Ian and I have been talking back and forth this past year about his vison quest to find the perfect boat to fit his future fishing, guiding lifestyle. Ian is a guide up north that fishes, bird watches and just basically loves being in the out doors treating it with respect. I can see this from his posts online. I can also tell he is very detail oriented in his photos of wildlife and his fly tying and fishing rod design work.
Ive taken on his search as a challenge on my own to see if his dream boat could really exist without too many compromises. Can he have it all? Does it exist now out there in the market place. I feel I have a pretty good grasp of the challenges in designing a boat to fit his needs as I have spent the last 44 years climbing in and out of and operating very small light weight skiffs on a daily basis in all sea conditions from crossing the Gulf Stream in a 123" skiff, to carrying my wife and new born daughters on adventures through out the Caribbean . I also have as most of you know by now built with my own hands many small skiffs and dinghies both for myself on a budget and for others to pay for my future adventures. I will be comparing and discussing my design, thought process against the current boat market but will only provide drawings to explain what I see, think is happening or how it could perform against what I see out there today. I am not out to single out boat builders or boats so will not use photographs. All boats work, just some might work a bit better if the details have been thought through.
In this design I have put the amateur home builder in mind from the start. This skiff can be built by anyone that has a few tools, a dry shop or space and has the desire to create his own skiff at a fraction of the cost of a store bought one.
I asked Ian a while back to send me his wish list. This he did right away. I have been sketching and thinking it over these past few months as I sail down the island chain here in the Antilles on my winter work break. I will be redoing a teak deck on a friends 44 sailboat in Antigua starting in May to pay for next years time off sailing to Panama.
I will start by showing you his list and then I will explain to you the hows and whys of what I feel can work, what I think wont, with my design as a comparison to what now exists in the market. What I am doing here is what all builders-salesmen today should be explaining to you the buying public how and why their boat is the one to buy. Its pretty simple, not one skiff can fill the needs of everybody.
Ians vison wish list in the order I received it;
- Silent hull, even in 12" chop.
- Very dry ride, as smooth as can be for an ultra draft hull.
- 20 long ( ample room for three people ).
- To pole effortless and row super easy, track straight, but turn pivot easily.
- Weigh no more than 250 lbs.
- High freeboard; 18"-20"
- Self bailing hull , inside the cockpit to be knee deep.
- Minimal layout
- 5-6 casting decks, lots of cockpit room.
- 4"-5" draft with 800 lbs in the finished boat, ( thats people, engine, gas, tackle).
- Operates with no more than a 30 hp outboard tiller engine, and portable 6 gal. Gas tank.
- Able to be launched in remote areas / can be picked up by two people when engine is removed.
- Wants to row and pole it in- no trolling motor zones.
- Flush oar mounts that can be flip up and make no noise
- Glass bottom viewing port.
- Seating on either a coffin box, cooler, or chars.
- Massive dry storage under both fore and aft decks.
- Micro skiff performance that offers more room for anglers.
- Boat to cost under $15,000.00 US to build.
Im a list guy. I like to have all the details up front. This is a good start. Ive built one off custom boats for clients that gave me pages of details that they wanted to see in their vision. When I start on my design I then have a good idea of what they are looking for with me being the guy that they would trust to say this can work ,this wont, all the rest I can make happen.
I will go down the list and go over each request one at a time and explain my thoughts .Then I will present my proposed design and explain my ideas.
- Silent hull, even in 12" of chop.
To get a quiet hull most designers and people now know you cannot have any Chines or hard corners coming out of the water or anywhere near it. These pockets and hard spots even if slightly rounded will cause some noise or pressure waves that can spook fish that are used to being harassed all the time.
If polling in a 12" chop in a long lean lightweight skiff with 2 sports aboard plus you in wind, you will most likely be poling into it or crabbing your way across a flat. If your upper Chines are high enough you will not make any noise. But in a long low light weight skiff to get any use out of an upper chine or sheer spray rail it cannot be too high. In my design I have drawn in a rounded stern to make the boat as quiet as possible when poling, drifting or rowing down wind. It will be interesting if this rounded stern detail will catch on in other designs.
Most all skiffs out there now look to be pretty quiet hulls. Lots look to be really wet in a chop though when under power.
- Very dry ride, as smooth as can be for an ultra shallow draft hull.
