Preview: Virtues of a Flat Bottom Skiff

21 Responses So Far to “Virtues of a Flat Bottom Skiff”

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  william crawford says:

  watched a skiff building video where a couple of builders were teaching school children how to build the boat.they were using marine coated self tapping screws.could anyone tell me what kind of screws they are .coating type reason for using them etc

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  Peter Neuhaus says:

  I’d like to build my first rowboat this Winter. Stitch & Glue seems to be the first choice nowadays, but I would like to avoid epoxy & fibreglass – just does not appeal to me as much a as a boat built from solid wood. But I’m wondering whether cross planked bottom and carvel planked sides would be the right choice, as the boat would be stored in the garage and only be taken out on water once or twice a month. My understanding is that the planks have to be soaked with water for the boat to stay tight. I.e. if it dries out, the planks will shrink and it will leak. Or could this boat also be built as ply on frame? Any comments? Thanks!

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    Nate Rooks says:

    Hi Peter,

    Yes, carvel boats do need to take up, and are best left in for the season. If you want a traditionally-built skiff, this is a fantastic design.

    You could put plywood on the frames of this design and have a nice-looking boat, but if you do that, you should definitely use epoxy and fiberglass.

    So, a bit of a catch-22 for you.

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  Daniel Klimov says:

  The frames are not fastened to the bottom chine at all.
  They are screwed to side planks and the bottom side plank is screwed to the chine from the outside, right?

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  Kent Lewis says:

  Great little boat! Are the drawings available?

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  Richard Mau says:

  Havilah,
  Some time ago I corresponded with you regarding creek crawler which was full of good ideas and I still hope to build a small Shantyboat to call home. I’m also enamered with your skiff and have bought a set f plans and am looking forward to the sail plans for it when they become available. Meanwhile I’m friends with an old friend of yours – PAUL SQUIRE and he sends greetings. We swim in a pool together here in. Fort Lauderdale. I,m following the skiff build with the kids and think it’s a really good experience for them. Life is good, Richard

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  Steve Branam says:

  Brilliant! Really makes you appreciate the humble flat bottom and rocker.

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  Ray Vosper says:

  I used to teach a skiff building class in Arizona. I wound up with quite a tidy little fleet and began renting them out. I work primarily from Ken Swan’s designs. The more I built,
  the more I appreciated the little subtleties of hull shape. Great way to spend a solo day on the water.

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  Lorentz Ottzen says:

  My Dad bought an old used flat bottomed rowboat when I was a kid. It had a Cross planked bottom and was painted with grey porch paint. We had a tremendous amount of fun with that boat.

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  Virginia Gerardi says:

  Back in 1999 I built the plywood “Weekend Skiff” from a little book by Tiller Publishing. Every time I launch her I revel in the attributes described in this video. It would have been nice to build her with a plumb stem like Havilah’s skiffs.

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  Paige McIntire says:

  Dear Havilah, could you do a blog on line-drawing a boat? Thanks, yours, Tom

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    Havilah Hawkins says:

    Tom, that is a big topic and I may not be the one to tackle it.
    As far as flat bottom skiffs are concerned it is a lot easier to do a mock up or scale model.
    At present I am helping a student build a skiff for an eighth grade project. We threw together a 3″ to the foot mock up out of masonite in a couple of hours that turned out pretty cool.

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  David Tew says:

  Sorry. Haddie (not Hattie).

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  David Tew says:

  Thanks for reposting this to your home page. It’s one of my favorite videos describing a boat suited to a particular locale; Nantucket Sound beaches and the like were where I first learned to sail, swim, row and scull. The cleats that fan across the transom planks and the decorative sculling notch pad create a nice visual fillip. Phil Bolger (or maybe it was John Gardner) described somewhere how designing a flat bottom boat was one of the most difficult tasks to get right. The Hattie Skiff’s lines combined with the functionality described make for an elegant and pleasing tender in service to a mothership. I’ve talked with Havilah and now Maynard about their project to create another version of these flatties in some model, and am looking forward to seeing what they come up with.

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  David Tew says:

  Please let us know when and how the Haddie Skiff plans will become available. My wife wants one to replace our fifty year old (Southport Island, ME) Brewer skiff.

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  Howard Sharp says:

  Loved that. Never heard that argument for the flat bottom before but it makes a lot of sense. When I was very young we lived right on the beach in the West Indies (believe me it’s been downhill from there ever since), and the local fishermen would bring their long boats up on the sand beach and sell their fish to all the families, including us, right there out of the boat. My father bought me a model of one of these boats and it was built the same way as Havila’s skiff with a cross planked bottom. Easy to build, and now I see their practicality too.

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  Havilah Hawkins says:

  One thing we did not get into and it is another whole topic for discussion is the carbon footprint that the construction process leaves behind and what is the process itself.

  I personally like the act of making a piece of wood and mechanically fastening it to another piece of wood until eventually there is a boat in front of you and no big pile of hardened or toxic refuse left over—just some really good kindling for the fire place or shop stove. I sleep better at night.

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  Philip Kemp says:

  Another possibility I could suggest is to build a flat-bottom Carolina bateau skiff in 4 hours at the National Boatbuilding Challenge.

  http://www.boatbuildingchallenge.com/

  I did this one year in Beaufort, NC with my son and the next year with my brother. They have college, high school and even elementary school kids competing. It’s a fun event and you end up with a boat for an entrance fee of $100. If you’re interested, I recommend building a practice boat (at least one)… now I have five boats… and the one’s made of scrap are being used as planters in the yard!

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    Craig Blurton says:

    http://beaufortchallenge.com/

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  David Tew says:

  Do I remember right that a materials kit or sourcing was going to be put together for the Lumberyard Skiff, i.e., a source for the wide planks and transoms?

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  Carolyn Harrington says:

  Kurt and I built our first boat,a Babson,last year.
  Now I’m buiding a Cedar strip Whitehall from canadiancanoes.com.It’s Yoga with a Power
  tool! Last year got a Little River all carbon Whitehall style row boat.Our rowboat collection is up to 4.Loved the Tenney oars.Question is what to do with all these rowboats!