Small plywood ski boat?

[Yellowjacket]

Originally Posted by ThomD

I guess my googling isn't all that great either. What there are a lot of as far as stitch and glue boats is concerned, is skiffs, and other boats with "ski" in them, but not actually ski boats.

Well, actually there's a reason for that too. As you get bigger stitch and glue boats don't work as well in that the hull has to get stronger, and, because you don't have framing in it and the unsupported surfaces of the hull need to be thicker. This is particulary true for a faster boat that is going bounce over wakes and take more of a beating than a much slower skiff. As the hull gets thicker it gets a lot harder to bend the plywood into the shapes necessary and stitch and glue becomes a less attractive proposition.

It's ok for a skiff that isn't going very fast, but when you start to go 30 mph or more you start to need more hull thicknees than a typical stitch and glue construction can supply and still be bent into shape. That said, there do seem to be a decent amount of stitch and glue boats that could be decent ski boats, you just might have to design a different deck layout to get what you want.

I did look a bit and Bateau has a bunch of skiffs that you could change the decking on and maybe get a decent ski boat out of. The Glenn L Tuffy that was mentioned earlier, although it's not a stitch and gule design, is pretty much what you want (since you can lengthen it a bit and get some more cockpit room) and it was designed as a lower power boat. There are some bigger and much faster boats, such as the Glenn L Stiletteo that make a great ski boat, but they require a lot more motor and that will tend to drive up the cost.

I'm sure you can find what you are looking for and maybe a call to Bateau and explain what you want to do and they could recommend a design of theirs to modify.

[tom28571]

Originally Posted by Yellowjacket

Ah yes, the good old days....

That Wizard 10 hp was really a Mercury Super 10 that Western Auto sold, it had 18 hp but was rated as a 10 because in Florida at that time (and other states and places too probably) you could have up to 10 hp on a boat and you didn't have to license it. People wanted more power, but didn't want to have to get a license and pay a sticker fee each year, so the Mercury's (and the Wizards too) were pretty popular. I had a KH7 Hurricane Super Cruiser that had a gearshift on it, but that was only made for one year. Even though Mercury came out with the Mark 20 and later the Mark 25, People still wanted Super 10's because you didn't have to go through the hassle of licensing them. That was true even into the mid 1960's when I was a kid messing with hydroplanes.

There is probably some truth to that but Kiekhaefer, the boss of Mercury was also wanting to one-up the competition and rated his motors lower to give that impression on the buyers. Kiekhaefer also made the Mercs with smaller cowls for the same reason. A Merc or Wizard 10 would always outrun any other 10 out there for that reason. I later added another Wizard 10 on my boat and it would do about 40mph, which was tops for a non race boat on our lake. I now have a 1953 Mark 20 (rated at 16hp) that is the same powerhead as the old Hurricane and Wizard 10 and limited to just under 20 cu in to qualify for Class B.

The way we managed to ski with only the 10 was that we used wide skis. We had wide ones called "outboard skis" and narrow ones called "inboard skis". I agree that 25hp would be a reasonable minimum power for skiing and 40 would be better. A larger and heavier boat calls for more power and the current wave makers call for a ridiculous amount of grunt.

[Yellowjacket]

Originally Posted by tom28571

There is probably some truth to that but Kiekhaefer, the boss of Mercury was also wanting to one-up the competition and rated his motors lower to give that impression on the buyers. Kiekhaefer also made the Mercs with smaller cowls for the same reason. A Merc or Wizard 10 would always outrun any other 10 out there for that reason.

Yes, it was always considered that for the same rated power, a Merc would always outrun a Johnrude.. In the 50's and up until the late 60's you wouldn't consider a Johnrude for any performance boat. Carl was nobody's fool, and understood marketing better than others at the time. He made sure his motors had more power and a bit more prop on them and that would insure that Merc was faster. The general consenus was that you would go 3-5 mph faster for the same rated power with a Merc on the same hull. That only started to change when the V6 Evinrudes came out with big power in the early 70's. Right now I'm looking for a classic 44 cubic inch merc to make into a D stock motor.

Some things never change.

[Bglad]

Originally Posted by Yellowjacket

That's exactly why you want 40 hp or more. Then you don't have to dink around with changing props, the boat will pull the skier right out with a prop that has enough pitch to go as fast as you need to go. If you under power the boat you need to have more pitch to pull skiers and then you have to start changing props. It's more trouble than it's worth, and that's just another reason you want more power. Fiver or ten more horsepower in a used engine costs almost nothing.

The extra horsepower won't hurt but you will still want to undersize the prop. Maximum speed performance and holeshot are not complimentary to one another. It spoils the fun if you are half drowned before you are up on the skis. Changing the propellers is not a big deal and you don't have to unless you just want to tool around and go a little faster.

[ThomD]

A winner! I have a winner!

http://books.google.ca/books?id=4N0D...20boat&f=false

[tunnels]

After you read the boat story have a look at some of the others !!! Have things changed all that much ??

[anthony goodson]

Thankyou for a trip down memory lane ,Before the world turned lax and sour.

[ThomD]

By the way, when saying stitch and glue I am using the term very loosely. Stitch and glue boats can have lots of framing, The just aren't generally built over frames. Though I don't even insist on it being skin inwards, vs strongback etc... Just so long as it is modern in design, efficient in construction, and takes advantage of plywood, epoxy, and some of the advances in design and construction of the last decades. If one goes back to the hayday of powerboat design for home builders, the building methods are very different today, as are home tools, and design tools. This spins off completely new opportunities. But I am not seeing evidence of where this has taken hold in powerboats, compared to my usual interests like multihulls and canoes.

Actually back at least 15 years ago, I was visiting a friend in Gold Beach Or. He introduced me to a pro boatbuilder out there making those river jet boats they use on the Rogue. I don't remember much, but the boats seemed logical and modern. He was using epoxy, and that sign ply. If I said I wanted a jet boat, I think I would still get directed to designs out of the 60s.

Speaking of other builders, are there any really great sites where guys have documented these smaller amateur builds? I mean there must be, but there is usually a few really inspirational ones in any field.

[tunnels]

If it works well why change it !!
You are right the sharp end is always the front and the direction it should go in . The motor is always at the back , i always back the back of my boats look pretty because thats what people see the most of !! I like to go fast !!