Plywood Tunnel Hull Skiff

Tim Phipps said:
On the open boat, I don't think it is an issue
But if any kind of cabin is incorporated, It could be tragic.
Thanks for the heads up
Click to expand...

CO is dangerous in contained valleys even to a sawyer cutting trees. So, the CO concerns are real and always get people when not ready. It would be a real tragedy to do what happened here in Mn and have a child fall ill, assume she was seasick and lay her in the boat low where the fumes are greater versus spending $60 on dc co detection.
 
In my area there are more than a few of the boats of this type. Commercial fisherman on fresh water lakes use them almost exclusively. They are gawd awful designs that result from wrapping a pair of plywood planks around a bottom of some sort. The forward position of the outboard is a very practical location for the function of the boat. They haul nets from the stern. I have no information about any of those fisherman ever having succumbed to CO2 emissions. These boats are not fast boats but most of them, not all of them, will plane when not loaded with nets and fish. That is not an important part of the function. Our lakes are relatively small and long distance ability is not one of the considerations. The boats are ugly, stinky, poorly kept, but they still accomplish the primary function.

Tim, why are you attracted to this type of floating flotsam? No offense intended, I have already said that they serve the purpose. If you are a commercial lakes fisherman, then go for it. If you want a family boat, or an ordinary recreational fishing boat, then try to adjust your preference to a more conventional design. If building simplicity is your aim, there are far better simple flattie designs that will serve you better.

Please tell us more and tell us about your intended use and what kind of performance, comfort, speed, power application, and economy of building and operating costs. that you want from your build.

The design of these boats are as simple as it gets.........Cut two plywood panels about 16 to 18 feet long. They will be simple rectangles maybe 20 +/- inches wide. There are no curves in these parts. Cut up some ply that resembles a bottom. It will be pointy at the front and about the same width at the transom as the widest point of the bottom shape. Now decide how much flare you think is appropriate. Make a form of some sort to hold the flare where you think that it looks right. When you attach the sides to the bottom the forward section of the bottom will rise, on account of the forced flare, so as to create some forward rocker. Make up a transom and put those pieces together. Now you have a typical Florida lake net fishing boat. It is ugly as sin but it will float and it will do the job.

Cut out some carboard parts at perhaps one eighth scale and tape 'em together. You will see that you can build an ugly full sized boat of this kind in about one day. Once again I assure you that those things will float and they will serve the purpose if you intend to pull some nets.

Discosure: I have said that they will float. Truth, but only if you seal the joints between the sides and transom so that there are only minor leaks.
 
My CO concerns are mainly for small children. Adults are well above the cockpit. A fisherman is not sitting at idle for long periods either.

Children are the canaries in the coal mine for exhaust leaks/CO and a little girl here in Mn died due to CO and the parents thought she was seasick and laid her down in the cuddy, but left the door open and she was poisoned while they rode around the lake. Certainly this boat is safer, but not without potential for a problem if one sat at idle on a windless day for a long time.

I'll not mention it further; the design is really intriguing. I see no reason it can't be more than a flat bottom.
 
Tim: There are no particular extra regulations for home made boats over 16 feet. You need to comply with very basic rules if there is an outboard with a portable fuel tank.
 
messabout said:
In my area there are more than a few of the boats of this type. Commercial fisherman on fresh water lakes use them almost exclusively. They are gawd awful designs that result from wrapping a pair of plywood planks around a bottom of some sort. The forward position of the outboard is a very practical location for the function of the boat. They haul nets from the stern. I have no information about any of those fisherman ever having succumbed to CO2 emissions. These boats are not fast boats but most of them, not all of them, will plane when not loaded with nets and fish. That is not an important part of the function. Our lakes are relatively small and long distance ability is not one of the considerations. The boats are ugly, stinky, poorly kept, but they still accomplish the primary function.

Tim, why are you attracted to this type of floating flotsam? No offense intended, I have already said that they serve the purpose. If you are a commercial lakes fisherman, then go for it. If you want a family boat, or an ordinary recreational fishing boat, then try to adjust your preference to a more conventional design. If building simplicity is your aim, there are far better simple flattie designs that will serve you better.

Please tell us more and tell us about your intended use and what kind of performance, comfort, speed, power application, and economy of building and operating costs. that you want from your build.

