details, details, details... he canes the seats himself of course.
Rod has his own web site now, so go see more of him here:
