So the first design that I ordered for the Mystnyx - was the Stevenson Vacationer. I thought it met the criteria very well.

The Stevenson Vacationer

The Vacationer looked like a good rugged coastal cruiser, it seemed that it would handle a mild chop, and definitely was "beachable". The construction didn't seem too difficult, and without heavy leaded ballast it would be easy to tow.

Vacationer on a reach

The Vacationer is an easy boat to motor due to its light weight; a small outboard is all that is needed to get around very dependably. 

It seemed to be almost ideal, I was skeptical about enough room in the cabin, but with a bit of rearranging it could work. I ordered the plans off the Stevenson Site:

https://www.stevproj.com/IntroVacPg1.html

They came quickly, but I was a little disappointed in the sheet size. However, it was fairly detailed and had all the instructions.

I quickly joined Back Yard Yacht Builders a forum for people building this type of project: https://www.byyb.org/

I was keen to get started building before my 44th birthday at the end of March.

The search for the Mystnyx design

In 2013, I decided that I would like to build a boat for quick vacations and family outings. After several camping trips by ferry to the San Juan Islands.  I reminisced about summers I had spent in my youth gunkholing around the southern Gulf Islands and even into the San Juans. 

Camping on Parker Island at Sunset

The Pacific Northwest coast can easily be described as a paradise. When the first European explorers discovered the Pacific coast, they described it as "a new vision of Eden".

Tribune Bay on Denman Island

"A soft warm breeze fanned us," the Canadian George Munro Grant wrote in Ocean to Ocean , in which he describes his voyage through Georgia Strait in the 1870's:

Gunkholing in the Gulf Islands in 1980s
 with Dinghy "Windigo"  in tow

"and every mile disclosed new features of scenery, to which snow-clad mountain ranges, wooded plains, and a summer sea enfolding countless promontories and islands, contributed their different forms of beauty. 'The islands are composted of strata of sandstone and conglomerate; the sandstone at the bottom worn at the water line into caves and hollows ; the conglomerate above forming lofty cliffs, wooded to the summits, and overhanging winding inlets and straits most tempting to a yachtsman."

In addition to the protected waters of the Gulf of Georgia, British Columbia is also home to hundreds of serene lakes, marine parks and campgrounds. I had not yet began to explore many of the larger lakes. 

A few factors were important to me:

First  - It was trailerable - moorage in Greater Vancouver doesn't come cheap - and having to haul a boat in and out to access inland lakes it just made sense to have a boat that could already be quickly and easily launched from a trailer.

Second - It had to be beachable and have a "shoal" draft for the inland lakes.

Third - It needed to have enough accomodation to "weekend" or overnight for about 3 people reasonably comfortably.

Fourth - It had to be able to withstand some chop. Not necessarily a gale - but at least a 1-2 foot chop and some swells. 

Fifth - It couldn't be too difficult or expensive to build. I have limited time and a limited budget. I also wanted a boat that didn\t cost a mint in gas to operate. A sailboat was preferable, but a boat capable of being pushed by a small outboard would also suffice.