Plywood outboard skiff

[Nick J]

I am looking at building a small plywood, outboard skiff in the summer. It would need to be 10-13ft long, simple to build, good looking, and low cost. What should I build?

Nick

[SMARTINSEN]

Powerskiff by CMD, perhaps?

1' longer than your specification, though. Stitch and glue plywood. A kit is available. Click the picture for more.

[David G]

You might look at the Powerboat category over at Duckworks Indexes:

http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/r/plansindex.htm


Some Examples ________


Mushulu 12 by Mark Bowdidge --

http://www.duckworksbbs.com/plans/bo...lu12/index.htm




Forest & Stream Skiff 10 footer --

http://www.duckworksbbs.com/plans/se...ream/index.htm




Dancer, and Atkin 12 footer --

http://www.boat-links.com/Atkinco/Oar/Dancer.html




Flat Skiff 12 from Jacques Mertens

http://www.bateau.com/proddetail.php?prod=FL12&cat=9




More.........

[David G]

Continued.........


Ella, a 12 footer from Gavin Atkin

http://duckworksmagazine.com/09/designs/ella/index.htm





The Dolly Varden, a 13 footer from Weston Farmer --

http://www.vintageprojects.com/boats...iff-plans.html




The Grayling 13 by Sam Devlin --

http://www.devlinboat.com/grayling13.php




Twang, a 13 footer from Jim Michalak --

http://www.duckworksbbs.com/plans/jim/twang/index.htm




And this is just a sampling of a few that caught my eye on a fast charge thru the index. You can peruse at your leisure. Good luck, and have fun!

[Lewisboater]

This is the rowing version with raised sides



http://www.duckworksbbs.com/plans/le...kiff/index.htm

[Dutch]

Simple to build depends upon the skill level and what sort of tools you bring to the build. I have seen pics of boats in this thread that I would not consider simple to build for an amateur with few tools at hand. The closer to looking like a box or coffin your boat the simpler it will be to build. I second looking at the duck works plans.

[Cuyahoga Chuck]

Are You satisfied with a flat bottom that will beat your bottom in a chop? A better riding vee-bottom can be had but it's a little more complicated to build.
http://www.bateau.com/
offers skiffs with both types of bottoms in planing and displacement hulls and there are a few specialty designs like the little "Honker" and the "Swift Canoe" that fill some niches.

[Willin']

The Sea Hoss skiff is as simple as you want to make it, a stable platform for many purposes. The interior arrangements can be laid out to your taste.



This one is 15' long but you can scale it up or down as your needs dictate. The plans, while not hugely detailed, are pretty inexpensive at $35.

[JimD]

How big a motor will be going on it?

[David G]

Yes... more details about everything from motor size, to max. # of passengers, to the type of water it'll be run on, to the purposes it'll be used for... etc., etc.

Another one to look at might be the Brockway Skiff. My friend Greg just built one, and has a whole thread about it:

http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthre...ing-a-Brockway

[JimD]

12 foot vee bottom stitch and glue from Selway Fisher:

12' SAND MARTIN SIMPLE RUNABOUT
Using between 5 and 6 sheets of 6mm ply the Sand Martin uses simple stitch and tape technology in her construction. She can be fitted out in a number of different ways but the standard arrangement shows two thwarts with side benches aft and a foredeck with stowage space below. Weight will be approx. 120 lbs (54kg) and she can take outboard engines between 2 and 15 hp. With a beam of 4'11" (1.49m), she has plenty of room for fishing and is a very stable craft. The example below was built by Kevin Ansell using sheets of grp in much the same way as a stitch and tape ply hull would be built.

12' Sand Martin Particulars

LOA 12'2" 3.7m Beam 4' 11" 1.5m Hull Mid Depth 1'10" 0.55m Draft 6" 0.15m Approx. Dry Weight 120 lbs 54 kg Engine 15 hp + outboard Speed 15 knots with 10 hp

Hull Shape

V bottom single chine Construction Methods Stitch and tape Major plywood requirements for hull 6 x 6mm sheets Guidance Use Inshore/estuary for 5-6 adults Drawing/Design Package 2 x A1 drawings + 6 x A4 instruction/spec sheets Additions and alterations included with the plans

[Lewisboater]

Wow...that looks an awful lot like the Fisher10 I built some 7-8 years ago.





It isn't a Selway Fisher design but rather my own... they came out quite similar though coincidentally. I managed 23 mph with a 9.5 Johnson but it was a bit rough out so I might have gotten a couple more if it had been mirror smooth.

[woodpile]

Ken Swan has a nice collection of small skiff plans, I believe all plywood const. I built his Chica model, nice boat, relatively easy construction.

http://www.swanboatdesign.com/gallery.html

[Hwyl]

Wow...that looks an awful lot like the Fisher10 I built some 7-8 years ago.