The design of these boats are as simple as it gets.........Cut two plywood panels about 16 to 18 feet long. They will be simple rectangles maybe 20 +/- inches wide. There are no curves in these parts. Cut up some ply that resembles a bottom. It will be pointy at the front and about the same width at the transom as the widest point of the bottom shape. Now decide how much flare you think is appropriate. Make a form of some sort to hold the flare where you think that it looks right. When you attach the sides to the bottom the forward section of the bottom will rise, on account of the forced flare, so as to create some forward rocker. Make up a transom and put those pieces together. Now you have a typical Florida lake net fishing boat. It is ugly as sin but it will float and it will do the job.

Cut out some carboard parts at perhaps one eighth scale and tape 'em together. You will see that you can build an ugly full sized boat of this kind in about one day. Once again I assure you that those things will float and they will serve the purpose if you intend to pull some nets.

Discosure: I have said that they will float. Truth, but only if you seal the joints between the sides and transom so that there are only minor leaks.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I have been away from my computer a bit.
This is a great question.
My primary use is to be going out in the shallow waters of the big bend of the Florida Gulf coast near the mouth of the St. Marks River. I want, ease and speed of build, I want stability and the ability to carry a few people and dogs or maybe a few more people out onto the shallow flats to splash around and pick up bay scallops in the summer(some amount of beer drinking will be unavoidable). I would put a canopy over the whole works and add a few embelishments to upgrade the appearance. I plan to build a platform on top of the outboard and make it an elevated bridge to help navigate the rocks in the shallows. The boat would never venture more than 2 miles out in the gulf. Max depth about 5 feet. I plan to integrate the back of the hull into a dive(dangle your legs in the water) platform with the actual transom further forward to keep the bumpy water out. In short.........A Redneck Picnic Boat
 
Also, I like things a little funky, I'm kind of an oddball. The most popular craft for this use is a pontoon boat. I would rather keep people guessing than follow that crowd.
 
Also Messabout
After I find a plan to start with, I'm going to do the cardboard model thing at 1"=1'. My son is coming home next weekend and maybe we can start playing with it.
I really appreciate all the comments and suggestions. It would take a concerted effort to offend me:D
when the boat is done, I may paint "FLORIDA MAN" on the side in big letters. Or maybe "WATCH THIS" or "HOLD MY BEER"
 
Dean Bixler said:
Harry Sucher's "Simplified Boatbuilding - The Flat-Bottom Boat" has a few; both displacement and planing hulls if I remember correctly.
Click to expand...
Dean Bixler
Thank you for the book suggestion. It just arrived and looking it over, I know it will be an indespensible reference. And a good read too.
 
 
That is a good idea. It will eleminate the CO2 concerns too
 
Tim Phipps said:
Hello, I am new to the forum
I am hoping to find plans for an amateur build of what is called a Bird Dog Boat on the Florida Gulf coast. I have been googleing like crazy with no luck. I am looking for a design for a large trailerable shallow water skiff with an outboard motor in the forward section of its tunnel. These boats are mostly used by commercial mullet, crab and oyster fishermen in our area. They are all built in the back yard of the fisherman in the off season. Design is by eye and memory. I want a summer project for me and my son who will be home from college. Ease of build is important. Maybe I should drive around and find one in someone's yard and take measurements, but those guys may shoot first and ask questions later. Does anyone here have a design of this type?
Click to expand...
This type of skiff works good for setting gill nets, especially runaround or strike nets. They run a lot shallower than a stern well and carry more net, also plane a load easier.
When given throttle, the bow rises just like an outboard on the stern, so the engine is rising up instead of being pushed down. Equipped with a jack plate they are really shallow, with the advantage of cruising on plane at 6-8 knots, unlike a tunnel/jack plate on stern, which in my experience has to be moving pretty good to stay shallow.
Also, with the jack plate, you can jack it all the way up, slowly apply power while at the same time lowering the plate and take off in half the water required for a stern engine.
Exhaust fumes no worse than a normally mounted engine, although I have seen one with a cabin,idk how they breathed in there.
These boats are a different animal, especially at low speed. Sometimes they go where they want to at a low/plowing speed, but on plane they handle fine. As for backing down you can thread a needle with them. Just like backing a car.
I recommend a jack plate,makes a whole different boat. Also,if you operate her in much chop, you can set the plate to 1-2" negative and jack it down to cut down on cavitation/ventilation.
I hope this rambling helps
 
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