The Evolution of an 11' Wooden Skiff
 
 

In the spring of 1995, Ken and I decided to build a boat. We searched the Internet for boat plans and found an excellent, easy to build design from a boat designer in Florida. We ordered full size plans in AutoCAD format, which Ken printed at 1:1 scale on a plotter. We bought 12' x 4' Occume mahogany plywood from M.L. Condon, scribed the hull drawings onto the plywood, and began to cut.
 
 
Ken making the first cut, Adam getting too close to the power tools


 
After many hours of careful cutting and sanding, the hull, transom and bulkhead pieces were complete. While Ken was away on vacation, I assembled them using the fantastically easy stitch and glue method. This involves drilling tiny holes along the abutting edges of all pieces and "stitching" them together with, in our case, 4" nylon cable ties. We tried copper wire, but the cable ties were just too darned easy to use, so we came back to them. They serve to keep the hull together while the "glue" is applied along the inside of all the joints. Then the ouside part of the cable ties gets cut (or sanded) off, and all that remains is the wood and the glue.

  
Transom meets hull, stitching keeps it together! (left)
Detail of the stitched joint (center)
All the bulkheads and the bottom are stitched to the hull (right)

Ken returned from his vacation to find me standing in the driveway with a fully stitched hull.

A masterpiece takes shape
 

After a single coat of epoxy to "prime" the plywood, we could really see the beauty of the mahogany woodgrain. Every seam then had to be built up with an epoxy and filler mixture, then covered with 4" or 6" fiberglass tape saturated with epoxy. We used West System epoxy and filler, and I highly recommend it for ease of use. You have to be very careful to mix it in small batches or it will spontaneously combust! Hence, this process took many days to complete. Experience taught us faster ways to do the job, but the first time is slow going. Defender Industries supplied most of our materials.
 

Inner hull with one coat of epoxy
 

Of course, we got carried away with the details. The transom is triple thickness to withstand the stress of an outboard. The custom center seat opens for storage and is held securely in place with a wooden catch. The two knees that stabilize the bulkhead have holes to act as rod or drink holders. The breasthook is laminated with matching-grain mahogany that breaks from the centerline and the brass screws are sealed under carefully milled mahogany plugs. Custom oarlock mounts are laminated from four thicknesses of plywood and secured through the gunwales with 3" countersunk brass screws, then plugged with mahogany. There are runners under the boat to protect against ground and trailer scratches. Overkill, you say, for a simple wooden skiff? You are correct, but we are obsessive about the details, and all of these little additions gave us a reason to buy even more tools.
 

   
 

Finally, we christened her "The A-2," the second in a proud line of A-boats. Here we see "Vanna" showing off our superior craftsmanship stuffed into the back of her minivan. We bought a trailer and a cover, and now the A-2 lives near some beautiful Connecticut lakes. She has been out fishing close to shore on Long Island Sound with both of us on board and she handled the light chop very nicely.

 

On Mothers' Day, 1997, we finally slid the boat into a small pond and rowed around for 30 minutes. She floated proudly and rowed smoothly. We are very proud of The A-2. We have acquired a 1967 vintage Johnson 3 HP outboard in mint condition (Thanks, Barry!), which has extended our range somewhat.
 
 

On Carpenter Pond
 
 

Thanks for taking a tour of our boat building.
We are pleased to thank the following people and organizations for their fine products and support (links open in a new window):

Our patient wives
Boat Plans On-Line at bateau.com - Excellent, inexpensive boat plans and instruction manuals
M.L. Condon - Occume plywood (248 Ferris Ave., White Plains, NY 10603 tel: 914-946-4111 fax: 914-946-3779)
Defender Industries - Marine suppliers since 1938
Gougeon Brothers, Inc. - West System Epoxy Products
Fiberglass Coatings, Inc. - Double-bias fiberglass tape w/mat
Brewer Hardware (Mamaroneck) and Librett Hardware (New Rochelle)
Our cousin Barry - Immaculately maintained 30-yr old Johnson outboard
Our brother/brother-in-law David - Long-term dry dock (and brokerage efforts)
Our friends Robert and Ginny - A lovely New England home for the A-2
 

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