“A sailboat is a kite that interfaces with the water. They operate on the exact same principles,” he said. “You really fly a boat.”

His boat building — both full-size and model — and his work as a carpenter haven’t been stopped by Dupuytren’s contracture, a genetic hand condition. Dupuytren’s, which thickens a layer of tissue under the skin, caused the ring and pinky fingers on one of Vrana’s hands to lock permanently in a bent condition.

Vrana said the condition was just part of life and not really worth talking about.

About seven years ago, Vrana finished his first boat, a 20-foot, two-masted vessel that he sold to a sailor who moved to Massachusetts. But before the customer left the area, Vrana said the two “sailed the heck out of that boat” on Swift Creek Reservoir.

Vrana would sell this boat, too.

“Every boat is for sale all the time,” he said.

But first he’s testing the craft in his favorite sailing spot, Fishing Bay. That’s a sheltered stretch of water where the Piankatank River flows from the Middle Peninsula into the Chesapeake Bay near Mathews. Then Vrana plans to sail the boat from Ancarrow’s Landing in Richmond down the James River, with excursions in the Chesapeake to follow.