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Thread: First Boat, need help

  1. #1

    First Boat, need help

    I’m in the early planning stages here. My workshop is in my basement but I have room in my garage for a 16’ boat. I’d rather not take on something that large as a first effort. Im thinking a 12’ skiff. This will be used exclusively on small lakes for fishing and just cruising around with the wife and kids.

    There are so many skiff plans out there that it’s difficult to wade through and choose. I know asthetically what I like but I don’t know enough about boatbuilding to determine if a certain design is a good one or a bad one. I love the look of the peeler skiff from clcboats. I don’t want a center console and plan to add a small 5-10hp outboard.

    Skill wise I don’t need (or want to spend the money for) a complete kit. I’d rather just buy plans.

    Advise would be great as well as suggestions for good plans.

  2. #2
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    Try Sam Devlin's stitch and glue plans for a first boat.
    "Anything seems possible when you don't know what you're doing."

  3. #3
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    Good day Zach,

    You have made a great choice with the Peeler Skiff, pending what waters you are going to be using her in. As long as you're going to be in relatively flat water, this will be (a) an easy boat to build, (b) a well-respected designer, and (c) perfect for your 5-10hp outboard. The only issue with a flat-bottomed boat is that it is more suited for flatwater. In waves it's going to follow the wave- rocking back and forth, side to side. In flatwater, however, it's going to jump up on plane even with your small outboard, and would be a great little boat. I'm not saying she won't take a few swells, but she is most suited for protected waters- lakes, slow-flowing rivers, and protected bays. By the way, for rivers this would be a great boat due to the shallow draft, and in rivers you often find yourself dodging logs and sandbars.

    I just peeked at their site for the specs and they say it achieved 23 knots with a 15hp. That's pretty darned good! Just for comparison, with most 10 to 12' ridgid inflatables (which are very light, but not real efficient at low speeds) you'll be doing good to get that speed with a 15. Also she is 15', which is a great size. I would not go any smaller than that, but that's me personally and everyone has different opinions on boat sizes. The design should be very easy to build with a flat bottom and single panel sides. CLC is a well-respected company. They also have a forum where you can get a lot of help during the build.

    Andy gives good advice with Sam Devlin's stitch n glue boats. His designs are more of a V-Hull if you're going to be hitting more open water. Although a wee bit harder to build due to having more panels, the Candlefish should be a good alternative to the Peeler Skiff.

    Some advice- use Oakoume Plywood. Boulter Plywood has a very good marine grade Oakoume. It's extremely light and strong. It even looks good varnished. You are probably already aware, but that's what CLC uses for their boats. Make sure your plywood is Lloyd's certified water and boil proof glued (WBP).

    Keep us posted.

  4. #4
    Thanks for the replies fellas. The Peeler plans are a little pricey but the boat fits my needs almost exactly.

    I was wanting to keep the price low but I also would like comprehensive plans given this is my first attempt.

    Also, this boat will only ever be in the water for a week or two at a time at the longest. It will live on a trailer and be a weekend warrior most of the time. A few times a year it may be in the water for a couple weeks during vacation. Given this would it be possible to use cheaper plywood. I don’t mean junk ply, but maybe not the most expensive?

  5. #5
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    You can use cheaper ply if you fully epoxy encapsulate it- and I mean glass and resin- not just a resin coat. Have you checked prices on Oakoume marine ply? It’s not terribly expensive. I have built kayaks out of “doorskins”, which are non- Marine grade ply and it gets epoxy encapsulated, so it is fine, but I find the quality to be poor. It has voids, it doesn’t bend in a fair curve at times (due to inconsistent layers), and it is not as strong as marine ply.

  6. #6
    When you say fully encapsulate do you mean the inside as well?

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Zach Dickason View Post
    When you say fully encapsulate do you mean the inside as well?

    Yes- inside and out and all the edges. Fully enclosed. I would recommend 6 ounce cloth on the floor, 4 ounce up the sides, and a double layer of 6 ounce below the waterline. That will be durable and not too heavy.

  8. #8
    All good advice from Malcolm: the voice of experience.

    To give an idea of the look of Okume ply (this encapsulated in 4 oz glass epoxy all around as well), take a look at my latest stitch and glue project:

    IMG_1630A.jpg
    click it to big it
    Fair winds and following seas,
    Jim Waldron

  9. #9
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    JW--beautiful boat.
    "Anything seems possible when you don't know what you're doing."

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by James Waldron View Post
    All good advice from Malcolm: the voice of experience.

    To give an idea of the look of Okume ply (this encapsulated in 4 oz glass epoxy all around as well), take a look at my latest stitch and glue project:

    IMG_1630A.jpg
    click it to big it
    The voice of a culmination of trial and error- mostly error- Um... I mean experience. Yes, Experience. :-) That's a nice looking design. Is it your design? Will this serve as a dinghy to your sailboat?

  11. #11
    What do guys think of Barons lumberyard skiff? Those plans are much cheaper then the peeler. The boats look pretty similar, and appear to have similar performance.

  12. #12
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    ZD--that would be OK in protected waters.
    "Anything seems possible when you don't know what you're doing."

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by Zach Dickason View Post
    What do guys think of Barons lumberyard skiff? Those plans are much cheaper then the peeler. The boats look pretty similar, and appear to have similar performance.
    I’m building the lumberyard skiff right now. Started on Memorial Day weekend and hope to be done in a few weeks.

    But, I’m no expert by any means and this is my first boat. It appealed to me because it is relatively inexpensive and not really fine woodworking so if I mess something up then I just put on more epoxy filler and sand it again.

    As for how it handles.... I don’t know yet but I don’t have any notion that this is going to be a high performance boat. Should be ok for our smaller lakes (not Lake Michigan) and rivers and if my daughter is fishing she doesn’t much care if it could have been built s little lighter.

    My biggest thing right now is trying to make it look good enough that people remark “you made that??” And not “oh man, some guy made that...” We’ll see if I accomplish that goal in a few weeks.

  14. Quote Originally Posted by Malcolm Schweizer View Post
    The voice of a culmination of trial and error- mostly error- Um... I mean experience. Yes, Experience. :-) That's a nice looking design. Is it your design? Will this serve as a dinghy to your sailboat?
    It's a pT-11; it comes as a CNC cut panel kit. It comes apart into two nesting parts that stow on deck. It has turned out to be a bit too lightweight to serve as tender in any rough water cruising, but otherwise it's a neat little boat. With its sailing rig, its a fun toy and good with the Granddaughter aboard. Rows decently, except my 8 foot oars are a bit long for such a little boat. Extremely well engineered and developed by very good people. A bit pricey for a lot of folks. PT Watercraft - PT-11
    Last edited by James Waldron; 07-21-2018 at 10:07 PM.
    Fair winds and following seas,
    Jim Waldron

  15. #15
    Are the plans pretty straightforward? As to the design, I’ve seen so many pictures of those things ranging from extremely plain to extremely fancy.

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