The first thing you have going for yourself in this boat type is its going to be long and narrow. This makes it ride better right off. Where I make my departure from all the present skiffs on the market is the way they all treat the last 7-8 of their in the water bows. All are designed with a straight bottom keel, that is their centerline , with the bow area that is coming out of the water as an after thought. In watching these skiffs perform over half of the skiffs bottoms are out of the water when planing in flat water. This is fine till you get a bit of chop. Now you can trim the bow down with trim tabs or just by re-trimming the outboards angle. What happens then is you have a very long hull that in order to make the bow work you will have to submerge the entire bottom hull length to get the bow down to get to what ever vee is there. In this process if you have no vee then you will pound away with the spray coming over the side. Of course the real idea behind most of these skiffs is to run and fish in very protected waters. To cross deeper bays in choppy conditions say in a cold front, you can always run straight into the wind to get to the other side and then in protected waters make your way to your next poling spot.
To make my 20 skiff ride as dry as can be, ( you must help the skiff stay dry by being creative in crossing expanses of deeper water) I have designed in rocker into the bottom keel line of my hull. This will help greatly in poling, rowing and maneuvering this skiff in choppy water crossings, say up to
2-1/2.The rocker lets the water flow past at slow speeds with minimal drag as compared to a straight keel bottom. No transom drag. The rocker facilitates turning greatly. The rocker lets the bow ride up in big seas but the main part of the boat is still in the water without the bow half rising out of the water. Less windage when running. This bow as drawn has ample buoyancy and sheer height forward , the others dont as they are designed as protected water boats only. When trimming this bow down the vee that is in the hull forward of amidships is enough to give a good ride in a 2-1/2 choppy sea if going head into it. Going off on a beam sea all boats are going to be wet except in this one the spray will find the driver but those forwards should be dry.
Ian has not specified boats speeds in flat water, with 1-2 more people in the boat and what to expect in rough conditions. From experience in my past HBBWs skiff designs, being in and out of my 130 lb. dinghy on a daily basis and having been out in a variety of other skiff shapes and designs I will say that my design with a 25 hp short shaft two stroke outboard this skiff should ,with one man aboard do close to 30 mph in flat water. In rough water, say traveling in a 2-1/2 chop with the swells that will go with it and the boat- engine trimmed properly you will be able to go along at about 18 mph across most any bay or open water.
With two more people aboard and all your stuff aboard youll be looking at a top speed of 25 mph or so in flat water and a bit less depending on the sea conditions. This design if driven within a moderate speed frame should be very comfortable in rough water with the spray being caught amidships forward. Catching spray amidships aft is very hard on any small skiff when traveling in a beam sea and wind. You just cannot go fast enough to evade it if its windy out. So the guide or helmsmen gets some spray. Standing up with a tiller extension and a bar to steady you only your midsection down will get wet.
Trim the engine down and the bow in my skiff will take all the pounding when going into a head sea. This being a light uncored hull it will be very taught and a bit flexible in the sides as you fly along letting the bow take all the abuse. In the current skiff market lots of the skiffs do not have well developed bows for this kind of sea-chop state. They are too flat forward. They will be very quiet with their soft rounded bows but are limited to very protected waters.
I have designed a very easy to build strip planked hull that you can make a single skin fiberglass hull off of. You then add on a purpose built spray rail. You can stick with the strip planked hull which will weigh more or you can use this to make other hulls from and then finish the plug hull and use-sell last.
- 20 long ( ample room for three people )
Being 20 long you can get the clients up forward a bit where the ride will be dryer. The next problem is when you get into some chop the clients will feel it first. Trim down with not good bow spray catching designs then its oilskins time. Being a narrow boat it will have the feeling of room but its really just a long stretched out dinghy. The majority of these skiffs built today have side decks . This adds lots of weight to a boat that wants to be ultra lite. I have drawn in a nice wide sheer cap rail that will help as the last defense in spray, makes a good rub rail that is very strong and light and will feel good to sit on. Not everyone on one side though at once! I have drawn in the lightest deck platforms that I know will work. They are very strong but the compromise in saving weight here is they can be dented by a heavy anchor or rough usage. Mine in my skiffs have some dents from handling my 75 lb. anchors in them but they are still going strong after 22 years. These can be built on a sheet of Formica plywood making very detailed hatch channel plugs-& forms out of wood to glass over to come up with your flush hatch. Will look like the best but can be built by anyone very easily.
