Microskiff Build

Wanted to brag a bit... about two years ago I started designing a 14’ micro flats skiff with Chris Morejohn of Hell’s Bay fame. After building a Bateau SK14 and coming up with a list of its shortcomings I contacted Chris, working back and forth for a few months on a new design, the goals of which were the following:

- Eliminate need for tiller extensions while retaining decent weight distribution
- Increase storage space, including fly rod storage.
- Eliminate the hard-chine hull slap by incorporating a displacement-hull entry design
- Try to solve some of the maneuverability issues of a notched transom
- Be able to carry two adults in the equivalent space of a Hobie kayak
- Pole/Paddle capable
- Self-bailing design

Hit almost every goal, only fell short on self-bailing as I ran out of foam (mis-ordered seven sheets instead of eight). Left it set up to be able to add the floor later and make it self-bailing.

Totals were 7 sheets of CarbonCore Foam, 6 gallons Raka epoxy, 7 gallons TotalBoat poly resin, 36yard 10oz glass, 18 yards 6oz glass, about 12yrds 1.5oz CSM and 4 qts Pettit EZPoxy paint.

 

That is a good looking boat and I'll bet it will serve you well. You must be very understandably proud of her.

Just out of curiosity, because I know very little about boat design and even less about powerboat design, why the stepped chine? I would think bringing the bottom out full width would make for a more stable flats boat. Is this about the maneuverability you mentioned?

-Will (Dragonfly)

 

It’s not so much a stepped chine as it is a spray rail. Some of the boats I was ‘competing’ against were Bateau’s SK14, everything by Salt River, Nanocraft, SkimmerSkiff, SoloSkiff, Bote and a few others. Everyone of those had the disadvantage of being either (1) made with plywood stitch-and-glue methods, thereby limiting their shape, (2) a ‘new’ boat popped from a hull mold built in the 70s-80s, or (3) a paddle board.

Straight sides in a small skiff mean a lot of spray coming over the sides... not a comfortable ride. Some of the flats boat guys started figuring this out years ago, but spray rails usually terminated about mid-ship, meaning you still got wet under certain conditions. If you look at the Hells Bay, Yellowfin or Chittum skiffs you’ll see the rails run further aft. Only difference here is we took them all the way to the transom.

More hull absolutely means more stability... that’s why the bow is so vertical on this. Stability is at a premium in a small skiff, but at 180lbs I have no problem walking the gunnel if I want. It tilts, but not excessively. It was more a matter of wanting to be able to cross open bays in quasi-rough conditions. Best I’ve found so far is 1’ chop. Still got spray straight up from the nose, but the sides stayed dry.