Help with design?

I have been intrested in building a wooden boat for awile now and with winter coming I think it's time. I need help in finding what I am looking for. The plans don't have to be free if the boat fits the design I'm looking for. I want what I would call a rowboat that will be powered by a Mercury 9.9. It has to be 14' and I would like a nice wide beam. I would say somewhere in the 6' range. I have a 12' aluminum now with a 51" beam at the widest point and it's just not enough boat for what I am doing. I would like to build it using standard construction. I don't like the stitch and glue method. A nice wide 14' boat will allow me to fish with my 2 boys much more comfortably. I guess plywood construction covered in epoxy would be my best choice seeing as how I have never constructed a wooden boat before and the lap strike versions seem complicated for a first timer. I have been all over the web and I haven't found any boats that I like. I'm probably looking in the wrong places. I have found a few that seemed like they might work but I am a little nervous of changing dimensions to suit my needs. Like I said it's a boat that my kids will be in and I need it safe. Any sugestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

Welcome Barr -

Make it 5m500 long and 2m wide, size does matter . I'm not much for wooden boats, Manie and some of the other guys are into that, do try a search.

You could maybe consider a catamaran setup, if it's space you're after, two hull's with a deck. Something like 8m long and 5m wide. You can take the missus along too, someone must make the food and pass the beer

You're of course very welcome to visit the Imperial VS Metric thread as well

 

This is what I was thinking about. These hulls are about 8m long and makes an excellent fishing boat. Sorry about the poor picture, it was a piece of another picture I took.

Couple of advantages -

Large space to fish from.
Stable to walk on.
Safer (should be no 1)
More stable in choppy water than a single wide hull.
Almost impossible to capsize
Displacement hulls means much faster propulsion with your 9.9hp motor.
Better fuel consumption.
Will come out lighter than the single hull of same size.
Easier to build than a single hull

 

A 14 footer that is 6 feet wide is pushing the length to beam ratio a bit too much for ordinary purposes. The extreme beam will present struictural problems in the bottom area. The boat will be pretty heavy for that reason. The 9.9 Merc probably makes 15 HP. With four person crew and the weight of the boat and its' gear, you will have 50 plus pounds per horsepower. That is marginal for a planing boat, but no problem if it is to be a displacement boat.

You will be better served with a longer boat. Say 16 by 5. That proportion is more conventional and it will have about the same footprint area as the 14 x 6 boat. The sixteen footer is a better prospect on all counts.

You have not given us any information about where you will use the boat, the conditions in which it will operate, etc. Tell us more about that aspect of the project. You will have no problem in finding a good set of plans for the 16 x 5. whereas the short fat boat may not be available in stock plans.

 

There are many skiff plans. They really don't vary so much. Make a search online and if there is nothing you like, I can sell you a design to your specifications.

 

http://www.duckworksbbs.com/plans.htm

Down on the bottom...DuckSkiff.

Toot...Toot...yup, its my own horn

Edited to add: Oops...I didn't see the bit about the 6 ft beam...don't think you will find one quite that wide out there now...you would probably have to have it drawn up. You say you want a row boat style...meaning that you don't need it to plane?

 

Well if you don't want it to plane as suggested by your comment on it being rowboat styled drop me an email and i'll see if i can't shoot a design your way to see what you think of it.