Real wooden toys, built in America.;<}}

I wanted a nice little tender built to traditional lines for a small power cruiser that will also be carried on the cabin roof, so I decided to go with the established design, the Simmons Sea Skiff. I modified some areas but ended up with a nice liteweight lapstrake wooden hull 12' LOA that works fine with a 6 hp. four stroke engine. Its very quiet, clean running, and works great for two people to carry some cargo to explore in remote areas. I carry a small three gallong fuel tank that fits neatly between the framing and well.


I added some nice details of wood, mahogany bookmatched transom and sandwiched white cedar between mahogany for the rails, which is really stiff but still keeping the boat easy to handle using a cartopper type rack in a truck bed if the occasion warrrants it, too.

 

Nice job on your boat. The Simmons is a bit narrower in the stern, isn't it? Very much like a semi-dory the way you did it, and that inboard motor position is great.

Alan

 

Well actually the original boats were not so much as narrower in the stern, as you loose some planing surface with the opening in the well positioned in the bottom surface by comparison to other runabouts of the same measurements with the motor hung on the stern.
The story of the specific hull can be read at this link.


http://www.simmonsseaskiff.com/History/index.htm

I can actually back the boat down and the boat will not take water in the stern unlike a conventional transom mounted engine in a small hull. The engine wells that capture any water over the transom and return the water through a drain plug built into the transom up high is an alternative safety measure in many of the normal style hulls. Yes you can go to the extreme area and get some water in nasty inlets. But rarely as much as any other hull with the motor wells that are and were built in to deal with this main issue of small runabout hulls with large cutouts for short shaft motors, too..

 

Thanks. How much does the boat weigh?

 

The boat, only, weighs 147 lbs.

 

Thanks. Light in the tradition of the Simmons boats. Again, nice job.

A.

 

Way to go Mike, nice work as usual. Good to see your post.

 

Thanks, and I have not forgotten the "Popsicle" inquiry. I have just not slowed down enough to put anything on paper yet. We are having an extended second season of boating since the weather has been unusually quiet here.

 

This is the interor layout. I can carry my fishing gear and bird watching books and glasses in the drop storage area which also doubles as seat stiffeners. I wanted to be able to remove everything for servicing under the decks and for redoing the cosmetics, too down the road.




I have also fabricated the center seat so I can move it foward shifting some of the weight midship I am using the boat by myself. I have small dogs on the deck that also support any attempted movement since the seat tops are notched around the ribs. This makes it also better for rowing. I plan to install oarlocks in the area of the existing seat since the spacing is just right for a stroke of an oar from the seat arrangement too.