- To pole effortlessly, row well, tracks straight, but turns / pivots easily
Not asking much here Ian are you? By the sheer length of these skiffs and they being narrow and relatively light in weight as opposed to what the other more traditional flats skiff weigh they all should pole well. Some that I see have tried to make them into long lean machines with everything on board so will be the heaviest. Nothing like a simple stripped out skiff to muck about in though. All should pole well. Spinning should not be a problem as theres nothing below the waterline. They all should track straight as the skiff will have a long lean waterline. If the bow has too much flotation then it could blow off if too much weight in the stern . You must make the boat float level .
I have drawn in a chine drop in pocket in the aft section of my skiffs bottom to act as mini keels and to redirect the aft spray. I have also drawn in two keel fins to stop any sliding and make this skiff pole straight. When pivoting I feel they will not hinder a turn as they are small in lateral plane, but will help greatly In poling and running at speed. I have windsurfed, paddle boarded and surfed enough to see how a little a skeg can help. In poling in 5" of water they will drag a bit but will be like a knife in the mud. I have drawn in a good bit of rocker into the bottom fore and aft in this skiff. This will make it rowable. Having a straight flat bottom will cause too much back eddy drag. Ive rowed a ton in my life and trust me this is the only way to go. I control the boat trim in running by using a simple fin bolted onto the cavitation plate on the out board. I started using these when I saw the first DOLPHIN plates being used. They were designed to be off to the side of the Cavitation plates. Silly wasting all that thrust going out aft . I made mine to hang over the rear of the engine to use that thrust and catch it and for 30 plus years have called it my unpatented WHALES TAIL. You just have to stop the boat, lift the engine and change the engine angle with its rear pin. Takes 30 seconds. No need for trim tabs, batteries. Oh! But youll say I need all that extra stuff to perform at my peak at all times.
I say if you want a simple light weight skiff then slow down, chill out and when you are adjusting the engine trim for that romp across the bay tell your clients a quick tale or joke.
- Weigh no more than 250 lbs.
Heres a hard one. A boat- skiff this size could-can weigh just barley in at the 250 lb. mark and still be a long lasting strong boat. But it will have to be ultra simple and cared for and handled properly to last.
I would suggest going out and weighing your present skiff and others. Strip the engines off and try and lift a couple of these skiffs. Some are light for sure. But would they fit into Ians criteria?
Heres how I would build this skiff to make this target weight and make it affordable.
I would find at least three other people that would want one of these skiffs that could afford its price to go in on putting up the $ to get the hull plug built. I would find a shop that works in one off projects or one of you has the time and inclination to make the first hull.
I would then have them or you build the hull that Ive drawn in strip plank cedar or foam. What I have drawn is very simple to build in strip plank. Glass over and lightly fair. I would then vacuum bag or just carefully layup over this waxed plug a Carbon fiber layup as designed in epoxy or vinylester. The transom would be cored in later. This skiff will be an uncored solid carbon and e-glass skin hull with only cored decks, hatches and bulkheads. The spray rail will be made up of cored glass. The sheer rail and rub rail will be glassed over PVC pipe as shown.
Get the shop to bag the hull skins for you and then you can very quickly finish off the skiffs yourself.
Once the hulls are pulled off the plug it would take an amature at the most 2 weeks to finish out one of these skiffs, very simple. Simple tools needed. Years ago I had a mold that friends would all get together after work and layup a hull in. Took a couple hours. They did this for 12 hulls and everyone then went on to finish each skiff at their own pace all having different interiors but the same hull. Very cost affective and fun way to go.
I have not designed a cored hull as to be very light the skins would be very thin. You would have the extra weight in all the core and adhesive. We are going for extremely light weight here. This skiff in plain old eglass and polyester resin would be a bit heavier. About 50-60 lbs and lots less in price. In strip planked cedar add the weight of the cedar or core to this. Still a great skiff. The heavier skiffs will feel better too. The draft differences will be unnoticeable.
The key to getting to this weight is in every little detail that is left in. All thats removed is extra weight.
- High freeboard 18"-20"
This parts easy, just draw in that height of freeboard. In my design it works well. In a totally empty skiff of this design it will be a very rigid taught skiff if built in carbon. But with people aboard and weight in it this height really makes sense for what Ian would be using it for. I have drawn in a curved sheer so this skiff will be pleasing to the eye and not have that squashed look like so many of these skiffs today. Being light, long and with a reasonable amount of draft with one person sitting this skiff will handle well in a breeze when poling. Its narrow so with tall big fat people in it that dont understand that they are in a narrow skiff it could feel tippy with them plopping about the boat.
