Small outboard skiffs

[chandler]

Any ideas for a 10' or so skiff??
Shallow draft, capable of carrying 8 hp 4 stroke, to run fairly level at slow speeds before planing.

[lewisboats]

http://angelfire.com/ego/lewisboatworks/
LilJon, Poorboy, Fisher10 (my favorite) all free.

[cyclops]

Why not pick up a used 10' aluminum boat. Grummans are very good. Hang a 8 to 10 hp on it and fly when needed? We have 3 of them.

[marshmat]

Pretty easy to find a slightly banged-up Springbok, Grumman, Starcraft or what-have-you in this size, for very little $$. Often one will start leaking and will come on the market for only a few hundred bucks, the owner not realizing that the leaks can be easily fixed in an hour by two guys with 10lb sledgehammers. So this is a good route to go. If you want to build one yourself, check out http://www.instantboats.com/boats.html (look at the Pointy Skiff and the Skimmer) or the ever-handy Glen-L plan banks.

[Seafarer24]

Good post above. I picked up a 14' Starcraft from the '70s that has a slighly banged up port bow, but tracks straight and doesn't leak, for $50! For $200 I got a used Mercury 110 (10HP) that needed a new prop (another $150-ish). Then a crappy but usable trailer for $100. I built a plywood deck with anchor locker and very large storage area that covers the first 6' of the boat and re-shapes the bow close to original. The rear of the boat is getting a styrafoam/fiberglass U-shaped seating area to hide the gas tank and provide room for a battery and fishing poles. I may eventually re-do the front deck in foam/glass as well.

[chandler]

Thanks guys.
That's what we have now. With an 8 horse 4 stroke you have to sit in the middle of the boat until it planes in order to keep the stern from squatting so much that you can't see over the bow. Any ideas about balancing such a boat?
Chandler

[cyclops]

What is the present boat lenght. 4 stroke must weigh a ton compared to a 2 stroke. Has to.

[lewisboats]

Originally Posted by chandler

Thanks guys.
That's what we have now. With an 8 horse 4 stroke you have to sit in the middle of the boat until it planes in order to keep the stern from squatting so much that you can't see over the bow. Any ideas about balancing such a boat?
Chandler

What about one of those fins that attach to the lower leg of the OB? You can also try tucking the motor in a little more to push the nose down, but this slows you down somewhat. You might even try rigging some kind of trim tab that you can push into the water to push the nose down until you get to planning speed. What kind of boat are you pushing with the motor right now?

Steve

[cyclops]

Our 12' Aluminums with old 8s or newer 9.9 are on plane with my 200# in 2 to 3 seconds with anchor and plenty of fishing junk. Something is not right with yours. I have a 16' Lowe that is easily 750# and a 1990 9.9 hp that can plane the 2 of us in 4 seconds. Get some good locals to find the problem.