It isn't a Selway Fisher design but rather my own... they came out quite similar though coincidentally. I managed 23 mph with a 9.5 Johnson but it was a bit rough out so I might have gotten a couple more if it had been mirror smooth.

How many sheets of plywood in yours, 6 for the Selway fisher seems like a lot

[Lewisboater]

Ummmm Lets see....3 for bottom and sides, at least one more for the seats and about 1/4 sheet of 19mm for the transom and breasthook. All seams were taped inside and out then a layer of 6 or 8 oz on the bottom. I only had 8 deg of deadrise and it could have stood another 4 to 6 more. It pounded more than I would have liked. That probably would have dropped the speed a bit but softened the ride. Were I to rebuild it...I would not make the seats so complicated (and heavy) and I would have used better wood. I made the mistake of

{sorry...looked at the watch and had to beat it to work}

leaving a gouge that went through the cloth and into the plywood unattended and it rotted out from the inside.

Edited to change that to 3 sheets for bottom and sides... Going back through the build I remember I couldn't get the bottom all out of one sheet.

[gstanfield]

Yes... more details about everything from motor size, to max. # of passengers, to the type of water it'll be run on, to the purposes it'll be used for... etc., etc.

Let me second this one, there are a lot of good designs out there, knowing which one will fit you best will depend on your intended program for this boat. If you need a good row boat that will also move along with a tiny outboard at displacement speeds then the FL12 or similar will be great for you. I have a FL14 that I built and it works great for drift fishing the river or powering along the lake at a relaxing 4-6mph with absolute minimal power (2-4hp is all you need on this one). If you want to use a larger outboard and build a boat that will get up on plane and go fast, but not row as easy there are many good examples there as well as multiple styles that would work out. For a small boat to go faster I'd personally go with a flat bottom pram bow like the Bateau GF12. It's like a jon boat, but more stylish and wider than any production model you'll find. There are also many good v-bottoms too. I mainly mentioned bateau designs as I am familiar with them and have built from their designs and they are easy to build with a very good support forum. There are of course many other good designers out there and I have bought plans from a half dozen different designers and most are good, just different techniques or different thought processes that result in equally good, but aesthetically different designs.

Another questions is to what build method you are preferring to use. I've built with ply on frame and stitch & glue and both are easy and both have benefits. I prefer stitch & glue if the design is done right they are really light weight and really solid, but I'm not exclusive to any one method either

George

[Nick J]

I would like a max of 5 passengers, a motor under 10hp, built for the coastline of BC, and strong enough to take a good chop. It will mainly be used to fish and zoom around the bay but will also be used for light utility purposes. It would be nice if it would fit into the back of a truck, and be light enough for a few guys to carry.

[Cuyahoga Chuck]

I would like a max of 5 passengers, a motor under 10hp, built for the coastline of BC, and strong enough to take a good chop. It will mainly be used to fish and zoom around the bay but will also be used for light utility purposes. It would be nice if it would fit into the back of a truck, and be light enough for a few guys to carry.

You should have put the above into post #1. Now we have to change the evaluation.
Stuffing 5 people into a 14 footer with flat bottom and no more than a 55 inch beam can be done but it might be tight. And if a couple of the 5 folks are burger-chompers that 10 horse is going to chug but not zoom. Then there's your venue. Coastal waters involve tides, currents, wind, waves, that complicate the problem. Thank the Lord you didn't ask for a car topper.
If you want something light that will fit into a full sized 8' pickup bed that is the metric that will determine what kind of hull you can build. Forget the five people. Your desired hull will be fairly short and quite narrow. How long it can be depends on how strict the cops are about carrying a load that juts out beyond your tailgate. I carry an 8' boat in a 6' bed and it sticks out about 3½ feet. The inner fenders create a pinch point that limit how far forward I can set the hull.

[Nick J]

You have a very good point about the number of people I can fit into a 14 footer, however 5 would only be in a pinch. If I did have 5 people it would only be because the big boat was sinking, or it was clam and we wanted to go to the beach(not very often because the coastline around here is not very "small child" friendly in the winter).

[JimD]

... the coastline around here is not very "small child" friendly in the winter).

Nick, you have a talent for understatement. As you know, our coast in winter is not exactly small open boat friendly no matter what the age of the crew. I hope you go for the biggest and most seaworthy craft you have room for. Grayling looks good, its big sister Candlefish 16 would be better

This is really a small truck of a boat with the capability of carrying a good load, some lockable stowage, foam floatation in the ends and deep enough to be seaworthy in just about any sea condition.