- Self bailing hull, inside the cockpit to be knee deep.
I believe Ian wants the self bailing cockpit for safety reasons. It can be designed in with still having the knee height hes looking for. Barefoot from my cabin sole to the middle of my knees are right at 18" but Im only 53" tall so he must be guiding Hobbits about like me.
Self bailing floors raise the level of gravity in a skiff and in a narrow boat this will make it feel and be more tippy. The advantage is the floor is flat and level out to the hull sides so no getting about in a curved hull bottom. In a light skiff like this the self bailing part can only work when you are out of the boat. The floor has to be just above the loaded waterline at rest. To have it work with everyone aboard it just gets to high. You also have to drain it which is a pain. I could see a short floor just aft of the forward bulkhead to be able to put a small folding chair on facing aft for one of the clients to sit in.
I would highly advise against putting one in. The extra weight is huge in a skiff like this. All you will need to bail this skiff out with is a sawed off Clorox bottle bottom to get water out if it rains or youre a sloppy driver. You could put a drain out the stern from the aft bulkhead but I hate putting in unneeded holes in a perfectly sound hull. If left in the rain this skiffs cockpit will fill up but it will have to be a good pour. The engine if tilted will stay out of the water if completely filled up. I have seen this in my own skiff many times. I would paint the hull inside with an aggressive nonskid if going for ultra light weight. If not the new rubber stuff I see but have never been around looks like the way to go.
- Minimal layout
Most all of these skiffs today are pretty simple inside. This design calls for no trim tabs, smallest battery possible for running lights. With LEDs today this means flash light size. I would run the stern light off the engine and just have stick on bow lights. It will have just two hatches. One will use my my new no hinge design and the aft one will be a drop over kayak type hatch. I would have very simple rod racks.
I recommend using inflatable bags fore and aft for flotation to satisfy the Coast Guard. I have drawn in a flat 5-1/2" wide gunnel sheer that will help as a spray catcher, a place to put the oar locks and push pole holders. The oars would-should be 12 long to be good for getting about and they would stow blades aft on the stern seat-deck. Poling tower legs could fit into glassed in sockets in the stern deck so it could be removed by lifting out. So pretty simple. No stern plug, through hulls, hoses. The only metal on the boat will be the 4 oarlock sockets in bronze and two 10-24 bolts for the forward hatch.
Minimal for sure.
- 5-6 casting decks, lots of cockpit room
The stern deck is 4 long with its raised hatch off the starboard side for the guide to sit on with a cushion on top to get some height. This type of hatch is extremely waterproof. Plus no hinges.
The foredeck is 6-6" long with a flush hatch that has my latest no fastening hinge design. This will be equally very water proof. Both decks are lower than the sheer so the hull will make a great fly line catcher. You can make these decks on a simple sheet of Formica plywood that has been waxed. Very simple and easy to do.The cockpit will have room but its realities are what you fill it up with. This skiff has too much storage space already so I would get one of those Yeti type coolers, glass in a bracket for it in the hull bottom when building. Thats a seat for one client or have them sit one looking one way the other the other way for balance. Remember you do not need trim tabs in a long narrow skiff, just shift body weight. Ha ! But theyre Americans and dont want to share a seat. Put one facing aft on the bow platform. Nope ! OK then you have to make a seat to fit in the floor that can be removed. Better to get the sports to sit lower in anyway. Or only guide people that are into what you are into.
I see lots of great cockpit layouts today in skiffs with the roll bar hand grip for the helmsman. This system I like very much if your not looking to save weight. Lots of ways to go if not planning on carrying this boat by hand.
- 4"-5" draft with 800 lbs in it ( thats people ,engine, gas, and tackle)
The draft displacement shown is at the 4" level with a load in it. The Coast Guard when I last looked, wants us to rate people at 160 lbs. they put this number out there I believe as a person floating in the water is not going to be as much as they are on dry land. I weigh at 53" under 155lbs. when I figure in my hull draft weights I base my final drafts by putting in the average American at 220 lbs. What,You say! To be honest this is a very conservative weight. Get your clients to step on a scale before going out. Any body over 220 lbs. costs mo
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