At last a build thread: CR16 skiff

[cracked_ribs]

Yeah about time I got this show on the road!

[VT_Jeff]

Looking forward to doing something new.

Speaking of which, what's the plan for the interior? benches/tiller or something else?

[cracked_ribs]

Tiller, splash well, forward bench/casting deck, anchor locker at the nose, and wide open otherwise.

I have a couple of the rotomolded coolers that are popular these days, and might order one or two more. I'll just put dense foam on top for seating.

My feeling is that for crabbing, fishing and hauling gear, I want maximum flexibility and the larger open deck I can get. I'd rather have coolers I can haul on and off for seating than commit to a specific layout. I think often when building boats guys have a bunch of cool ideas about what could go in them and they end up building a ton of fiddly hatches and compartments. In my experience I don't use those much and they often eat a lot of space.

So I'll have a bit at the splash well, a bit at the bow, rod holders under the gunwales, and that's about it.

I'm not sure if "dance floor" is a universal term...up here we talk about a boat with a big dance floor being better for fishing, and I tend to agree. My current boat is very enclosed which was great for running in weather much worse than anyone else wants to go out in, but it has hardly any dance floor.

This boat will be the opposite: all dance floor all the time!

Plus good for hauling gear to the cabin. Could almost be a landing craft-grade hauler; with ramps you could drive a quad on and off. Loads of lumber, furniture, anything.

In fact now I want to put a couch on it just to sit in because it would be funny.

[VT_Jeff]

Tiller, splash well, forward bench/casting deck, anchor locker at the nose, and wide open otherwise.

I have a couple of the rotomolded coolers that are popular these days, and might order one or two more. I'll just put dense foam on top for seating.

My feeling is that for crabbing, fishing and hauling gear, I want maximum flexibility and the larger open deck I can get. I'd rather have coolers I can haul on and off for seating than commit to a specific layout. I think often when building boats guys have a bunch of cool ideas about what could go in them and they end up building a ton of fiddly hatches and compartments. In my experience I don't use those much and they often eat a lot of space.

So I'll have a bit at the splash well, a bit at the bow, rod holders under the gunwales, and that's about it.

I'm not sure if "dance floor" is a universal term...up here we talk about a boat with a big dance floor being better for fishing, and I tend to agree. My current boat is very enclosed which was great for running in weather much worse than anyone else wants to go out in, but it has hardly any dance floor.

This boat will be the opposite: all dance floor all the time!

Plus good for hauling gear to the cabin. Could almost be a landing craft-grade hauler; with ramps you could drive a quad on and off. Loads of lumber, furniture, anything.

In fact now I want to put a couch on it just to sit in because it would be funny.

Gotcha. My Orion coolers have pretty solid tie down points for cam-straps. I epoxied D-rings to the floor of my drift boat to hold them down and will be doing the same on my skiff for the drivers seat-cooler. They also come with foam-tops and you can get back rests, all for just under $10,000 US/each.

When I was at skook we were camping at a marina in Egmont(Backeddy, great spot!). I recall seeing people loading up their landing craft and heading out to their island for the weekend. Cars, kids, stuff etc. I definitely had toy-envy! Not weather-envy.

Big dance floor is nice, for sure. Great for the dog, sleeping platform, gear-hauling etc. I'm looking to build a glued-lapstrake row/sail boat next and one thing that bugs me are all the seats and crap that clog up the interior and make it hard for a dog to walk around. Something I need to work out.

Is your other boat a Stamas? Looks a lot like a number of the personal/pro fishing boats out the marina at Lake Ontario.

[cracked_ribs]

Not a stamas but similar in a lot of ways... it's a Double Eagle which is a small local company that builds famously tough boats. I'm sure the design predates a good understanding of engineering composites efficiently, so they built hulls that were 5/8 or 3/4 thick. My 20 footer weighs over 4000 pounds, and the transom deadrise is over 20 degrees. It's nice in rough weather but pretty inefficient where I live now. I used to have to cross some rougher water to get to my cabin so it was valuable at that time but now it's absurd overkill and fueling it is a bit ridiculous. I think I used to spend $3-5,000 annually on gas for it. It's less now but still... that's a lot of fuel. I remember doing the math at one point and realizing I could build and then set fire to a C17 every few years for what I was spending on gas.

A low speed planing skiff like this, I'll probably get home with more gas than I left with.

[VT_Jeff]

I could build and then set fire to a C17 every few years for what I was spending on gas.

Now THAT would be a sick way to celebrate the impermanence of our existance! Show those chalk artists a thing or two!

[cracked_ribs]

"So do you have any hobbies?"

"Yeah, I build boats."

"Really? I've never seen a boat at your house."

"How can I put this...how familiar are you with Burning Man?"

[VT_Jeff]

"So do you have any hobbies?"

"Yeah, I build boats."

"Really? I've never seen a boat at your house."

"How can I put this...how familiar are you with Burning Man?"

LMAO!

[Matt Gent]

A friend of mine does just that!


We use the "dance floor" term as well. That thing is gonna be awesome wide open. I've found the rubber feet on the roto-coolers hold them in place really well if they have a little load in them, no straps or anything.

I took the flip/flop seat out of an old skiff (that left with my ex-wife, thank goodness) and it was the best move for that boat, made it twice as big.

You'll also have plenty of room for a...uh....tall spinning mast for displays of acrobatic prowess.

[cracked_ribs]

Interesting! I've never built anything for burning man but I have been a few times. It has two things I'm really fascinated by, both in huge quantities: large, dramatic installation art, and half naked chicks on drugs.

Oh, also the Thunderdome.

I'm glad to hear the rubber feet and bit of weight have been basically adequate; that was my hope but I wasn't sure. I figure that rubber feet on kiwigrip should be pretty sticky, though.

You know...I actually have a plan for a mast-like structure, now that you mention it. I'm not saying it's for anything special, but at the same time... well, I'll put it this way. My wife asked me to drop off a package in the mail, a pair of shorts she was returning because she tried them on and decided they were too big.

Being Canadian, nothing is made here so returning stuff requires international mail. I took the package to the post office and filled out the customs form and handed it to the woman behind the counter who started typing everything into the system. Then she got to the company name.

"Does this say...am I getting this... what does this say?"

"Pole Junkie."

"Uh..."

"It's for pole dancers."

"Oh."

"Don't let the beard and the busted nose fool you, I'm very sensual."

"Uh..."

"It's a form of creative expression."

Pretty sure I gave her PTSD.